Living in a time of significant changes: A glance at Leadership Traits
Leadership traits are the personal qualities that help a person to shape himself or herself into an effective leader. These traits help one to address specific challenges and work efficiently in different fields. For example, leaders in IT must deal with the constant industrial change, as well as issues with cybersecurity threats, legacy systems, and legal compliance, etc. Leaders should also model some of the leadership qualities to motivate employees to achieve high performance and meet business goals.
Key Leadership Traits
Throughout my career, I have been working with quite a few leaders, many of them are competent but only a few are extraordinary and influential. What makes the difference? Some people suggest that great leaders should be resilient, responsible, respected, and should have a solid base in domain knowledge. Some people say that outstanding leaders should be kind to their subordinates and demonstrate ethical conduct. Others reckon that a charismatic style of the leaders is more desirable and will draw people to them.
I have summarized the following qualities which I have observed working with leaders, and I believe all leaders should consider embodying them to be effective.
Empathy
When a leader treats all with respects, shows genuine concern for others, listens carefully to understand, it helps the leader to create awareness, earn trust and foster relationship. Leaders who create strong rapport, develop deep bonds between themselves and their employees, help to improve team collaboration and warrant the long-term success of organizations.
Emotional Intelligence
A leaders’ emotional intelligence is as important as professional ability, if not more. It is not only about recognising and managing one’s own emotion, but also understanding the people around you, how they feel and how your emotions affect them. Have you witnessed any emotional outburst in the workplace, and how did that impact the working relationship? Leaders need to master their emotions and navigate through stressful situations to succeed.
Foster ‘No Blame’ Culture
When the team make mistakes or encounter issues, instead of looking for a scapegoat and blaming individuals, leaders should focus on the problem, looking for constructive solutions and moving forward. By fostering a ‘no blame’ culture within an organisation, leaders encourage employees to participate actively, learn and improve constantly, and help the organisation to more transparent and continue to grow.
Humility
Humility is the recognition of people being human and have both strengths and weaknesses. Leaders who show humility, don’t think less of themselves, instead, they think more of the others. They prioritise the success of the organisation over their own. Humble leaders present themselves like everyone else, they attract and inspire followers and bring people together to contribute to their business’ success.
Responsibility
Leaders should take full responsibility for themselves, as well as the success of the project, team, and organization. Responsible leaders stand by their success and take ownership of their mistakes. They take the initiative to do what needs to be done and they will hold others accountable. They are willing to cross the boundaries and help out where needed.
Self-Confidence
Leaders’ confidence is influential. Employees are drawn to leaders who are confident, seeking their opinions and advice. Leaders should also recognize the value of building self-confidence within the others and are not threatened by doing so. This will help to promote new ideas and maximise participation from everyone. Also, self-confidence enables one to be more flexible in adapting others’ suggestions, taking responsibility, and keeping on improving, which is key to today’s businesses.
Courage
Courageous leaders are assertive and willing to take calculated risks. They are willing to try new things, test new ideas, and facilitate constructive disagreements for the best interest of the organisation. These individuals often champion new ideas and breakthroughs and enable the team to achieve creative solutions.
Focus
Extraordinary leaders don’t wait to start, they plan, and are extremely organized. They encourage collaboration and inclusive leadership. Also, they think through multiple scenarios with viable alternatives and plan toward success. They devise strategies, formulate plans, define processes and monitor progress to warrant high performance. They take calculated risks and prepare contingency plans in the event of unexpected changes.
Leadership focus on how leaders use their authority in the decisions they make, actions they engage in, and ways they influence others. Effective leaders exercise a high level of integrity, leading with confidence, communicating clearly and concisely, addressing problems without finger-pointing, demonstrating courage and real accountability, and keeping focused on delivering the business’ objectives. They are people-oriented, aware of how their decisions impact others and use their power to serve the greater good and motivate teams to achieve high-performance.
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If you want to become a great leader, make sure you embody and demonstrate the qualities discussed above. It isn’t easy, but the rewards can be truly phenomenal. If you want to become a transformational leader and need help to improve your leadership skills, Contact us to find out how we can help.
