Being a leader is not an easy job as it requires years of practice along with adequate skills, patience, commitment, and dedication. Effective leadership can take an organization way ahead in no time. Good leaders inspire success, promote productivity and employee loyalty.
For a person to be a great leader, they must have certain skills under their belt to deal with the dynamic business world. To become a leader, one has to be vigilant, committed, and true to their responsibilities. A leader has to have the bigger picture in mind so they can lead the teams and motivate them to achieve their goals.
Although each organization and situation require a different type of leadership; a few characteristics must be present in every leader:
- Being Self-Aware
A true leader should be self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses; they must also actively work towards improving their shortcomings. Having a habit of self-reflection is one of the most common habits of true leaders where they self-evaluate themselves to focus on their personal growth. Each person has their own unique strengths as well as weaknesses. Only when you recognize your weaknesses, can you work towards improvement. Sometimes people in authority deny accepting their flaws and mistakes they possess and cover-up for their weakness. If the leader is in denial of their shortcomings, the organization, and its employees suffer.
- Having A Clear Vision
The leader is the captain of the ship; if a leader lacks the clarity of vision, the ship will sink. Therefore, a business leader should have a clear vision, so he is aware of his end goal, how to achieve the goal, how to motivate his team, and collectively work towards a shared vision.
Whether you are a CEO at a corporate organization or a manager at a startup, it is important for you to provide vision to your subordinates.
The prime responsibility of a leader is to develop goals and develop a shared vision for an organization. A true leader understands that without direction, a company cannot move anywhere. The team must know where the company is headed to work towards achieving that goal. Having a clear vision helps the leader focus on the bigger picture and motivate the teams at each step by recognizing the efforts.
- Fairness
A leader needs to be true and fair to what he does. Treating everyone equally and free from bias is the core principle of a true leader. Teambuilding is important for the success of any organization, and it is possible only if the leader is true to his team. As a leader, it is impossible to look at every conflict and issue subjectively, which is why the need to develop rules and regulations is important and can ensure fairness to all. Having rules and principles can help a leader form a fair and just system across the organization.
Many small organizations don’t have stated conflict resolution rules, which often results in miscommunication, misunderstandings, and resentments towards the organization. These negative sentiments affect productivity. For instance, a coaxial cable manufacturer found that workplace conflicts decrease their performance by 5%. Therefore, a leader must develop stated rules to solve issues objectively.
- Strong Communication
A leader needs to possess strong communication skills to get his word across. If you are unable to communicate with your teams and co-workers, most likely they will stay clueless about the vision. Strong communication is a must for a leader as it is not only about listening and responding, rather than carefully addressing every aspect. As a leader, one must face a lot of unanticipated situations and questions from the team, which is why communication skills are integral. You must see it yourself; leaders with strong communication skills inspire confidence and motivate employees.
- Decision Maker
A leader must have a good decision-making skill as when you are in a leadership position, you have to make a lot of decisions, and mostly those decisions would determine the next course of events. As a true leader, you must be aware of how to make decisions quickly while keeping in mind the pros and cons of the decisions. You have to make a critical decision in a limited time, which is why you need to be aware of the results. Keeping your attention on the bigger picture can ease your decision-making ability.
- Creative
True leaders always encourage employees to think out of the box, which is why a leader must possess the attributes of creativity and must encourage innovation. The ability to come up with new ideas can help your organization grow, which is why a true leader should encourage new ideas from the employees. For any business to grow, innovation and inclusion of new ideas are essential and a true leader always welcomes new ideas and suggestions by his team. Having a creative team can help in an organization’s success.
- Motivational
Motivation is the key to employee productivity, and productivity leads to organizational success. Therefore, a leader must have the ability to motivate employees so they perform their best work. If the leader motivates their team, it gives the employees a push, which is vital for the success of any organization. If you are enthusiastic about achieving your goals, your team would be encouraged to work even harder as no individual is ready to put his blood and sweat into a less enthusiastic organization. The leader, therefore, inspires teamwork and motivates each individual and acknowledge their efforts.
- Inspirational
A true leader is the one who inspires others to do better and lead by example. Leading your team with inspiration, passion, and enthusiasm can help you reach your goals and yield the best possible results. According to IBM’s survey in which they surveyed 1700 CEOs, one of the three most important attributes of a true leader is to be able to inspire others. When you inspire your team, their productivity increases, and they are willing to perform better. By acknowledging the efforts of your employees and building a relationship of trust with your subordinates, you can develop a strong bond that is essential for your organization’s success.
Author Bio:
Arslan Hassan is an electrical engineer with a passion for writing, designing, and anything tech-related. His educational background in the technical field has given him the edge to write on many topics. He occasionally writes blog articles for Shireen Inc.