Will your mindset dictate your ability to be a leader? Absolutely! Your mindset is your set of beliefs and attitude regarding yourself and ability to accomplish something. Some may believe you either were or weren’t born with the traits to be a leader. This type of thinking is in line with a fixed mindset. Rather than the latter, it’s so important for you to embrace a growth mindset to develop into a strong leader. A GROWTH MINDSET is one that recognizes that through effort and embracing challenges, you will spring forward in your personal development. No matter your natural-born qualities, you can improve them and grow in all areas, including leadership!

So are you a natural leader? If so, awesome, you can continue to develop those skills. And if you aren’t as comfortable exhibiting leadership qualities at this point, no worry at all. You, too, can become a strong leader! A growth mindset will empower you since you will realize that you are in control of your talent and trait development. Those who do have a growth mindset are more positive, more confident, and more engaged and interested in being the best they can be. This leads to a crucial element of leadership development: the requirement to have the desire to become a leader. In order to be an individual who is leader in their own life and has positive impact to the greater group– your team, your class, your family, or your work place, you must develop the desire to be a leader. You have to want to lead.

Leadership begins with YOU and can be developed at a young age. Natural IQ and talent will not set you up for success in the long-run. These are awesome traits to have, but you will need to utilize your talent and your brain and complement it with an inner drive to be a leader! Your daily habits matter, and your ability to the leader of your personal life will lead to individual success and more opportunity to lead others.

You will need to be the leader in your day-to-day pursuit. I have worked with 100s of students and athletes. Those who lack confidence, who don’t manage time well, who are not disciplined, and who don’t have clarity regarding their goals tend to struggle as they transition to high school and later on to college. In contrast, those who are self-disciplined, who utilize calendars to manage time, go to bed at a good hour, who set aside appropriate time to study, follow through with meetings, and routinely set goals truly take a more stress-free step into their high school and college years, and are more successful in their academic and athletic pursuit. Personal leadership will lead to greater personal success.

Not only will you enrich your personal journey, but you will have a great impact in the world when you pursue to be a leader. Teams, schools, and companies all want to have leaders on their teams. If you want to be impactful to the greater group, it isn’t enough to be great at your sport, academically, or professionally. You will need to develop leadership. Let’s take a look at professional sports. Pro sports teams are comprised of amazing athletes. There are so many good players that can fill necessary roles on a professional team, yet those who have developed leadership skills will be most successful. I have played on teams that overflowed with star power yet failed to perform. I have played on teams that didn’t have overwhelming flair, but that were successful nonetheless. What was the different between those two types of teams? Leadership! The greater whole, whether family life, athletics, professional environment, or among your peers at school, needs leaders.

Remember, a growth mindset is a requirement to leadership development, and opens up the possibility that you can grow in any area. Leaders are also the ultimate team player, and motivate and bring together a team to work toward a common goal. Now is the time for you to step up, embrace a growth mindset, and become one who is able to affect those around you and the greater community you are in, in a positive way.