Douglas E . Luffborough , IIIHeart Inspired Speaker - Leadership Consultant - Author 5 Keys To Effective LeadershipCommentsShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Google PlusShare on TwitterI know , I know - another piece on effective leadership ? ! The truth of the matter is that everything rises and falls on leadership - so , the more we can discover , the better . More importantly , being an effective leader who listens more than speaks , gets things done without demanding requests , and has both the fortitude to keenly see the forest and the trees is ( and always will be ) in high demand throughout any sector . Taking personal responsibility for growing your leadership style and ability requires understanding 5 keys to effective leadership . I call it the P . O . W . E . R of Leadership ! We all have power but often we don ' t use it effectively or when we do , we use it in the wrong way . The P . O . W . E . R of Leadership is about taking personal responsibility for growing yourself first as a leader in order to grow others and your business . Start by exercising your P . O . W . E . R . of Leadership ! 1 . P - Purpose Driven - I ' m sure you have heard this : " If you don ' t know which way to go , any road can take you there ! " It all starts with knowing and understanding your purpose in life . What do you want to do ? Where are you trying to go ? Start by setting personal and professional goals and holding yourself really accountable . .. insanely accountable . When I was young I wrote three goals that I wanted to achieve more than anything on an index card . I kept that index card in my wallet as a daily reminder of where I was going and the goals I wished to achieve . Over 35 years later , I still have an index card in my wallet with new goals that I am 100 % committed to making happen . 2 . O - Opportunity Chaser - Every day , opportunities come your way to reach your goals but the challenge is that many people don ' t see the opportunity within their problems and life challenges they face . Think about how you can turn a disadvantage into an advantage . How can you use past pain in your life to now liberate yourself and others ? What opportunities have come into your life that you brushed off as another task or just another thing to do without recognizing that the task was really a set up for a dream deferred . The key here is perspective and realizing that opportunity is there for the taking for those who see it ! When opportunity knocks . .. open the door ! 3 . W - Willingness to Go Solo - " You can ' t soar like an eagle when you hang out with turkeys . " I have met so many talented people with great ambitions and the only thing holding them back is their " friends " - those they associate with . Show me who you hang around with and I can show you how far you will go in life . Hang around people who lift you up and don ' t bring you down . Hang around the right people who make you feel good about who you are and the gifts you bring into the world . Hang around people who pat you on the back rather than stab you in the back . Hang around people who celebrate you and not just tolerate you . In order to go to the places you have been destined to go , you have to be willing to do things that other people just won ' t do . And do it over and over and over again , until what you do becomes who you are and who you are becomes what you do ! Don ' t be afraid to go solo and leave some friends and family members behind . It is your life , your dream , your destiny . Make it happen even if you are standing all by yourself . 4 . E - Enthusiastic Spirit - Have you ever seen someone walk into a room and people naturally gravitate towards that person . Be someone people want to be around because of your enthusiastic spirit towards life . This type of person sees life with the glass half full and always has a positive outlook on life regardless of their current situation . They are relentlessly positive in all they do and the way they see things . The saying is true " that your attitude determines your altitude " in life and no one enjoys hanging out with a negative person , a whiner or a complainer . Those type of people are kill - joys to positivity but someone with an enthusiastic spirit brings light into any room . They can make even the hardest conversations comfortable . My philosophy is that when I leave a room I want people feeling better about who they are and on fire to achieving their dreams than when they walked into the room . 5 . R - Relationship Builder - one of my mentors once told me that the greatest deals in America are made on the golf course ! Mainly because only a certain type of people play golf and you have two to four hours of uninterrupted time to build relationships with those you are playing with almost instantly . You never know who you may meet , the reasons why you met , and how you may meet them again in the future . I don ' t believe that you meet people by happenstance , but , rather because for one reason or another their destiny is tied to yours and vice versa . .. even for just a season . Building solid , strong , and trustful relationships is key to your success . What qualifies me to say this is the fact that I have messed up many relationships on my journey to figuring out how to do it right . What you know gets you in the door , but , who you know keeps you there ! What relationships in your life need to be restored ? What relationships in your life need to be further developed ? President Theodore Roosevelt once said that " People don ' t care how much you know , until they know how much you care ! " Start off 2015 with deciding to use your P . O . W . E . R . of Leadership in all areas of your life . Of the 5 keys above which one ( s ) do you do well ? Which one ( s ) do you need to work on ? Take action today by practicing your P . O . W . E . R . of Leadershipon a daily basis . For over 15 years I have used the keys above to grow myself as a leader and take those I have managed to the next level .