The ripple effect of leaders

Debunking leadership

Introduction

Welcome to the ripple effect newsletter! Find out in the Quality Content section the inspiration behind the branding.

At the end of every email, you’ll be a better leader. Yes, you are already a leader, irrelevant of your position or job. My task is to bring forward to your attention practices that will get you to the next level of achievements.

The intention behind my work is straightforward: to provide you with in depth analysis of different elements of being a leader. Our discussions will apply to any field, and any level of experience. Come with an open mind, take a moment to ponder over the questions brought up, and you will learn something new with every edition.

This newsletter is somehow intimate: you are joining in a conversation between me and my younger self. In the words put here I am offering my past self what I wish now he knew then. You are getting a front row seat to:

  • Identifying how one’s childhood and upbringing relates to one’s leadership style and motivations.

  • Drafting frameworks based on past experiences and research that are now invaluable during difficult situations.

  • Advocating that everyone already possesses all the skills necessary to be a leader, simply requiring a direction and confidence.

  • Displaying successful styles of leadership, fueled by authenticity.

In our partnership, I will be offering you with all the tools necessary to master the art of empowering leadership. In addition, we’ll tackle effective, efficient, and powerful techniques of driving success. It’s time to eliminate the corporate superficiality of what it means to look after a group of individuals.

Going more in depth does not mean making something harder: it simply means you’ll discover better ways of completing what you already have to do.

As a new product and creation, the curation of the content will happen gradually: I am happy to have you along my journey of discovering the most effective methods of sharing my expertise with the world, and shape together the form of this material.

Objectives

1. Obtain a deeper understanding of the vision behind the newsletter and its structure.
2. Debunk the idea that leadership skills are something you are born with.
3. Understand and answer a series of personal questions on the qualities of a leader.
4. Recognise your impact on the future of my content.
5. Gain an insight view behind the branding of the newsletter.

Subject

In mainstream media, the idea of someone being born a leader is very prominent. In the continuous search for the next big title that will attract the most audience, writers are very loose with this phrase. If one sits to look at the deeper effects of the saying, one can realise that while it’s fulfilling the ego of the person in discussion, it can be damaging to readers.

Putting catchy titles aside, science has revealed that our brain is in a continuous reshaping state. As such, characteristics that relate to leadership such as self-confidence, vision, decisiveness, and expressiveness are no longer skills we should see as innate. Instead, we should start seeing leadership as a plethora of skills and capabilities that can be learned and nurtured over time. You already possess everything that you need to succeed as a leader, but just like any other thing that’s new to you, you probably did not practised it enough.

The concept of all of us being leaders is exciting on its own. It means that we can all integrate and shape our leadership differently from our peers, depending on who we are as individuals, and what we are driven by.

Your personality traits will keep you authentic in your leadership approach. What makes you different to what mainstream calls a leader is your power, not your burden.

Framework

Being a leader is a learned skill. You were probably just never put in a position to realise your true potential for leading, as I can guarantee you that you already can relate to the most important traits of it. All it takes is focusing your attention on consciously making the right choices to reach the level of knowledge you’re striving for.

Have a look at some qualities of a leader below curated by Harvard Business School:

Traits of a leader in terms of organising work and knowledge
Emotional traits of a leader
Intellectual traits of a leader

The framework brings the responsibilities of leadership closer to day to day examples, and makes this highly praised role more humane, as it is in reality.

You have been put at least once in your life in these situations, where unconsciously you have played the role of a leader. Your style should be honed into your personality, and feel authentic to yourself, and to the ones around you. These qualities should help you identify strength points and growth points that you can bank in order to form your own functional style of leading.

By this point you do not have to be able to answer positively to all of the questions from the framework. The questions that left uncertainty represent learning points that will be touched in future newsletters and content pieces that you will receive.

Final thoughts

This first conversation we’re having through this newsletter should have sparked in you the confidence to pursue being a leader in your own environment.

Being a leader is not a title change, it’s a set of rules and frameworks to live by.

With every newsletter, I will be bringing you more personal stories, informative content, and tips and tricks to nurture your leadership traits. With enough practice, repetition, and attentive learning, you will be able to observe behaviours, and apply your new skills to real life experiences. While the content applies to many, the results will be individual: there is only one YOU leader.

If you believe in my thoughts and ideas, I get closer to others alike who would appreciate my content through your reposts, shares, likes, and comments. In a digital algorithmically world, your smallest interactions are of immense value. I’m always excited when conversations spark in comments, or when someone asks for more information. Shall you be that person in the future, I thank you and I look forward to discussing with you further!

Quality content

No one else has been through the same things as you. Your authenticity combined with this content will bring you a personalised leadership style bound to bring you success, accolades, and opportunities. Moreover, your growth will consequently help numerous others grow as they work with you.

Everything imitates the natural concept of the ripple effect. Throwing one stone into a body of water makes an initial impact. However, the impact expands gradually. As we watch, more and more circles distance themselves from the point of impact and create an effect on the majority of the body of water. Our dedication to personal growth in leadership follows the same concept: your pledge to become a better leader will create ripples for everyone who circles around you. Your steps today already changed the trajectory of your future teams, and peers around you.

The Burg’s article called “Ripple Effect: Through our actions, we can spur growth and progress” says it best. Have a read here: