Here's Why You Should Steal Someone Else's Leadership Style To become the best leader you can be, you must start by being a version of the leaders you most admire.

Q: People often talk about what kind of leader they are — but as a first-time founder, I don't really know. How do I figure that out? – Liza, Oklahoma City, OK

You shouldn't copy most things — like product ideas, marketing copy, or someone else's homework. But you can copy leadership techniques.

There's no shame in this! Most great leaders credit the lessons of those who came before them. I've built six companies (and currently manage four), and most of my best leadership qualities were borrowed.

But here's the thing: Your job isn't to just blindly follow someone else. Instead, it's to assess what they did — how and why they took that approach — and then determine if those methods fit your personality and the culture you want to create. To get you started, here are three ideas to steal from leaders I've admired:

1. Celebrate everyone.

Frank Blake, the former CEO of The Home Depot, is a big believer that "you get what you celebrate." There are many ways to practice this philosophy, but one is how Frank applied it to caring for his team. Every Sunday, Frank sat down and composed handwritten notes to his employees, including those who worked the floor at different stores. He estimates he sent approximately 25,000 notes.

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Frank knew how to make people feel appreciated, and that pays off in employee happiness and productivity. I don't write handwritten notes to my team, but I do quarterly check-ins, surprise bonuses, and public shout-outs (in front of the team and, more importantly, clients).

Above all, when things don't go as planned for an employee, I make sure to remind them of other wins and great work they've accomplished. Even your best employees will have hard days or weeks, and when that happens, celebrating their work reminds them that they don't have to be perfect. This tends to create an environment where there's more happiness, creativity, and quality work.

2. Find the 'easy' button.

I was Tim Ferriss' chief of marketing for nearly five years. From podcasts to books, TV shows to email and social media, Tim constantly asked me, "What would this look like if it were easy?"

This simple question is incredibly complex to solve, and that's what makes it so powerful. He's essentially asking: If this project was easy right now, what systems or processes would we have built to make it so easy? Now let's do that.

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Leaders often get caught up in the race, making quick decisions in order to move fast. In reality, deliberating over important choices often helps you progress faster once the decision is made. Whenever we make big decisions at my companies, I ask the employees working on the project, "Does this make sense?" and "Can we make this easier and more effective?" We tend to believe complicated answers lead to better results, but exploring the "easy button" approach forces you to analyze problems differently, and that's when breakthroughs are made.

3. Stick to the main thing.

You might not consider him an entrepreneur, but LeBron James is a boss. And he has a philosophy: "Keep the main thing, the main thing."

I heard this a lot as a founding member of Ladder, LeBron's supplement company. LeBron knew that playing dazzling basketball was the key to his business success, because excelling on the court opened up opportunities. So that was his main thing, and he never let anyone interrupt it. He wanted everyone else to ask: What's their main thing?

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When you lead a company, you think you need to do everything. But this isn't true. You'll just fill up your schedule with a lot of work that isn't the best use of your abilities. Instead, play to your strengths. Dominate where you can, double down where you have a competitive advantage, and have others do the rest.

Does any of this sound appealing to you? Copy it!