HOW TO BECOME A LEADER IN THE BLEEDING DISORDER COMMUNITY
HOW TO BECOME A LEADER IN THE BLEEDING DISORDER COMMUNITY
It is possible that during your experience as a member of the bleeding disorder community you have seen other members in leadership roles. Perhaps you have seen that they were in a similar position as you and decided to step up and do more. Maybe you’ve already had an experience leading or supporting your community, but did you know that anybody can be a leader and make a change?
What leadership involves
Some people believe that people are born with leadership qualities, while others believe that it is possible to learn to be a leader. They are not necessarily wrong and maybe some people have the leadership in their blood while others just learn it from experience. Anyway there have been different examples of both cases throughout history, and independently of how they became leaders they all shared similar capabilities. They were able to motivate and direct other people; they took responsibility of a team and took initiatives to achieve a common goal. Even if they failed, they always kept a positive attitude and kept motivating others to keep working on their goals.
How to become a leader
There is not a list of rules to follow in order to become a leader, but there are some actions you can take to develop your competencies, get experience and be a strong leader. Optimism and enthusiasm are key elements a leader should have. A leader is in charge of maintaining the motivation of the team even when the group is faced with challenges. Additionally, a leader should not be afraid of innovating and presenting new ideas, going beyond what is expected from him/her and taking on increased responsibility. Finally, leaders are always learning from their own experience and from team members.
What kind of leader can you be?
According to the University of Kent in the UK, there are five kinds of leadership styles:
- An authoritarian who usually has a lot of control and power and tells others what to do without asking first.
- A procedural leader is task-orientated and asks the team to follow procedures focusing on getting the job done.
- A transformational leader is more charismatic and has medium power, is inspiring and is good at persuading and delegating.
- A participative leader acts democratically and always builds consensus before making decisions.
- A “laissez-faire” kind of leader lets the team make the decisions but still takes responsibility of these, participates as a normal member and usually has low power within the teams.
Additionally, programs such as SURO and AFFIRM offer you the tools to improve your leadership skills and learn from an invaluable experience that will make it easier to get a role in your community.
