Having great leadership abilities is very important in business but what specific qualities do you need to be an effective leader? We’ll examine the qualities that help to inspire and motivate everyone that works with you. It doesn’t matter if you are presently struggling with leadership skills, anyone can develop the ability and become an excellent leader.
Leading By Example Is the Key
A great leader is actually someone who can lead by example. It’s important that you commit yourself to a purpose before you can get others to follow you. The first thing that should happen is you have to know the subject matter or required skills very well. With your specific knowledge of the job, you can help to assist and motivate your fellow team members to get optimum results. Don’t be somebody who simply hands off responsibility to others without any involvement or guidance. You will not have to know every last detail but you should have enough understanding to guide your team to a successful conclusion.
About 2600 years ago the great sage Lao Tzu said: “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
You share wisdom, compassion and vision. You share knowledge and power. Power is “your ability or capacity to act or perform effectively.”
An effective leader knows that nobody can do it all. The only way to become more powerful as a leader and as an organization is to create a culture in which everyone is striving to become more effective…more powerful.
In the martial arts traditions, respected leaders are referred to as “Sensei.” The relationship between a Sensei and his followers is intimate. The Sensei shares wisdom, experience and leadership.
Sharing, however, is not an abdication of your responsibilities as a decision maker. Part of your role is to be the central arbiter of the shared intelligence of the people in your organization. Ultimately, someone has to establish a vision and make a final decision….Read More at: Out with the old? Are older models of business leadership vestigial …
It’s Important To Share
Also a wonderful leader will give and share credit to the members of the team. Someone who takes recognition for the success of the project without acknowledging the work of others on the team will not inspire loyalty. As a leader, you’ll need to try to acknowledge and show genuine appreciation for people’s accomplishments. You won’t need to provide fake flattery but be truly genuine for what they accomplished. Your team will greatly value your comments and will know that you are true to your word. As a result, your team will eagerly continue to work hard and stay focused when projects arise.
Improve Your Leadership Qualities Through Assessment
You can assess current leadership qualities and get guidance on how to improve your leadership qualities by taking a Everything DiSC Work of Leaders Profile.
A 360° assessment is also available for leaders called the Everything DiSC 363 for Leaders Profile.
Don’t Forget Flexibility
Flexibility is yet another important quality to becoming a great leader. It doesn’t imply that you will be changing your mind all the time but to be able to make a change quickly if the situation calls for it. If you stick too strongly to a protocol and refuse to make a change when it looks like it will fail, you will experience dissension. Be open to any feasible opportunity so that you have the choice to either stay on track or change direction. As an example, when a newer software offers more features and capabilities than the software your business is currently using, you should be open to using it. If you don’t think it over, it’s possible your competitors can pass you.
In Conclusion
These are just a number of the many qualities that make an effective leader. Your leadership abilities should be based on who you are as a person. Don’t try to be somebody who you are not. It doesn’t matter if you happen to be very aggressive or easy going, you should just be yourself. It’s important to make use of your traits to inspire the members of your team.
About Steve Giles
Co-owner/Co-founder of Intesi! Resources. Educated as an architect I transitioned to technology during my career in architecture. Intesi! Resources was founded in 2004 and my focus is everything Web/eCommerce related from the design and development of our site to all the marketing activities involved. I also provide significant support for our clients on all our products and how they are used to deliver assessment-driven learning solutions that develop self-awareness and interpersonal skills.
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I have seen people who wanted to be leaders and they weren’t made for it at all and it never ends well. I always look for a natural born leader when I am hiring a supervisor or manager because they are the only ones that really get it with out being told how. You can train them further and make them greater still. Great article thank you for posting it.
It has been said that eighty percent of problems experienced in any organization are people-related. Twenty percent are of a technical nature. Developing the people to function at higher levels benefits the organization, and always drops to the bottom line. The people drive the bottom line. I guess this is cause when people are valued, and are an integral part of the development process of any organization, that organization will benefit.
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When you are a born leader it comes naturally and people will just flock to you because you have that quality. Unfortunately in today’s society they won’t go off of that alone to get a good paying job, you have to have that degree that says you are a leader and half the time those people aren’t leaders they are trained monkies.
I agree with that, brandi. The leaders naturally gravitate to the top of an organization and they become the ones people choose to follow because they believe in them and their abilities and confidence and their way of inspiring others around them. You just know who they are after you have spent some time around them and their coworkers or teammates.
Isn’t it interesting, just like Brandi said, a true leader isn’t made and they don’t have to tell people they are a leader it just comes natural and everyone seems to know they are a leader naturally and people gravitate to them. The rest of us have to be taught how to lead and we are nowhere near as successful in our endeavors as they are.
The good leaders give us direction and tell us where we are going. They bring clarity. We understand where they are going and are honored to join the journey, and, they believe in us. They give us confidence. The world is a better place because of quality leadership. To all the leaders who have done those ten 10 things in my life, I say “Thank You!!!
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I once heard someone (come to think of it, I think it was a former NFL head coach on ESPN) say: a leader does not need to tell others he is a leader; they already know. The point he was driving home was that the leaders naturally gravitate into that position – at least, that is the way it is in team sports.