“Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could.” – Steve Jobs.
In those few words, the founder of Apple pointed out the essence of leadership. Whether you run your own business or lead a corporate team, becoming a good leader requires a set of qualities to help you interact with and impact employees, team members, and customers.
The first thing you should bear in mind is that leadership qualities are not ingrained. They are skills, and thus you can learn them.
Are you ready to learn the skills to master if you’d like to become a great leader? Here we go!
Communication
Communication skills are one of the crucial leadership attributes. Using language for one-to-one communication is really all we have as human beings.
Of course, there are non-verbal cues and body language. But being able to express yourself and build empathy with other people openly is the foundation of effective leadership.
Do you know what the most important part of communication is?
It’s active listening.
Great leaders listen to and pay attention to every person they lead.
One of my favourite quotes from the famous Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People is: “Talk to someone about themselves, and they’ll listen for hours.”
It’s 100% true. The more sincere interest in others’ lives you give, the more sympathy and respect you’ll get. People will get inspired, feel heard, and start getting to know you, like you, and trust you.
On the other hand, when you show no interest, don’t have eye contact, and pretend you don’t really care about the others’ personal stories, they’ll automatically turn off, stop sharing their thought, and feel uncomfortable with you.
Remember, even great leaders are not born. They are made.
Integrity
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” – C.S. Lewis.
Integrity is the foundation of all other leadership qualities. There is no success without it. You cannot expect anyone to be honest without being honest yourself. Integrity comes from keeping your word, living by your core values, setting an example, and following them.
If you want to be a great leader, here are some practical pieces of advice coming from integrity:
- don’t be ashamed of apologizing for the mistakes
- appreciate the work of your employees and downplay your own contribution
- prioritize doubting when the circumstances are unclear
- respect people’s time
Accountability
“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.” – Arnold Glasow.
As a leader, you are responsible for the team’s performance. Both good and bad.
You should give credit to trust where it deserves and take responsibility for blame when necessary. Accountability and leading by example are the fastest ways for leaders to become great ones. That’s how you build trust in your team.
Being responsible for the actions and behaviour of those around you is essential to developing leadership qualities such as accountability.
Empathy
Great leaders are open enough to understand the motivations, hopes, dreams, and problems of others to develop deep personal contact with them. This understanding is the essence of empathy.
It’s a mindset that enables leaders to:
- make better forecasts
- improve work strategies
- generate loyalty among teams
- better negotiating tactics
Developing your emotional intelligence is one of the best leadership qualities. Very few leaders understand the difference between being “polite” and having emotional intelligence. Only an effective leader understands the power of empathy towards the people he leads.
Humility
“Pride makes us artificial, and humility makes us real.” – Thomas Merton
Leadership, like every kind of power, can be deceptive. It can turn on your pride. You can feel the temptation to fall in love with a new title or status. Believe me, it’s not the way you should follow. Combat this temptation with another positive weapon in your arsenal – humility.
Great leadership styles focus much more on problem-solving and team dynamics than self-promotion. A good leader will never be effective if he cares more for himself than for the welfare of his team.
Resilience
The real persistence of a good leader is not how you can handle good times. It’s how you will roll up your sleeves and get to work when times get tough.
Great leaders with a positive attitude set an example and mobilize their team no matter the circumstances. This innate positivity helps you respond to situations calmly, composedly, and focus on solutions, not problems.
Resilience is one of the leadership qualities acquired through experience.
