11 characteristics of a highly successful leader
It has nothing to do with your years of experience or job title to be a leader. It is a way of thinking. It also has to do with how you conduct yourself and work. In addition, a leader is a visionary, a decision-maker, and a coach.
Company culture, employee engagement, and an organization’s capacity to draw and retain talent are all directly impacted by the actions and attitudes of leaders toward the members of their teams.
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Like any other ability, leadership is something that can be acquired and developed; not everyone is born with it. It is critical to understand that a leader’s performance is also influenced by the degree of support and influence they get from their team members.
Never believe that simply because you are in a leadership position, the people you work with will instantly follow your lead and appreciate your judgments. Since they recruited you, your direct supervisor already has your back. You must get the support of your teammates, direct reports, and peers.
These 11 leadership attributes, traits, and qualities can be adopted by anybody aiming to advance in their profession or moving up from an individual contributor role into a leadership position.
Table of Contents
1. Express gratitude, acknowledge, and offer credit
Prominent leaders show gratitude and appreciate their team members’ accomplishments in public. pleasant comments and expressing gratitude for team members’ efforts support the development of a pleasant work environment.
Employees must believe they are headed in the right direction and that their efforts will be recognized in order to motivate them to perform to the best of their abilities. Look for methods to recognize and honor your team’s accomplishments, even if it’s only with a “well done.”
Proceed with deliberateness and consistency. Praise for little things and praise all the time might come off as fake and even demotivate people.
2. Listening intently
The late Steve Jobs claimed to have returned to Apple a more humbled and capable leader after leaving in 1985; former Apple CEO John Scully attributed a large portion of this to Jobs’ improved listening skills.
It’s important to establish ground rules and introduce new methods for handling different job processes, but it’s just as important to sit back and listen to your team. To make wise judgments, a competent leader must be aware of what is happening with both their team and the business.
Being an effective communicator means being a great leader, and effective communicators pay attention. Proactive and perceptive listeners make for good leaders. Maintaining eye contact, never interrupting, and using nonverbal clues like nodding to demonstrate that you are truly listening are all necessary for being an active listener. Workers desire to be heard, not patronized or worse, ignored.
3. Use effective communication
Effective leadership requires the ability to communicate intelligibly, succinctly, and diplomatically. There is more to communication than merely listening intently to other people and reacting correctly.
It also entails exchanging insightful knowledge, posing thoughtful queries, requesting feedback and original ideas, clearing up misconceptions, and being explicit about your goals. The most effective leaders also use communication to energize, encourage, and instill confidence in their team members.
4. Exhibit dedication
Nobody enjoys working on a noncommittal team or for a noncommittal leader. As a leader, you have the power to cultivate the kind of team spirit that sets a superior team apart from a mediocre one. The trust of their team is more likely to be won by a dedicated leader. Crucially, demonstrating dedication keeps team spirit strong.
5. Accept failure
Failure is a necessary component of success, and successful leaders embrace it as a chance for personal development. Understanding your times of failure, whether they are personal setbacks or team challenges, is beneficial because it inspires your group to grow and develop.
By expressing your growth from every experience and openly admitting your mistakes, you may inspire your team to accept failure.
6. Invest in the future of your group.
Employees need a clear plan for professional advancement. A competent leader plans their direct reports’ development pathways within the organization and gives them opportunity to take on leadership roles. Leaders should make an investment in their team by providing opportunity for growth, respect, and recognition for excellent performance.
Providing team members with chances for low-risk, entry-level leadership empowers them and gives them a stress-free environment in which to practice leadership. Set high standards for them, support their creativity, and demand innovation from them. Give your team liberty and power to determine how the task is completed, along with defined goals and deadlines.
These possibilities may be as straightforward as facilitating a meeting or organizing team-building exercises, which can significantly boost your team’s confidence. You may also provide them with comments on their leadership talents through these exercises.
7. Take an empathic stance
Empathy is a difficult trait to measure. Being empathic means having the ability to observe and comprehend events from the perspectives of employees with varying levels of seniority within the organization, and to understand how their actions affect everyone else in the organization. It also implies that the leader is able to see beyond in order to motivate staff members at all levels using techniques that inspire, encourage, and uplift them.
The COVID-19 epidemic brought to light the need of empathy in an organizational setting. It demonstrated how fostering honest and open communication between managers and their subordinates had a direct influence on workplace culture and emphasized the need of compassionate leadership. When a leader demonstrates compassion, the workplace becomes psychologically secure and staff members feel comfortable broaching sensitive subjects.
8. Show honesty and integrity
Integrity in leadership is demonstrated by a leader who bases their actions, choices, and interactions with others on their ideals. They are recognized for their sincerity, morality, consistency, and unwavering convictions about right and evil. They are trustworthy, honor their word, and interact with people in an honest, straightforward, and open manner.
9. Be impartial
An objective team leader is one who can comprehend different points of view during a debate or discussion and yet arrive at solutions that are focused on achieving certain goals. In order to make just judgments that are acceptable to the entire team, objective leaders might also take into account outside variables. Also, team members will understand that choices are made based on justice and fairness rather than on personal preferences or other considerations.
10. Set a good example
Setting a good example is the best approach for a leader to acquire the trust and respect of others. Set an example for the behavior you would like others to emulate. You should be prepared to hold yourself to a high level if you expect a lot from your staff. When you act and speak in unison, your team will be more likely to follow your lead and trust you more.
11. Explain their outlook
Maintaining a high level of employee engagement and propelling the organization ahead may be achieved by having a compelling corporate vision and successfully conveying it. A visionary leader is very clear about their goals, how to get there, and what constitutes success.
Clearly and passionately communicate your vision to your team so they know how their work fits into the bigger picture. Persistently, tenaciously, and enthusiastically pursuing your idea will motivate others to follow suit.
Establish definite team objectives that facilitate the early and frequent sharing of your vision. Give your opinion when team members ask for it, and don’t be scared to take the difficult choices. Employee participation in your vision will be simpler the more determined and open you are.
