We know leadership may sound distant. Sometimes it feels like you have to go through tons of business books, lead a team or two, close a big project and start writing an inspirational blog about your achievements. But the truth is – leadership is way simpler and it can be developed absolutely in everybody.

As the organization that develops leadership in young people since 1948, we know quite something about the topic. And we decided to share five simple actions that will help you to become a better leader right away! Perform those actions and see the change happening.

1. Taking time to reflect on your strong and weak sides

A true leader realizes the importance of self-reflection. He knows it’s necessary to take some time to make his mind clear on where he is standing right now and where he wants to go in terms of personal improvement.

Time: 10 min. 

Action: 

• Take a piece of paper and draw a person of your gender (in the way that some space is left around).
• Imagine that this person is an ideal human. Which qualities he/she posses? Write them down in the space left.
• Now surprise – this person is you! Probably, that version you strive to become in the future. Highlight the qualities you already have. As for the rest of them – pick up top 3 you would like to possess the most.
• For those 3 try to come up with few actions you can take soon in order to develop them. Now you have a plan. Make it happen.

2. Being positive

Yeah, life is not all about rainbows, chocolates, and puppies. But the true leader always chooses to demonstrate positivity, which helps her to move through uncertain tricky situations.

Time: 5 min. 

Action: Take a piece of paper and write down all the things you feel grateful for today. How does it make you feel? It’s important to appreciate all the good in life, despite any kind of difficulties. It will help you to reinforce a positive attitude and overcome challenges easier.

3. Taking a small day to day actions impacting the world for the better

A leader knows and believes that even seemingly small actions make a huge difference. He enjoys taking responsibility for making a positive change happen and acts sustainably.

Time: 10 min. 

Action: Check this Young Person’s Guide to Save the World. Pick up one thing you would like to do from the actions section and making it happen soon.

4. Empowering other people

A leader is always up for sharing his knowledge, desire and passion. That is simply the way for him to empower other people to move in the same direction and develop themselves.

Time: 5 min.

Action: If you have been following along, and performed the previous action – share about it: with your friend, parents, room-mate, on your social media – pick one or do all. You will for sure need a hand if you have chosen something like cleaning your local park. The idea is to encourage others to follow your example and engage them in positive actions.

5. Being YOU

Here comes the hard one. For a leader, it’s important to be true to himself and honest with others. She knows that authenticity is way more valuable than fellowship. She cares about the way she communicates her thoughts and ideas.

Time: 5 min.

Action: Sometimes our closest people can tell more about us than we would. Ask 3-5 of your friends, relatives – the ones you hold close – to describe you in a few words. Does it sound like you? There is no good or bad answer. Doing this can help you to get insights on how you communicate yourself to others and what kind of impression you make. In case you found out something you don’t like, you always have a chance to change it.

We hope those five simple actions will help you not to kickstart but feed the leader in you because we know he/she’s already there. 🙂

Make your first step today by going to aiesec.org.