Top 10 leadership qualities that make good leaders August 7, 2018

Top 10 leadership qualities that make good leaders

Good leaders exhibit courage, passion, confidence, commitment, and ambition as well as providing direction, inspiration, and guidance. Good leadership is about acquiring and honing skills. Leadership skills enable you to be a role model for a team in any environment. Great leaders come in all shapes and sizes: in the home, at school, or at the workplace.

Leading and managing have moved well beyond just commanding the troops to “get it done.” While there are a number of different leadership styles, the best leaders share some common traits.

Below is a list of ten leadership traits to get you thinking about your own leadership approach:

Share Their Vision

A leader with vision has a clear idea of where they want to go, how to get there and what success looks like. Be sure to articulate your vision clearly and passionately, ensuring your team understands how their individual efforts contribute to higher level goals. Personally working toward your vision with persistence, tenacity, and enthusiasm will inspire and encourage others to do the same.

Honesty

One of the qualities that define a good leader is honesty. When you are responsible for a team of people, it is important to be straightforward. Your company and its employees are a reflection of yourself, and if you make honest and ethical behaviour as a key value, your team will follow. So remember to lead by example.

Great communicational skills

Leaders must motivate, instruct and discipline the people they are in charge of. They can accomplish none of these things if they aren’t very skilled communicators. Not only that, poor communication can lead to poor outcomes. Leaders who fail to develop these skills are often perceived as being weak and mealy-mouthed, according to Wang. It’s also important to remember that listening is an integral part of communication.

Decision-Making Capabilities

Apart from having a futuristic vision, a leader should have the ability to take the right decision at the right time. Decisions taken by leaders have a profound impact on masses. A leader should think long and hard before taking a decision but once the decision is taken, stand by it. Although, most leaders take decisions on their own, but it is highly recommended that you consult key stakeholders before taking a decision. After all, they are the ones who will benefit or suffer from your decisions.

Recognize Success

Frequently and consistently recognizing achievement is one of the most powerful habits of inspiring leaders. For people to stretch themselves and contribute their best efforts, they need to know their work will be valued and appreciated. Find ways to celebrate the achievements of your people, even if it’s through a simple ‘well done.’ As well as boosting morale, it will also strengthen their motivation to continue giving their best.

Be Good at Dealing with Conflict

A cornerstone of working effectively with people is being very good at dealing with conflict. The reality is that conflict is going to happen. People think things should be done in different ways. No surprise. You should even expect it. The trick is not to have conflict be counterproductive. Learn how to successfully resolve conflict and harness the best ideas from your staff.

Have a Sense of Humor

It’s imperative for any kind of leader to have a sense of humor, particularly when things go wrong. And they will. Your team members are going to be looking to you for how to react in a seemingly dire situation. It would probably be best if you weren’t stringing up a noose for yourself in the corner. You need to be able to laugh things off, because if staff morale goes down, so will productivity. Establish this environment prior to any kind of meltdown by encouraging humor and personal discussions in the work place.

Delegate

Regardless of the situation and position you are in, always remember that you can’t do everything on your own. Good leaders recognise that delegation does more than simply passing the task to someone else. It is trusting and believing that your employees are able to handle the task given to them. Delegating to others shows that you have confidence in their abilities, and this can result in a positive morale in the workplace.

Your employees want to feel appreciated and trusted. So by giving them a task, they would generally feel honoured that they got selected and they would feel the importance of having them around.

Empowerment

A good leader has faith in their ability to train and develop the employees under them. Because of this, they have the willingness to empower those they lead to act autonomously. Wang says this comes from trusting that their team members are fully up to any challenges they face. When employees are empowered, they are more likely to make decisions that are in the best interest of the company and the customer as well. This is true, even if it means allowing workers to go a bit off script.

Motivate and Inspire

The best leaders drive their team forward with passion, enthusiasm, inspiration and motivation. Invest time in the people you lead to determine their strengths, needs, and priorities. As well as making them feel valuable, this will help you to understand the best way to motivate them. Continually reinforce how their efforts are making a difference, and encourage the development of their potential with meaningful goals and challenges.

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