By definition, leadership is about someone who can influence the behavior or opinions of their followers. Indeed influential leaders are those who know how to empower others, and there are several ways to become a leader in life. Here are some tips that will help become a great leader in one’s own life:

Think long-term

Many people think being a leader is about being aggressive and pushing others around, but it’s not. Instead, leadership is about empowering other people to achieve their full potential. If someone has this attitude, the person will be able to motivate and enable others to accomplish their goals and yours.

Don’t wait for an opportunity to come along; create them.

A person can’t wait for the perfect opportunity without taking any action at all. So instead of waiting for something good to happen, a person should take control of destiny and devise their own opportunities. First, look at what skills one might have that can lead a person to a position of power or leadership. Then, look at what opportunities are available and what steps someone needs to attain them.

Skills to acquire

Empathy

The ability to see things from someone else’s perspective is essential for leading one’s own life because no one is an island unto themselves. If someone can’t understand how other people feel and why they feel that way, how can the person ever hope to communicate with them?

Set goals and evaluate progress

Before someone can be successful, the person has to know what success looks like and plan to get there. Once a person sets goals, it’s essential to keep track to achieve them. Then, monitor the progress against the goal and make adjustments as needed.

Challenge oneself

Don’t settle for the easy way out. Sometimes it takes more work or risk to reach a goal than just accepting the status quo. Being a leader means challenging oneself by setting high standards and taking on ambitious challenges that will stretch abilities.

Take responsibility

As a leader, someone should be responsible for both successes and failures. So when something goes wrong, take ownership of the problem and take action to fix it. That may involve asking for help from others or admitting that something is beyond control — but either way, the key is learning from the experience to do better next time.