Samy Mahfar, the owner of SMA Equities based in NYC, shares some simple but important tips to improve and elevate your leadership style in the workplace.

1. Born To Run
What Natural Leaders
Know That You Do Not
Take Charge and
Make a Difference
Samy Mahfar
Owner of SMA Equities

2. Samy Mahfar
To be a leader is to be
willing to make the tough
decisions and stand by to
face any consequences
head-on. People will not
follow someone who
would sidestep or shrug
off responsibility.
Adversity refines and
strengthens a true leader,
which draws followers to
him or her in difficult
times. Learn to willingly
embrace challenges and
uncertainty.

3. Samy Mahfar
The true work of
leadership is
communication. This
includes the ability to
delegate and express
precisely your needs (or
the needs of your team),
as well as the listening
skills to fully comprehend
both what is and is not said
in a conversation. Good
communication connects
people and facilitates
more efficient and
successful productivity.

4. Samy Mahfar
A great leader never
entertains the impulse to
hog the credit. Instead,
the good of the group
always comes first. As a
result, he or she is more
than willing to give
sincere praise and
recognize everyone's
contribution to success.
They want every team
member to be (and feel)
successful, because that
is how they define their
own success.

5. Samy Mahfar
The best leaders are
always humble. The
position of authority, to
them, is not just a fancy
title or opportunity to bark
orders. Rather, it is a
chance to guide their
team to new places and
experiences new
successes. A leader
would never order
someone to do
something he or she
would not be willing to
do. They keep the big
picture in mind, but are
never too good to work.

6. Samy Mahfar
An excellent and accurate
sense of self is a critical
component of emotional
intelligence.
Self-awareness allows
great leaders to
understand their own
strengths and
weaknesses - as a result,
they are best informed on
how they can most
benefit the team.
Effective strategy
demands accurate
information, so good
leaders need to be able
to know themselves too.

7. Samy Mahfar
Everyone has heard the
rule somewhere - "treat
other people the way you
would like to be treated."
Leaders understand the
importance of not only
treating their team with
respect, but also of taking
the time to understand
their needs on an
individual level. They give
the personalized
leadership they would
like to receive.

8. Samy Mahfar
One of the leaders most
important - and automatic -
functions is to set the tone.
An awesome leader is
enthusiastic and
committed, because his or
her attitude is was sets the
standard for the rest of the
team to follow. Passion is
contagious, so if you
demand investment from
your followers, you need to
be willing to demonstrate
your own. Show everyone
you care, and you will find
they care much more too.

9. Samy Mahfar
Honesty is important in all
aspects of the workplace.
If you are sincere in
everything you contribute,
you team will accumulate
both trust and respect for
you. Never give anyone
following your orders
reason to doubt your or
your motives. Hesitancy
or unwillingness to
believe in leadership
creates opportunity for
inefficiencies and
breakdowns in
communication.

10. Samy Mahfar
Never try to blame
someone else. Much like
being brave in the face of
adversity, a leader also
needs to be willing to
shoulder the weight of his
or her decisions. Earn
your team's trust by
showing them you are
willing to face the music
and take responsibility
when appropriate. People
respect those who can
say or do something and
then stand confidently by
their actions.

11. Samy Mahfar
You need the vision to
understand clearly where
you are leading your
team, as well as a full
understanding why you
are bringing them there.
This "big picture" mindset
is what you can use to
keep people invested in
working for a goal larger
than themselves. Hold
tightly to your sense of
purpose so that you can
share and nurture it in
others working with you.