How many of you have thought of leading a team in your company or organization? Many of you are already leaders somewhere but may not be as effective as you should be. Every one of us tries to be a better version of ourselves every day. And that’s the development process.
Today, we have come up with an interesting topic of 11 Leadership qualities; all successful leaders have to aid their journey of becoming top-class leaders in the industry.
DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership literally means the act of leading a group of people or an organization for a defined purpose.
The leader is the primary source of motivation, inspiration, and guidance for his people and their effectiveness and efficiency towards the assigned job.
“Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation, not intimidation.”
People often confuse leadership with autocracy or a leader with a boss. They think that now that they have got to lead a team or community, they can control their juniors like puppets and be bossy. Nobody is as powerful as them. But that is a misguided ideology. If you look at any successful leader, you will find one thing common: the humble, cooperative nature and democracy. That’s what we call a real leader. A leader never orders his subordinates but works in unison with them.
MYTHS AND BREAKING
Leadership is not an inborn trait. This skill can be easily acquired by simply learning and developing by consistent practice. You can begin by inculcating the following 11 traits in your daily life to be a successful leader in the future.
But before that, let’s hop onto the stories of some great leaders who had left their remarkable imprints in the form of their life lessons.
SUCCESSFUL LEADERS AND SOME IMPORTANT LESSONS
Mahatma Gandhi
He’s renowned as the great leader for freeing his people of British enslavement. It was his strategic approach of non-violence and firm belief in his people. He was a pacifist man with simple living. He inspired many other revolutions and ideas around the world.
Winston Churchill
He is remembered as the savior of democracy at an unjust and painful time of humankind. He had the power of his wisdom, persistence, and upright character. He was held accountable before the king for all the activities happening around him. These simple yet astonishing skills paved the way for his great leadership.
Martin Luther King Jr.
He was a firm belief in character rather than color, caste, creed, race, or sex. He led a peaceful social activist movement in America to bring out equality. He had great discomfort with religion. But the way he addressed the masses and the strong, bold proposition in his marches and rallies were quite commendable. Communication skills were the key to his great success.
St. Teresa
Also known as Mother Teresa for her extreme kind, humble, caring, and honest services to mankind. She lived in the sufferings of slums and poverty, which let her understand the root causes. By 1970, her congregation worked around the world with the noble cause of eradicating poverty and suffrage.
Bill Gates
He’s the millionaire of the present times who is as inspiring as his great IT innovations. From the beginning of his childhood, he had a keen interest in computers and a great mindset in business and entrepreneurship. He has an incredible vision, aggressive business strategy, and unrivaled work ethic. Even after the success of the century, he didn’t stop. He kept on working harder, not like a leader but more as a workforce and a team. Sacrifices made him stand out from the crowd. Not just business, he’s a philanthropist too. Bill Gates foundation funds have improved healthcare and poverty to a certain extent.
MORAL OF THE STORY
You must be wondering why I’m telling you life stories of these great successful leaders who have achieved their mission and vision with dedication and diligence.
Well, let me get it straight now. These leaders are going to be our inspiration in learning the leadership qualities for our value addition. You might have noticed some traits like humbleness, kindness, powerful communication skills, strategic approach, clear mission and vision, aggressive approach, sacrifices, wisdom, persistence, pertinence, firm character, accountability, and an obvious motion to get straight into the hearts of the masses.
It is common among them all that they led a simple life and do not belong to any rich background. They all have come through middle-class families. They have earned it on their own.
Here is a myth breaker that only rich people are successful leaders. Anyone with these qualities can conquer it. So don’t consider yourself more or less legible based on your current financial status.
Let’s not wait any further, and start your journey with us to learn some skills you wish to acquire to become a great successful leader.
11 Leadership qualities all successful leaders have
11 is a very small number to conclude the qualities for such a great position. Yet we have confined multiple skills into the following 11 broad categories –
Self-motivated
Motivation from inside that drives you to work automatically is called self-motivation. A person with self-motivated qualities is in high demand. Self-appraisal and inner peace are the keys to it. It will let you focus on today and prepare for the worst tomorrow. It not only hikes up productivity but also works as a source of motivation for your juniors. So better ease down before starting the day as a great leader.
Accountability and responsibility
Be it an achievement or failure, it is the leader who is held accountable for everything. Though it is the team working behind him, and he’s ordering, managing, and assessing. Accountability is like an acquired trait that needs to be trained regularly to stay at peak performance. Without regular practice, it can fade.
Maybe his second in command does not have the hang of the responsibility, but a leader is very well aware of it. The leader has a great responsibility to set the goals, achieve them, and take them to higher levels.
Self-discipline and self-management
The key quality of an organization is discipline and management. They decide the operating and social status to a larger extent. To maintain discipline and manage well, a leader has to be self-disciplined first of all. The leader is the leading light out of the darkness. Everyone follows you. So you have to make sure that the image you reflect must have the essence of the organization to make the work go on smoothly.
You have to ensure the productivity and efficiency of everyone, specifically yourself.
Integrity
It is defined as the wholeness of a character generally in the form of truthfulness, decision making, loyalty, and, most importantly, workplace ethics. You are not following them to show off to others, but it’s just you and your moral principles keeping the soulful integrity intact.
To sum up – An upright character righteously doing things according to moral values.
Empathy and Respect
Respect and empathy for the people of the organization will not make you any less a leader. And no rulebook states the egoistic and attitudinal behavior towards the subordinates.
The hearts you win with your respect, empathy and kindness are just outweighed by the fake smiles and obedience you get. The winning heart is foreplay to lead the team to the summit. Rest, you are smarter than me.
Learning agility, confidence, commitment and passion
Nothing is a cakewalk, but if you have the confidence to represent, commit to achieving goals, and have a passion for evolving and growing together. Only then you can have a sure shot at something great like a leader of a renowned workforce. Confidence can be built over the years with the mere practice. While commitment and passion are the results of your inner will or dream.
Till now, you have noticed that the above skills have generally been practiced over the years till perfection and not inherited. Learning is the key to prominent Leadership. Learning will keep the spirits alive.
Effective communicator
This is like a 6th sense to a successful leader. Better this sense, the better impression you make. Communication makes the passage for your thoughts, strategy, and ideology very clear. It is the essence of almost everything. Communication doesn’t only mean the words you use or the idea you share. It also includes the affirming and powerful voice for the delivery of the same. It is very common to see that Leaders make everyone repeat after them to affirm a notion into working.
Creative and innovative
Creative leaders are the need of the modern workforce. They think out of the box and click out solutions in the most impossible and yet correct ways. Their creativity drives an intellectual workforce that can change the company’s face in the market within months.
Innovation is the ability to imagine better possibilities and plans for better news. Innovative leaders tend to be more Proactive and lead with confidence and authority. They turn situations into opportunities to achieve a new era. That’s how leaders like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs work.
Have a vision for the future and influence your team with your creativity and innovation. This kind of Leadership has been proved more developmental.
Teamwork promotion
Leadership itself means leading a team, so you don’t have to divide and rule. You have to make sure that each team member follows the motto “Strength lies in unity.” You can arrange a fun activity session after each deadline to promote a healthier social environment in the organization. Try and promote each culture by regular celebration of different community fests.
Because only a great team can decide the greatness of the leader.
Alternative planning
Negotiations are daily parts of the business. To make them approach confidently, one has to be ready with the alternatives. This not only reflects self-esteem but also gives you the courage to push harder.
To be a good negotiator, the leader has to have a backup plan to make the dealings easier while keeping the heads up.
Sometimes to find that alternative, you have to approach it strategically, like leaving your usual workspace and thinking about the consequences for your selections.
Resilience and positivity
Hurdles make you stronger and never bow down in front of evil situations. That’s how a resilient leader is ready. Leadership is not a piece of cake. It takes a lot of making and breaking, which ultimately makes you unbreakable. Resilient leaders are the most stable and survive every storm laughing.
You have to remain positive throughout the journey. A single negative thought and your own team will doubt your leadership. For that, you can practice Yoga and meditation.
Had Gandhiji given up before the British, India wouldn’t have been set free? His optimism and resilience took him so far and proved his worth as a great leader.
CONCLUSION
Apart from these top 11 qualities, there is much more that you need is dedication and consistency towards these qualities. And a word of advice, NEVER BE PROUD OF YOUR VIRTUES because IT IS THE POISON IN THE FORM OF AN ANTIDOTE.
Leaders are the backbone of the workforce. They can either make or break the deals. They are not the result of a biological cross but consistent learning and acquisition.
So keep achieving more and more. Be happy and content with whatever you have.
