Leadership is vital in the modern world – from the smallest team to the largest company, being able to take the lead is vital to being able to implement your vision of how to make a difference. Here are 5 ways to be an effective leader:

1. Be prepared: If you have an idea of what will happen when you enter the room, it can be much easier to have a strategy. Knowing what the likely outcomes are and how to manipulate them makes it much easier to lead the group in the direction you want.
2. Take the initiative: Sometimes, you have to be the one to kickstart things into action – don’t be scared, it’s an opportunity for you to gain the advantage and take control of the situation to achieve what you want.
3. Public speaking: It runs against everything our psychology trains us to do, but being able to speak publicly is a vital skill to being able to win over and lead a group no matter the size.
4. Be positive and confident: People take their cues from the leader. If you are upbeat, clear and confident, they will follow you with energy and excitement. If you lack confidence, they will too.
5. Criticism is fine: Most importantly, be able to take criticism. People don’t like leaders in ivory towers. We all make mistakes, and it is really important to be able to accept that and change the way we are occasionally to be a good leader.