To gain insights into the essential leadership qualities for success, we asked thirteen CEOs and Founders to share their experiences and wisdom. From cultivating emotional intelligence through mindfulness to learning and active listening for effective communication, these leaders share their journey of developing these vital qualities.
- Emotional Intelligence: Cultivating Through Mindfulness
- Empathy: The Key to Leadership Success
- Charisma: Developed Through Diverse Experiences
- High Standards: Set for Excellence
- Silence: Fostering Team Independence
- Self-Confidence: Building Through Experience
- Self-Reflection: Mastering Leadership
- Accountability: Ownership of Decisions and Projects
- Versatility: Understanding All Business Levels
- Trust: Faith in Organization’s Processes
- Authenticity: A Journey of Self-Awareness
- Resilience: Overcoming Adversity with Optimism
- Effective Communication: Learning and Active Listening
Emotional Intelligence: Cultivating Through Mindfulness
In my experience, emotional intelligence (EQ) is a key leadership quality that strongly influences success. The ability to understand and manage not only my own emotions, but also those of others, brings a more understanding, respectful, and productive leadership style. It allows me to build deeper relationships, make informed decisions, and inspire my team more effectively.
As a life coach, I’ve developed my EQ by continuously practicing mindfulness and empathetic listening. I consciously engage with my own feelings and those of my clients, recognizing that these emotions provide valuable insight into our perspectives and actions.
Bayu Prihandito, Psychology Expert, Life Coach, Founder, Life Architekture
Empathy: The Key to Leadership Success
The magical elixir of leadership success—”The Empathy Elixir!”
Picture this: To brew this potent potion, I immersed myself in the art of truly understanding and relating to my team. Real-life example? When the pandemic struck, I donned my empathy cape and listened to my employees’ fears, hopes, and challenges.
The result? Trust blossomed, and our remote productivity soared by 25%, as my team felt supported and valued. Data speaks volumes! Our employee satisfaction scores skyrocketed like a rocket to the moon, reaching an all-time high of 90%.
So, how did I cultivate “The Empathy Elixir?” I practiced active listening, walked in their shoes, and sprinkled kindness like confetti. Embrace empathy! It’s the not-so-secret ingredient to unlocking the door to leadership success!
Himanshu Sharma, CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing
Charisma: Developed Through Diverse Experiences
You should continually invest in your personal growth, particularly in your soft skills, as a way to develop charisma. These skills enhance your emotional intelligence, enabling you to connect better with people.
For instance, I nurtured my charisma through an unconventional method—by leading a cover band, Y’all Out Boy. Being in the spotlight helped me understand how to command attention, engage an audience, and deliver memorable experiences. This experience, although unrelated to my primary profession, played a significant role in sharpening my charisma.
So, make sure to explore diverse avenues, even outside your main career path. Not only will it make you a more rounded individual, but it will also enhance your charisma—a vital ingredient for successful leadership.
David Kemmerer, Co-Founder and CEO, CoinLedger
High Standards: Set for Excellence
The leadership quality I value most is setting high standards. It’s crucial to success, as it pushes everyone to deliver their best work. In the book Amp It Up, it’s highlighted as the first step in the leadership process.
Running Steambase—an online game analytics platform—has meant insisting on top-tier quality in coding and user experience. This is developed by always asking more from oneself. When satisfied with work, the question arises, “Can it be made even better?” It’s a constant process of challenging oneself and raising the bar. It’s not easy, but it’s this relentless pursuit of excellence that sets successful leaders apart. This has been observed in the growth with Steambase.
Lucas Wyland, Founder, Steambase
Silence: Fostering Team Independence
One leadership quality I find important is “silence.” At the start of my leadership journey, when I gave a task to my team, I often tried to solve the problem for them.
Now, I do things a little differently. I present the issue and wait for someone in the meeting to pick up the topic. The silence can sometimes feel uncomfortable, but it pushes people to think and learn how to be independent.
It’s a valuable skill to develop, not just for the task at hand, but for their overall growth as professionals. This approach has helped me to develop my patience, and also to foster an environment of growth and independence for my team.
Martin Potocki, CEO, Jobera
Self-Confidence: Building Through Experience
The absolute most important leadership quality is self-confidence. You have to believe wholeheartedly that you are the most qualified person in the world who does what you do. The only way to develop this belief is to continually learn and develop your skills in your specialty.
For instance, working for a company that had some of the best presentation-skills coaches in the world provided the opportunity to soak up every tip they could give, so the learning curve was much shorter than any of theirs. But each of them trained only 40 people every six months.
Going out on your own, being the only coach in the entire company, can lead to gaining more experience in those first couple of years than any of the world-class trainers studied under had developed in the last decade. Working with thousands of students can boost confidence, knowing that you have done what none of them had done.
Be willing to do what others who do what you do won’t.
Doug Staneart, CEO, The Leaders Institute
Self-Reflection: Mastering Leadership
There are a million courses and training programs out there to make people better leaders, and they are great! Whether it’s a Leadership 101 course, an Inclusive Leadership training, or a “How to Hire Better” self-help book, they all have their place.
I’ve bought the courses, attended the webinars, and read the books myself. However, what I’ve found is the hardest leadership skill to master isn’t inside the next trending business book. It’s about stopping and taking all the expert advice I’ve picked up from other leaders and trying to implement it.
It is the act of not doing. It means not scrolling to the next inspirational quote. And it’s not adding another book to my Amazon cart. Self-reflection has been the most impactful leadership skill that I’ve picked up; by putting everything else down.
Ashley Kelly, CEO and Co-Founder, CultureAlly
Accountability: Ownership of Decisions and Projects
One leadership quality that is important for success is accountability. This means taking ownership of projects and decisions, whether those fall within your assigned responsibilities. I have developed this quality by providing my team members with the resources they need to succeed, including asking them what those resources are and following up with stakeholders to make sure they receive them.
To illustrate, during a project where I was leading the development of an interactive website, I proactively reached out to our vendor and requested additional modules that our team members needed—which was outside of the original scope of work—in order to ensure a successful launch.
Tasia Duske, CEO, Museum Hack
Versatility: Understanding All Business Levels
Being a leader means being able to connect with everyone in your organization on their level. A leader should be able to speak just as comfortably to someone in their senior leadership team as to a frontline worker. This means being flexible and versatile—you need to understand your business inside and out, and understand the pressures that each level of your organization is experiencing.
As I started my business with a team of one, myself, I got a unique view into this as we built the company from the ground up. Having done each of the professions that make up my business, to one extent or another, helped me build this versatility.
Dragos Badea, CEO, Yarooms
Trust: Faith in Organization’s Processes
When it boils down to it, micromanagement is an issue of trust.
When leaders simply don’t trust their employees, they invalidate their autonomy and control their every move. This never works well and reduces the team’s performance while dramatically increasing the risk of employee attrition.
As a leader, you need to trust your people, but more importantly, you need to trust the process. For example, if you don’t trust your people to perform, is this because you don’t trust your HR team’s hiring processes? Do you distrust the training your staff have received? Do you distrust the performance management strategy in place?
Once you have faith in your organization’s processes, trusting employees with their autonomy becomes second nature, and this can only be developed through time and patience. Over time, as you let go of the reins, you will see performance continue or improve, providing much-needed reassurance.
Oliver Savill, CEO and Founder, AssessmentDay
Authenticity: A Journey of Self-Awareness
Being true to oneself is a pivotal leadership quality that can shape the journey towards success. As leaders, we have the responsibility of guiding our teams and influencing our organizations, and authenticity is crucial in that process.
But how did I cultivate this quality? The answer is short: self-awareness. By investing time in understanding my strengths, acknowledging my weaknesses, and aligning my actions with my values, I could hone my authenticity.
Embracing authenticity is not a one-time task; it’s a continuous journey of introspection and growth. It involves being open to feedback, willing to admit mistakes, and constantly evolving in response to experiences. By doing this, we can foster a culture of trust and respect, essential in any successful organization.
Rafael Sarim Özdemir, Founder and CEO, Zendog Labs
Resilience: Overcoming Adversity with Optimism
As an entrepreneur, you will inevitably face obstacles and setbacks. Resilience is the capacity to overcome adversity, learn from setbacks, and continue moving forward with resolve.
To cultivate resilience, I have adopted a growth perspective, viewing obstacles as learning and development opportunities. I encourage my team to adopt a similar attitude and assist them in overcoming obstacles. Regularly re-evaluating and modifying our strategies has been essential to adapting to shifting market conditions and remaining competitive.
Moreover, fostering a positive and supportive work environment increases the team’s resilience. By celebrating minor victories and recognizing efforts, we maintain motivation and zeal during difficult times.
Being a resilient leader has allowed me to navigate uncertainty, make courageous decisions, and lead the organization with purpose and optimism. It has played a crucial role in our team’s voyage to success.
Murat Yashar, Director, House of Worktops
Effective Communication: Learning and Active Listening
One important leadership quality for success is effective communication. This skill can be developed through continuous learning and practice. Actively seeking feedback, both from superiors and team members, can improve communication style. Participation in workshops and courses on communication and public speaking is also beneficial.
Additionally, making an effort to listen actively and empathetically ensures understanding of others’ perspectives. By being an open and transparent communicator, a collaborative and productive work environment is fostered, leading to better outcomes and team cohesion.
Aviad Faruz, CEO, Know Mastery