Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1327633
AACREDITUNION.ORG | 9 your peers and colleagues? Distinct good leaders teach lessons that will personally and professionally. Trait: Confidence. Great leaders exude confidence. People are reluctant to follow someone who seems unsure. Lesson: Believe in yourself and your abilities. Know that you and the skills you possess are valuable. Speak positively to and about yourself. Use nonverbal communication, such as making eye contact and standing tall, to convey self- assurance. When you appear confident, others are more likely to believe in you and follow your lead. Trait: Decisiveness. People with top-notch leadership skills are confident decision- makers. They understand that they must assess information, make a decision and follow it through. Spending too much time waffling between choices or, worse, not deciding at all, can negatively impact a company. Lesson: Strengthen your decision-making skills. Practice making more decisions, big and small. Take time to think things through but don't brood over your options or second-guess yourself. Sometimes your decisions won't be the best, but that's OK. Make accountability part of your decisiveness. Take responsibility for what happens and learn from any mistakes. "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right." — Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company "People respond well to those that are sure of what they want. What people hate most is indecision. Even if I'm completely unsure, I'll pretend I know exactly what I'm talking about and make a decision." — Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine