At the start of the career, one normally begins the journey as an individual contributor. You are responsible for your contribution and you do not have a team to lead. Does it mean to say that there is no leadership involved? No. There is certainly leadership! There are certain characteristics that define young leaders. However, such leadership is not about leading others – it is more about leading oneself.

Before one matures to handle a team and provide leadership, it is important to master the art of leading oneself. If you do not know how to lead yourself, you will not gain respect and credibility in others eyes, which is fundamental for a leader to grow.

While there are many aspects involved in leading self, let me highlight five essentials that I found to be critical for young professionals to emerge as good leaders.

1.  Realize that ego derails you
2.  Choose the battles that you want to fight
3.  Choose your battle ground
4.  Arrest opinions and fixations
5.  Focus on value addition and results

Let us discuss about these five essentials in our coming blogs.

Article – “Five Essentials for Young Leaders”
By: Dr.Raj, 
Published in HR Mirror, Hans India.
Follow Dr.Raj on Twitter @drraj29