If we say that a team is great then it has to have a good leader. In other words, a good team is lead by good leaders. But the question is what makes the leader good? Are there any specific qualities that can be imbibed in the person to become a good leader or is it that leaders are born? The discussion is unending and can have many pros and cons. But it is defined that a good leader should possess some qualities to make his team work.
Studying the characteristic of leadership is useful because we tend break things into characteristics to make big concepts easier to handle. There are common traits that define leadership, and finding them only takes some study of those who have been successful. By actively building on these traits you can develop into a stronger leader.
However, if you want to be good leader then it is very much necessary that you imbibe few qualities in you. Let us discuss these traits
1. Empathy:
We have to understand one thing and that is though employees are working for money it is not the only motivation that they need. The employee is a human in the first place. It is to be understood that if the team is happy and satisfied only then they will be performing their tasks. As a leader it is our prime responsibility to make the team feel that the leader is empathic towards their personal issues.
2. Confidence:
It is most important for the leader to have confidence in his team and vice versa. If the leader is able to gain confidence of his team then it is the biggest achievement. The question is how can this confidence be built? The very first thing that the leader needs to do is he has to be assertive and has to show the swagger.
3. Consistency:
Being a consistent leader will gain you respect and credibility, which is essential to getting buy-in from the group. By setting an example of fairness and credibility, the team will want to act the same way.
4. Honesty:
Another characteristic of leadership that lends itself to credibility. Those who are honest, especially about concerns, make it far more likely that obstacles will be addressed rather than avoided. Honesty also allows for better assessment and growth.
5. Direction:
Having the vision to break out of the norm and aim for great things –then the wherewithal to set the steps necessary to get there– is an essential characteristic of good leadership. By seeing what can be and managing the goals on how to get there, a good leader can create impressive change.
6. Communication:
Effective communication helps keep he team working on the right projects with the right attitude. If you communicate effectively about expectations, issues and advice, your staff will be more likely to react and meet your goals.
7. Flexibility:
Not every problem demands the same solution. By being flexible to new ideas and open-mindedness is enough to consider them, you increase the likelihood that you will find the best possible answer. You will set a good example for your team and reward good ideas.
8. Conviction:
A strong vision and the willingness to see it through is one of the most important characterizes of leadership. The leader who believes in the mission and works toward it will be an inspiration and a resource to their followers.
9. Integrity
“Our employees are a direct reflection of the values we embody as leaders. If we’re playing from a reactive and obsolete playbook of needing to be right instead of doing what’s right, then we limit the full potential of our business and lose quality talent. If you focus on becoming authentic in all your interactions, that will rub off on your business and your culture, and the rest takes care of itself.”
—Gunnar Lovelace, co-CEO and cofounder, Thrive Market
10. Inspiration
“People always say I’m a self-made man. But there is no such thing. Leaders aren’t self-made; they are driven. I arrived in America with no money or any belongings besides my gym bag, but I can’t say I came with nothing: Others gave me great inspiration and fantastic advice, and I was fueled by my beliefs and an internal drive and passion. That’s why I’m always willing to offer motivation—to friends or strangers on Reddit. I know the power of inspiration, and if someone can stand on my shoulders to achieve greatness, I’m more than willing to help them up.”
—Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California
11. Passion
“You must love what you do. In order to be truly successful at something, you must obsess over it and let it consume you. No matter how successful your business might become, you are never satisfied and constantly push to do something bigger, better and greater. You lead by example not because you feel like it’s what you should do, but because it is your way of life.”
—Joe Perez, cofounder, Tastemade
12. Innovation
“In any system with finite resources and infinite expansion of population—like your business, or like all of humanity—innovation is essential for not only success but also survival. The innovators are our leaders. You cannot separate the two. Whether it is by thought, technology or organization, innovation is our only hope to solve our challenges.”
—Aubrey Marcus, founder, Onnit
13. Patience
“Patience is really courage that’s meant to test your commitment to your cause. The path to great things is always tough, but the best leaders understand when to abandon the cause and when to stay the course. If your vision is bold enough, there will be hundreds of reasons why it ‘can’t be done’ and plenty of doubters. A lot of things have to come together—external markets, competition, financing, consumer demand and always a little luck—to pull off something big.”
—Dan Brian, COO, WhipClip
14. Stoicism
“It’s inevitable: We’re going to find ourselves in some real shit situations, whether they’re costly mistakes, unexpected failures or unscrupulous enemies. Stoicism is, at its core, accepting and anticipating this in advance, so that you don’t freak out, react emotionally and aggravate things further. Train our minds, consider the worst-case scenarios and regulate our unhelpful instinctual responses—that’s how we make sure shit situations don’t turn into fatal resolutions.”
—Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way and former director of marketing, American Apparel
15. Wonkiness
“Understanding the underlying numbers is the best thing I’ve done for my business. As we have a subscription-based service, the biggest impact on our bottom line was to decrease our churn rate. Being able to nudge that number from 6 percent to 4 Percent meant a 50 percent increase in the average customer’s lifetime value. We would not have known to focus on this metric without being able to accurately analyze our data.”
—Sol Orwell, cofounder, Examine.com
16. Authenticity
“It’s true that imitation is one of the greatest forms of flattery, but not when it comes to leadership—and every great leader in my life, from Mike Tomlin to Olympic ski coach Scott Rawles, led from a place of authenticity. Learn from others, read autobiographies of your favorite leaders, pick up skills along the way… but never lose your authentic voice, opinions and, ultimately, how you make decisions.”
—Jeremy Bloom, cofounder and CEO, Integrate
17. Open-mindedness
“One of the biggest myths is that good business leaders are great visionaries with dogged determination to stick to their goals no matter what. It’s nonsense. The truth is, leaders need to keep an open mind while being flexible, and adjust if necessary. When in the startup phase of a company, planning is highly overrated and goals are not static. Your commitment should be to invest, develop and maintain great relationships.”
—Daymond John, CEO, Shark Branding and FUBU
18. Decisiveness
“In high school and college, to pick up extra cash I would often referee recreational basketball games. The mentor who taught me how to officiate gave his refs one important piece of advice that translates well into the professional world: ‘Make the call fast, make the call loud and don’t look back.’ In marginal situations, a decisively made wrong call will often lead to better long-term results and a stronger team than a wishy-washy decision that turns out to be right.”
—Scott Hoffman, owner, Folio Literary Management
19. Personableness
“We all provide something unique to this world, and we can all smell when someone isn’t being real. The more you focus on genuine connections with people, and look for ways to help them—rather than just focus on what they can do for you—the more likable and personable you become. This isn’t required to be a great leader, but it is to be a respected leader, which can make all the difference in your business.”
—Lewis Howes, New York Times bestselling author of The School of Greatness
20. Empowerment
“Many of my leadership philosophies were learned as an athlete. My most successful teams didn’t always have the most talent but did have teammates with the right combination of skills, strengths and a common trust in each other. To build an ‘overachieving’ team, you need to delegate responsibility and authority. Giving away responsibilities isn’t always easy. It can actually be harder to do than completing the task yourself, but with the right project selection and support, delegating can pay off in dividends. It is how you truly find people’s capabilities and get the most out of them.”
—Shannon Pappas, senior vice president, Beachbody LIVE
21. Positivity
“In order to achieve greatness, you must create a culture of optimism. There will be many ups and downs, but the prevalence of positivity will keep the company going. But be warned: This requires fearlessness. You have to truly believe in making the impossible possible.”
—Jason Harris, CEO, Mekanism
22. Generosity
“My main goal has always been to offer the best of myself. We all grow—as a collective whole—when I’m able to build up others and help them grow as individuals.”
—Christopher Perilli, CEO, Pixel Mobb
23. Persistence
“A great leader once told me, ‘persistence beats resistance.’ And after working at Facebook, Intel and Microsoft and starting my own company, I’ve learned two major lessons: All great things take time, and you must persist no matter what. That’s what it takes to be a leader: willingness to go beyond where others will stop.”
—Noah Kagan, Chief Sumo, appsumo
24. Insightfulness
“It takes insight every day to be able to separate that which is really important from all the incoming fire. It’s like wisdom—it can be improved with time, if you’re paying attention, but it has to exist in your character. It’s inherent. When your insight is right, you look like a genius. And when your insight is wrong, you look like an idiot.”
—Raj Bhakta, founder, WhistlePig Whiskey
25. Communication
“If people aren’t aware of your expectations, and they fall short, it’s really your fault for not expressing it to them. The people I work with are in constant communication, probably to a fault. But communication is a balancing act. You might have a specific want or need, but it’s superimportant to treat work as a collaboration. We always want people to tell us their thoughts and ideas—that’s why we have all these very talented people working with us.”
—Kim Kurlanchik Russen, partner, TAO Group
26. Accountability
“It’s a lot easier to assign blame than to hold yourself accountable. But if you want to know how to do it right, learn from financial expert Larry Robbins. He wrote a genuinely humble letter to his investors about his bad judgment that caused their investments to falter. He then opened up a new fund without management and performance fees—unheard of in the hedge fund world. This is character. This is accountability. It’s not only taking responsibility; it’s taking the next step to make it right.”
—Sandra Carreon-John, senior vice president, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
27. Restlessness
“It takes real leadership to find the strengths within each person on your team and then be willing to look outside to plug the gaps. It’s best to believe that your team alone does not have all the answers— because if you believe that, it usually means you’re not asking all the right questions.”
—Nick Woolery, global director of marketing, Stance Socks
Of course, there are several other theories about leadership and leadership styles where different skills come into play. But no matter what your approach, if you display the previous traits you will be well equipped to lead a team successfully.