Why It Took Me Years To ‘’Get’’ Leadership By Nina Sunday
If you ever found yourself leading a team for the first time and thought, ‘’What on earth do I do now?’’, welcome to the club. The first thing they don’t tell you? Leadership isn’t about barking orders. It’s also not about looking busy, spouting jargon, or pretending you know what’s going on when you don’t. It’s about managing yourself first - your attitude, your ego, your ability to handle stress without turning into a dictator or a doormat. Let’s start with rookie mistakes. Every new manager makes them. Even seasoned pros still step in it now and then. The first and biggest? Thinking you have to be the expert on everything. You don’t. You won’t be. And the more you pretend you do, the faster your credibility tanks.
Real leaders ask questions. They admit when they don’t know. They surround themselves with people who do know, then get out of their way. Then there’s the ‘friend-to-boss’ dilemma. One day, you’re grabbing a wine with your coworkers, complaining about the boss; next day, you are the boss. Awkward! If you think you can stay ‘one of the gang,’ think again. They’re watching you now - how you handle pressure, how you react when things go south, whether you play favorites. You don’t have to be a tyrant, but you do need to set a line. Clear. Firm. Nothing passive-aggressive.
And let’s talk about meetings. If not handled well, it can be the graveyard of productivity. If your calendar is packed with pointless meetings, congratulations - you’ve officially become part of the problem. Meetings should be short, sharp, and with a purpose. If people walk out thinking, ‘’That could have been an email’’, you failed. This isn’t about playing boss. It’s about leading. Keeping your team engaged, getting results without turning into a micromanaging control freak, and - let’s be honest - making sure you maintain your sanity in the process. The road to being a great leader is paved with trial, error, and the occasional disaster. But if you manage yourself first? You’re already ahead of the curve.
A Hard Lesson In Leadership, Why It Took Me Years To Get It I wasn’t always a leader. In fact, I wasn’t even trying to be one. Before I built a seven-figure business, before I hired a single person, I was just another cog in the corporate machine - showing up, doing my job, and waiting for someone, anyone, to notice that maybe I had more to offer.
But no one did.
Back then, leadership wasn’t something people talked about. You weren’t mentored, guided, or even nudged toward growth. You were hired to do a job, and that was it. No one cared about my career progression, my potential, or whether I could be something more. When the reality set in - that I wasn’t going to climb any corporate ladder -
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