Leaders are the people who lead the way by example. John C Maxwell said, “A leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Besides, good leaders can differentiate between the use of power and abuse of power. No doubt, it is easy to exercise an adverse and extreme leadership style instead of leading in a positive principled way, but great leaders can lead without always relying on fear as a motivation for others. So how do you tap into the right places and make things work in your favor? To make it happen, we have identified four leadership personality attributes. These are summarized as:
- INFLUENCING POWER drives the behavior of the subject and assists the leader in getting the desired results. By exerting influencing power, the subject is expecting to mold the situations and decisions in that person’s favor.
- COMMUNICATION SKILLS can be divided into three main sub-categories, i.e., verbal, nonverbal, and written skills. With an amalgamation, one delivers the message to the followers most effectively. Apart from verbal skills, a warm and inviting personality can add positivity to the whole conversation.
- AGILITY helps leaders in making quick actions under a rapidly changing environment. Agile leaders emanate confidence and persuade subordinates to follow their path.
- SELF-AWARENESS is the most essential among all other features. Why? Because it describes the strengths and weaknesses of a person. A self-aware leader can better understand his or her capacity, that further makes the decision-making procedure more transparent.
Apart from these features, many other leadership qualities have been observed and adopted throughout the history of humanity. Some leaders have played negative roles, but their characteristics and personality attributes cannot be ignored. Because in both cases, the goal is to achieve a set target. Fortunately, we have the chance to analyze the history and learn the way to develop the respected and admirable figures.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A GOOD LEADER GREAT?
Several personal characteristics add to the development of a great leader. Learning how to use the characteristics you possess, or developing new ones, your leadership capabilities can be done through online leadership courses. If you want to sharpen your leadership skills, then consider giving these skills a chance and try to incorporate them into your lifestyle. The following are some of the qualities a good leader should have.
- IDEOLOGY:
Without a vision or an ideology, an individual is just like an empty cup. It only looks great to the eye, but, in reality, it doesn’t serve the purpose. On the other hand, having a well-established ideology means you are guided by specific motifs and can differentiate between right and wrong.
- BRAVERY:
Bravery has often been associated with superheroes, but in reality, there are no such creatures like Superman or Batman, what we do have are leaders. A leader is required to address the problem no matter at what capacity he or she is working because being brave and courageous means that you have the guts to say no to unsatisfactory and non-profitable offers. You’re ready to take the risk whenever it is required. Also, a leader needs to make a compromise with the fact that he or she will not achieve success every time, there is no certainty in any matter, and that is a risk they have to accept.
- INTEGRITY:
Integrity, honesty, truthfulness are the essential characteristics of one good leader. It demonstrates consistency in values, principles, actions, methods, and work. Despite the hard times, it makes the leader commit to doing the right thing for the right reasons. Eventually, it helps build a level of trust among industry peers and in society.
- MODESTY:
How does modesty help you become a great leader? Larry Bossidy explains that “The more you contain your ego, the more realistic you are about your problems.” It allows you to accept and embrace your weaknesses and mistakes. You become more open to constructive criticism and allow yourself to learn from others.
Modesty or humility contain your ego and make you ready to see your true worth. It is crucial to self-development and productivity as people only learn when they can acknowledge their shortcomings and are prepared to learn.
Humility does not mean that you need to have self-pity. But it comprehends that you are confident and aware of the weaknesses. However, very few people manage to contain their ego to a healthy level. It means they accept their faults and are ready to take suggestions from their peers and people under them.
- STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP:
Strategic planning enables leaders to understand the coming shockwaves beforehand. It is a preventive measure that offers a defensive mechanism to deal with sudden accidental situations. Leaders are required to have excellent analytical skills and strategic planning because leaders with an understanding and ability to foresee can take advantage of initial bidding. This trait is significant, especially in today’s world of over-competitiveness, where a small mistake can make you lose a whole fortune.
- FOCUS:
In a bid to achieve success, keep remembering the pleasure of victory and the agony of failure. Just like the great leaders who always remain focused on the result, achievements, and success of their followers, employees, and subordinates. They make sure to look at the bigger picture, achieve more stringent goals, and are likely to compromise on the smaller ones. Briefly, your ability to streamline the operations and bringing everyone on the same table explains how focused you are.
- COMPANIONSHIP
The 80/20 rule suggests that “twenty percent of people are responsible for delivering eighty percent of the work.” As a leader, your job is to select the right people who can be added to this 20%. However, avoid taking a solo decision regarding all the matters because being a leader does not authorize imposing unpopular choices on others. It does, however, make the leader responsible for bringing all workers together and ensuring they cooperate.
SUMMARY:
A study shows that only 10% of the human population is future-oriented. It means that the remaining 90% take future risks for granted and remain unprepared. On the other hand, a good leader always thinks big and stays prepared for both risks and opportunities. If you want to feel like a leader, then make sure to idealize everything. It will help you imagine that you are unbound, limitless, and unrestricted. You should believe in the fact that you can achieve whatever you want. Start imagining that you have all the resources to make things happen, and you are qualified enough to beat everyone, you are skilled enough to do anything and smart enough to make everything happen.
To better understand your leadership skills, ask yourself what kind of environment would you like to create?
To read more on topics like this, check out the Success category.
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