6 Qualities of Great Leaders
What is the point of good leadership? Shouldn’t all team members be considered and treated equal? Why do people need someone to look up to at all? These are questions raised by people who are skeptical about someone taking on the said role and not exhibiting any such quality or simply failing to live up to the title. Everyone knows what qualities a poor leader exhibits. A poor leader lacks humility, has poor communication skills, blames every mishap on others, and does not take any kind of responsibility.
Other than that, the pioneers of great leadership have left a lot of ground to cover for those at their initial levels and have raised expectations. They ooze of excellence, boast confidence, and play to their strengths. How is it that even after doing all the above things many are not able to earn the respect of their employees? It’s because they lack involvement in areas which truly matter, such as these:
Understanding a Teammate’s Plight
Of course, everyone has a fierce will to succeed. But what if you failed to perform up to the mark because of any external issue? A great leader is involved in the workings of everyone under his or her leadership. Other than that, they do make an effort to understand and look at things from their point of view. Because of this quality, they’re not deemed arrogant because they’re willing to listen to their teammates and keep an open ear to understand their situation.
Trusting Everyone
If you hand over responsibilities to other employees, you’re exhibiting a sign that you trust them to carry on with the assigned task and fulfill it in time. You can also empower them to make their own decisions; encouraging them to do that can make an employee feel confident about the input they provide you. Once you provide them a task, you do not meddle in or tell them over and over again how to do it. If you trust them, you can be sure they’ll do all they can to keep your trust.
Accepting Their Flaws
There is a common saying around the world that success tastes the sweetest when it’s shared by all, but the acceptance of failure separates a great man from the rest. If you or any of your teammates fail to come up to the mark, you should take full responsibility and should not blame any individual for any small mistakes or your actions. Instead, you should focus on taking proper measures to further improve your performance.
Growth Factor
Thinking of small and immediate problems is a good strategy to tackle obstacles, but you should reflect more on your actions and how they’ll carry out in the long run. The most important thing should be the productivity and wellness of your teammates and it’s important to determine if your actions aren’t further causing them stress or hurting their morale. Dedicating yourself to their professional growth and fulfillment can very well provide you with a team of dedicated professionals in turn. Don’t be hesitant to pass on your skills and information to hone newbies and the next generation of leaders.
Influencing Others
How can you influence others and make them think that you’re someone to look up to and follow? You might be thinking that by being lenient, everyone would take you for granted and you won’t be able to issue a strong persona and thus won’t be admired. Actually, humility is often overlooked in today’s world and more importance is given to people who have a way with words instead of those who are modest. Trust me though; these are the types who won’t find their employees deeply engaged.
Know When to Take Charge and Back Out
It’s good to take charge and head forward into the battle, but you’re not wise when you don’t know when the right time to back out is and when you should just leave things. When you’re working together as a team, you’re involving several heads in the same task and each one has their own ideas and approaches. Accept when someone comes with a better idea or is just better than you at a particular skill set. You might not always have all the answers, but just by enhancing their perspective and learning from your experiences, you can inspire others as well.
Great leaders exhibit their experience, accomplishments, and intelligence in their work by showing humility. They do not go around telling everyone repeatedly about themselves. What makes a good leader different? Not the types who like to progress by pulling the legs of others to make them fall down and lag behind. By communicating with everyone and letting them know their importance, you are also signifying that you’re open to discussions and always willing to listen and accept when you’re wrong as well.
