Ten characteristics of a leader and how to lead by example? Not all bosses have the characteristics of a leader. To be a good leader requires a series of qualities and characteristics, but above all a lot of effort. What are the characteristics of a good leader? Below we offer some leadership qualities list gathered in the Building Future Leadership Congress.
Leadership qualities list
- Desire for change
- Commitment
- Initiative
- Lose the fear
- Understand your environment
- Ego and modesty
- Be optimistic
- Effort
- Creativity
- Goals
Let’s discuss these qualities.
10 leadership qualities
1. Desire for change:
Leaders have a deep desire to get up every day with a different vision of the world and believe that they can bring about change. From that moment on they begin to move. The good leader corrects his course continuously and is not afraid to face changes because he is able to adapt constantly to new circumstances.
2. Commitment:
If you want to be a leader you have to commit yourself and get people to commit to your project. The most important thing “is to get your first follower”. They lack charisma and good communication skills. Therefore, a common mistake in leadership is to ignore the personal and family situation of a collaborator, which can affect their work performance. Knowing the particular circumstances of workers means having the ability to make decisions. Hence, it is also an increasingly frequent tendency for good leaders to be interested in the diversity of cultures or nationalities of the team.
3. Initiative:
This quality is essential to be a good leader . Pulling the cart and proposing different things make the difference. Do it and let others realize that it has been done, too. The leader assumes and listens to the demands of his team. Develops the ability to assign an emotional salary not only based on the economic benefit, but also to ensure the working conditions of its employees.
4. Losing fear:
The personal training specialist, Ariel Halevi, ensures that the barrier of fear of failure must be broken because “before reaching success one must make all the necessary mistakes that he can learn from”. Of course, the good leader is aware that his success is also determined by the cross-cutting activity of the company and it is enough for one to flail. So that, the work does not go ahead. That is why the good leader must relate to all the departments and take into account all the processes and personnel involved.
5. Understand your surroundings:
A leader must know how to discover the abilities of each member of the team, understand that “all human beings are different” and show sensitivity to them. Empathizing is therefore an indispensable quality for the leader, who must also maintain sobriety and abstain from ostentation. Not because they hang a bright sign of an office, it is necessary to brag about it or forget that at some point you also started from below and were annoyed by certain attitudes.
6. Ego and modesty:
The ego is what moves people to take a step forward” and clarifies that “a leader has to know how to handle his ego and be modest”. Modesty and ego are two qualities of a good leader that do not conflict . A common mistake of bad bosses is to show little accessibility to give importance and feed their ego. Dedicate time to the demands of your employees and know first hand what they want to tell you, is the best formula to control the work of your team. You should always find the time to listen to them. Modesty and ego are two qualities of a good leader that do not conflict.
7. Be optimistic:
Most congressional experts emphasize that being an optimist is one of the characteristics of a good leader and entrepreneurs and a great support to achieve success. That motivation and ability to think that “everything is going to be good” moves with the same good energy to the entire work team.
8. Effort:
One has to be passionate enough to go forward and put a lot of effort into the project. Handle adversity with a head and not get carried away by pessimism. The effort must be above all else, and this includes an exhaustive personal organization: learning to prioritize and prioritize the important, rather than the urgent. Optimizing the work methodology is a great idea when it comes to promoting efficiency.
9. Creativity:
It is important to be creative, but you have to handle this quality with care. It is dangerous to be very creative if it leads you to lose focus on what you want to achieve. In an increasingly competitive environment, speed is essential. That’s why sometimes the competitive advantage lies in being able to constantly improvise and re-invent.
10. Objectives:
Every good leader must set a series of challenges in his path and establish a deadline to reach them. A good leader must pull the cart and propose different things that make the difference.
Being a leader, not only implies having some power over other workers or having certain characteristics , but also being observed and analyzed by the same subordinates. The leader should serve as an example to follow, since people will notice what he does and what he says.
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How to lead by example
Becoming an example of consciously influencing others seems to be rather an exercise in manipulation, therefore, John Adair, the world leader in leadership, speaks of “setting an example and not becoming an example”. And he adds “you can give an example unconsciously, as an expression of who you are, and that is very different from doing something because a certain effect is carefully calculated. If the example becomes a habit, you will stop thinking about it and congratulate yourself much less for being such a great leader.
This guru synthesizes his ideas in these six points on leadership :
– The six most important words: Recognize that I have made a mistake.
– The five most important words: I am very proud of you.
– The four most important words: What is your opinion?
– The three most important words: If you like.
– The two most important words: Thank you very much.
– The most important word: Us.
– And the last word and the least important: Me.
The importance of a good leader
The business world is at a time of great change and everything predicts that it will continue like this, at least for the time being. The globalization, the continuous advances in technological tools, as well as the global economic uncertainty has caused that the different equipment and departments of the companies are subject to continuous variations. These changes can directly affect the future of the company, affecting its benefits and therefore its employees.
Therefore the figure of the leader is becoming of fundamental importance nowadays. However, there are many who still confuse what should be the qualities of a good leader.
A leader is …
… able to cohere a work team
… to add all the forces to achieve common objectives
… a person who puts the interests of his team ahead of his own
… and with a higher motivation capacity .
These changes have caught many former managers unprepared , who have not known how to adapt their strategies to the new times, so it is not so easy to find a true leader today. Gather the 10 leadership qualities list mentioned above, know how to lead by example to your workers or team in a natural way, can become more than a boss and become a guide or reference of work teams
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