Be the Best Leader you can Be

The topic of this blog is supposed to be “How to get/maintain a cohesive staff,” but if I can be completely honest, which I am about to be: I don’t know. This time last year when I interviewed people for the staff, I had never interviewed people for a job and I had never hired anyone or placed anyone on a staff. It was all very new to me and it still kind of is. One year later, I am about to hand off the torch to the next CEO. So instead of “How to get/maintain a cohesive staff,” how about “How to be the best leader you can be.”

You have to want to be a leader.
This doesn’t have to solely apply to CEO’s, it can apply to account executives, executive board members, even associates who want to step up to the plate. If I have learned something in the past year of being in student organizations, it’s that you as an individual have to want to be there. So if you think you can be a leader, great. You need to want to have that drive to do something amazing.

Don’t be afraid to set an example.
If there was one downfall of mine as CEO, I was afraid to be strict or firm. As a leader and boss, it was hard for me to push people into something. I thought that if I was passionate, my staff would be too. But there is more to it than that. As a CEO/leader/whatever, don’t be afraid to be in the thick of things with your staff, show up to office hours or team meetings and set that example.

Be the best you can be.
There is no golden manual as to how to be the best CEO, but try your best. When you go in to something, you have an idea of how you would want to be treated if you were in the situation. So do that, if you know how you would want your boss to lead, then try it out. We are all still learning what types of professionals we want to be, better now than never, right?

These are only a few things that you should consider when you think you are ready for a leadership role. Remember, it is important to know that you will make mistakes and that is okay. Learn from them and be better from them. To whoever the next CEO is going to be, next year or the many years to come, remember: do your best, don’t be afraid of anything and have the drive to create something amazing.

Eleanor O’Hara is a senior at GVSU majoring in advertising and public relations and minoring in business. After graduation, she hopes to enter a Chicago PR agency and become an Account Executive. In her spare time, Eleanor loves to bake yummy treats, hangout with her friends and family, and watch reruns of One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy.