What qualities does a good leader show?
A good leader has a futuristic vision and knows how to turn his ideas into real-world success stories. When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward. With great leadership qualities, successful leaders come in all shapes and sizes: in the home, at school, or at the workplace.
To become a great leader, you must have all these given qualities but if you lack some of these qualities, then you might struggle to make the mark in the world of leadership. You will have to set a good example for others to follow.
If you want to become a better leader, learn about these 10 leadership qualities revealed by some of the best leaders and work to improve. In this article, we take an in-depth look at some of the important leadership qualities that separate good leaders from a bad one. Good luck!!
Table of Contents
Honesty and Integrity
Honesty and integrity are two important ingredients which make a good leader. How can you expect your followers to be honest when you lack these qualities yourself? Leaders succeed when they stick to their values and core beliefs and without ethics, this will not be possible. The 34th President of the United States, Dwight.D.Eisenhower once said, “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
Confidence
Trying to teach leadership without first building confidence is like building a house on a foundation of sand. To be an effective leader, you should be confident enough to ensure that other follow your commands. If you are unsure about your own decisions and qualities, then your subordinates will never follow you. Confident leaders have a vision as to where they want to go and reach accomplishments. They have a clear idea and accordingly strategize plans for the team. “A person who is quietly confident makes the best leader.” Fred Wilson
Inspire Others
Great leaders are motivational and inspirational. Probably the most difficult job for a leader is to persuade others to follow. It can only be possible if you inspire your followers by setting a good example. Inspirational Leadership is about energizing and creating a sense of direction and purpose for employees and excitement and momentum for change. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell
https://youtu.be/qb9Mc9vqcFg
Commitment and Passion
Commitment is the ability to stay focused on what will make you successful and passion is an essential quality that you need to be a successful leader of people. In a nutshell, passionate leaders lead with heart and soul. They are fully engaged and committed to achieving their goals while helping others to achieve theirs. When you are in the presence of a passionate leader, your sensory system is stimulated and your emotions are stirred as you pick up their positive, contagious energy. “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” John Maxwell
Good Communicator
A good communicator can be a good leader. Good communication skills and decision-making capabilities also play a vital role in the success and failure of a leader. Whether you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or a teenage entrepreneur just starting out, communication skills are vitally important. Simply put, if you are unable to communicate your message effectively to your team, you can never be a good leader. “As a leader your every action has a consequence, make sure it is one you intend.” Kathrine Bryant
Decision-Making Capabilities
“Leadership is action, not position.” Donald H. McGannon. Having a great idea and assembling a team to bring that concept to life is the first step in creating a successful business venture. Decision making is a key skill in the workplace and is particularly important if you want to be an effective leader. Whether you’re deciding which person to hire, which supplier to use, or which strategy to pursue, the ability to make a good decision with available information is vital. Great leaders understand how to balance emotion with reason and make decisions that positively impact themselves, their employees, their customers and stakeholders, and their organizations. “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” Ray Kroc
Accountability
In leadership, accountability is the acknowledged responsibility for actions, products, judgments, and policies. When it comes to accountability, you need to follow the approach highlighted by Arnold H Glasow when he said, “A good leader takes little more than his share of the blame and little less than his share of the credit.” However, personal accountability is a critical step towards improving leadership. When people are accountable for their own decisions, work, and results, the effectiveness of an organization can greatly increase.
Delegation and Empowerment
Want to have a greater impact in the world? Delegation and empowerment are two of the core skills needed to be a successful leader. Although both used for the same purpose of employee management, they have some differences. Both of these techniques are adopted by managers when they are assigning workload within their team or department. Decision making is a key distinction between delegation and empowerment. Empowerment means enabling front-line employees to make decisions that were once reserved for managers. Delegation is a division of labor, where managers assign specific duties and responsibilities to an individual.
Creativity and Innovation
Innovation and creative thinking, as well as the futuristic vision, are a couple of key traits which make a leader stand out. Creativity is the most important leadership quality. Creative leaders continually meet new challenges and recognize and pursue new opportunities through bold thinking and innovations. Innovative leaders are creative visionaries who have big ideas and, most importantly, can motivate people around them to turn those ideas into reality. Creativity and innovation are a core competency for leaders and managers.
Empathy
Empathy means: “putting yourself in the other person’s shoes” or “seeing things through someone else’s eyes.” Empathy is an underutilized skill in leadership. It is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experience of others. Empathy is an important part of leadership. It is more than simple sympathy, which is being able to understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity. Empathic leadership is the ability of leaders to understand, relate to and be sensitive to customers, colleagues, and communities.
