How can I gain the confidence to be an effective leader? originally appeared on Quora– the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Ellan Vrana, author of EllenVrana.com, on Quora:

  1. Don’t expect to be Jack Welch or Steve Jobs immediately. Give yourself time. Try to be an effective leader 6 months from now. Set up goals to get there, allow yourself to fail and learn. Then, in 6 months, set more goals.
  2. Remember, most people like to be led. Well, not in business school — there everyone wants to lead because they think if they don’t lead every single minute, everyone else will wonder how they ever got admitted. But most people love having someone else tell them what to do, as it frees them up to think about other important things.
  3. Organize, organize, organize. As a lower-level leader (which I’m guessing is where you’re starting) you will be expected to know simple, boring things like progress, scheduling, managing tasks, assigning tasks, and setting up feedback. Organize yourself first, and then organize the team.
  4. Own the process. If you don’t do this, no one will. And it’s an easy way to get respect. Know who people are, make sure meetings run on time, make sure everyone has jobs, design products that help the team work (set up Google docs, etc.). This can seem like meaningless work, but it allows you to control something, which will give you confidence.

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