Thread by @paraschopra

1/ @wingify turned 8 yesterday.

Over these years, I’ve seen myself evolve from a silly little punk doing a side project to the Chairman position where I’m responsible for creating future leaders within Wingify.

Here's my advice on HOW TO BECOME A LEADER IN 10 HARD STEPS.

2/ 1. Everyone wants to progress, but only leaders are willing to sacrifice for it

We all know what’s good for us: exercising regularly, eating healthy food, quitting smoking, and meditating. Yet, how many of us have the willpower to follow through?

3/ Wanting and really wanting is two different things. Really wanting requires sacrificing short-term happiness for long-term success. We all fall into temptations decided by our today’s mood.

To be a leader is to sacrifice today for tomorrow.

4/ 2. Leaders look up, while non-leaders look sideways

When we’re young in our careers, it’s natural to bond with peers of similar age. And just like college mass bunks, it’s easy to huddle up with work friends and get into a comfort zone.

5/ As uncomfortable as it may sound, leadership requires going above and beyond. If your standards of work quality and effort are set by your peer group, you’ll progress slowly.

To be a leader is to always set your standards to what people much better than yourself have

6/ 3. Leaders select themselves in roles of leadership

It’s a myth that people are promoted to leadership positions. Leaders don’t wait for titles. They simply start behaving like leaders wherever they are and then the organization simply recognizes them with a title.

7/ If you’re doing whatever your manager asked you to do, you’re not leading but following. You’re a leader if you do whatever your manager asks PLUS your own initiatives that propel the company forward

Initiative involves risk but to lead is to take the risk of being wrong.

8/ 4. Leaders make themselves dependable and indispensable

Different people have different definitions of ‘work’. For most people, ‘work’ is activities they need to perform in order to make a salary. For leaders, ‘work’ is more personal as they put their soul into their work.

9/ For some mysterious reason, irrespective what project is given to them, I have never come across a leader who externalized the failure on someone else. Leaders never make excuses. I mean it: never.

10/ While others are ‘working’, leaders are ‘delivering’. The tenacity and stubbornness to deliver good results make them dependable. Because the organization knows they always deliver, they’re given more responsibilities and they get pulled into most important projects.

11/ 5. Discipline is a superpower and leaders know that

In India, where our culture is easy going, the surest way to stand out and be noticed is to be disciplined.

12/ To be disciplined is to always come on time, taking copious notes in discussions, delivering before deadlines, doing regular and consistent follow-ups, and most importantly, keeping your promises.

For young folks, being disciplined is the #1 predictor of their success.

13/ 6. Leaders are unpopular among their peers because they work hard, know more and deliver regularly

This is counter-intuitive but I’ve seen that leaders quickly become unpopular in their peer group because they’re just so much better at what they do.

14/ A group of non-leaders is like friends where they comfort each other.

A group of leaders is like a soccer club where they know that their lack of performance cannot be justified because some other (or even everyone else) on their team are not performing.

15/ 7. Leaders are intimidating because they’re masters of their craft

All great leaders are functional experts. You put them against a peer in the same function and they’ll know more both in depth and in breadth.

16/ This almost PhD-level mastery of their field requires long stretches of tinkering, reading, and thinking. And the interesting part is: nobody asks them to master their craft.

It’s easy for them to be good at what they do, but they want to become great at what they do.

17/ 8. Leaders lift the entire boat, and not just themselves

Leaders are independent but not individualistic.

Indiv. people hit a ceiling in their career because as they grow, they find their job transform from doing great work by themselves to helping others do great work

18/ To be a leader is not to be competitive. It’s to be great at what you do and proactively going around in the organization asking everyone ‘hey, how can I help you?‘

The selfish path to greatness is to help others become great.

19/ 9. Leaders are firm in their resolve but never shout

One of the hardest parts of becoming a leader is to learn how to be firm and direct, without being an asshole.

20/ It’s easy to tilt in either direction: you can be nice and accommodating but get pulled down by low standards. Or you can be rude and tell others how pathetic they’re are.

Neither of these is OK. What’s required is a fine balance where you’re direct but respectful.

21/ 10. Leadership is hard so it’s OK not to aim for leadership, but it’s not OK to whine

Leadership is glamorous as leaders get fat salaries, prestige, and juicy projects. But it’s also not meant for everyone. In fact, to summarize, leadership requires ALL of the attributes

22/ You miss an attribute and you toss away your chances at leadership. This means leadership requires deliberate effort over long stretches of time. It’s a process that never ends because there’s always a better leader out there who can do what you do better and faster.

23/ So choose leadership as a career choice ONLY if you’re willing to work for it. It’s okay to choose a comfortable career too, as long as it’s a deliberate choice.

What’s not OK is wanting to progress but not willing to sacrifice for that progress.

24/ Sorry, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

To get slim, you have to give up on ice cream. To have healthy lungs, you have to give up that puff. To progress, you have to give up on today’s comfort.

Are you ready for it?

25/ That's all! Full essay on my blog: invertedpassion.com/how-to-become-…

(I put all my tweetstorms on my blog, so subscribe for email updates there).

RT if you have friends or colleagues who aspire to be leaders and are willing to sacrifice for it.