1 – Leadership starts with discipline. You can do as Admiral McRaven says and start by making your bed. If you are present and pay attention you will quickly find that discipline has many benefits. The discipline of keeping your word and delivering your work product on time will see you move forward.
2 – Leadership takes being a good follower. Before you can lead you must demonstrate you can follow. Be the best you can be at the task(s) you are given. Interact with the other team members, take in their experience and determine how it can help you.
3 – Leadership requires continuous learning. It does not matter where you are on the spectrum, individual contributor, team member, manager, or leader. Continuous learning is required to move forward. Classes, books, video, other team members are all viable options. One great way to accelerate your path to become a leader is to find a mentor in your line of business. He/She does not have to work in the same organization, but an aligned company makes sense for obvious reasons.
4 – Leadership demands ownership. If you have not read Extreme Ownership do so as soon as possible. The title might turn you off, but there are real lessons inside you can apply to many work or life situations. To be an effective leader you need to own the tasks and people you are leading. Taking responsibility to ensure tasks are completed on time and at a high level of professionalism is key. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your teammates is key as is being aware of where they are on their individual journeys.
5 – Leadership is best combined with a servant mentality. Will Kenton says - Servant leadership is a leadership style and philosophy whereby an individual interacts with others—either in a management or fellow employee capacity—to achieve authority rather than power.
This leadership style requires an individual to demonstrate characteristics such as empathy, listening, stewardship, and commitment to the personal growth of others.
Servant leadership is not suitable for all situations. A military commander must assume complete authority in order to make swift life and death decisions.
Two leadership books I recommend are: