The Nine Characteristics of an Effective Leader
Category : Leadership
What does it take to be an effective leader? Whether you lead a business, or you lead your family, there are some basic traits that are universal in any kind of leadership role. Understanding how to think like a leader will give you the insights and skills you need to help you make better decisions and get the most out of your leadership qualities. The following ten traits of an effective leader can give you the direction you need to start becoming an even more effective leader yourself.
1. Have a broad vision.
Being a leader is a big job. There’s no way you can tackle all of it at once, so focus on one thing at a time. To succeed, you have to have a vision, and that vision has to be broad enough to take in lots of moving parts. Write down your goals for where you want your organization to be in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and 10 years; then work backward from there to create a game plan for getting there. Ask yourself what skills you need now vs. those needed in six months or five years down the road; how will those needs change? Then think about what is holding your company back from achieving success and address that problem head-on.
2. Develop a winning mindset.
Although winner may be defined in a variety of ways, it is often associated with being ambitious, strong willed and having a positive attitude. Having a winning mindset is about being proactive; you may have skills that put you at a disadvantage when compared to others (such as not knowing how to play golf), but if you can remain positive and optimistic about your talents and abilities, you are well on your way to achieving personal success. The following tips can help any individual develop their winning mindset. Think Positively : One common trait among successful individuals is their positive outlook on life.
3. Learn from failures.
Mistakes are inevitable and are often a crucial part of growth, especially for entrepreneurs. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not really trying anything new. Whether it’s a flawed product or marketing idea, a failed investment, or even just poor time management on your part, don’t see your failures as bad omens. They can actually be beneficial in several ways: they give you feedback to improve upon; they provide perspective when assessing potential opportunities; and most importantly, they allow you to keep going after you’ve hit a wall. The only thing worse than failing is quitting – don’t let one misstep shake your resolve! Acknowledging that failure happens is good – because it does happen (even to successful people). And failure isn’t fatal.
4. Are you a critical thinker?
If you can’t step back and reflect on your decision-making processes, you will never be able to improve them. One of our least favorite job interview questions is Tell me about a time when you’ve dealt with a conflict. There are two ways to answer that question: critically or defensively. If you give us a critical response, we’ll know that you are self-aware and an analytical thinker. A defensive response, on the other hand, shows that instead of stepping back from your actions to analyze them more objectively, all you do is justify yourself.
5. Are you curious about learning new things?
One hallmark trait of leadership is a deep desire to keep learning, and not just what your peers are doing. No matter how far along you are in your career, make it a habit to work on new skills that will add value to your business. The next time you find yourself doing something routine — reading every word in every email, returning phone calls as they come in, asking for more detailed information — stop and ask yourself whether there’s a better way. If you’re responsible for managing employees or running a team of people, evaluate their performance; learn what they do well and where they could be stronger. And when you think back on who has mentored you during your career, did they focus solely on helping you hit your goals?
6. Can you be objective about yourself?
Leaders are self-aware, meaning they know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Self-awareness means that you can identify your greatest weaknesses, take them into account when you make decisions, and focus on improving your weaknesses. Being honest with yourself is important to being a good leader—you’ll never be able to get better if you don’t acknowledge what needs work in order to improve. Once you do, there are many ways to develop yourself; from reading leadership books or articles about other leaders in your industry who have great management styles, finding a mentor for business advice, or taking classes about management skills. You can also just do more trial and error as well: Try new tactics out and see how they go!
7. Are you open to change?
Leadership can be a finicky thing. It’s not always about who has better skills, or who has more experience. Even after you’ve earned everyone’s respect, you still need to be able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances if you want to keep your team on board for longer than it takes for them to finish their corporate-mandated two week training period. If you’re not ready and willing to change as easily as you change your shirt, then don’t waste your time with leadership; it’ll just create tension and conflict where there doesn’t need to be any.
8. Do you provide vision and inspiration for the future?
As a leader, you’re expected to provide your team with vision and inspiration for their work. People need to be able to see where they’re going and how what they do contributes towards future goals. You should inspire them by articulating that vision clearly so that everyone knows where you want to go as a team. As well as inspiring them, you also need to motivate them by ensuring that everyone feels valued in what they contribute towards achieving those goals. It all comes down to communicating effectively with your team – people want to know why they should care about their job and what good it will do for themselves and others, both now and in the future.
9. Are you willing to take on challenges with others by your side?
In any great story, there is a hero. But no one can save a kingdom alone. In order to make progress and thrive, leaders must rely on their team. By forming collaborative relationships with each other, they’re able to take on monumental feats that would otherwise be impossible to do alone. Just look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi – without Rey’s compassion and Finn’s courage, Luke wouldn’t have come out of hiding from his self-imposed exile on Ahch-To Island! If you want to become a more effective leader, you must be willing to form strong bonds with your colleagues. After all, none of us are as powerful as we think we are; together we can accomplish so much more!
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