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The Top 10 Leadership Qualities
Introduction
Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get others to willingly follow. Every organization needs leaders at every level. Leaders can be found and nurtured if you look for the following character traits.
A leader with vision has a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But it’s not enough to have a vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co., said, "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion."
A leader must be able to communicate his or her vision in terms that cause followers to buy into it. He or she must communicate clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious.
A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer “analysis paralysis” but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same.
Analysis
Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.
Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers.
Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great.
Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.
Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role.
Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.
Creativity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is, “What if … ?” Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, “I know this is a dumb question ... ”
Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication.
Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader.
Many leaders have difficulty striking the right amount of assertiveness, according to a study in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the APA (American Psychological Association). It seems that being underassertive or overassertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders.
A sense of humor is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humor to energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters good camaraderie.
Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership traits.
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58 Comments
Great article!
A leader should be loyal with his follower as well in achievement
of goals.
Great ideas David. It's remarkable how much a little self-awareness can help build great leaders. Savvy leaders understand their own behaviors and how they affect others. Imagine workplaces where leaders help their people shine instead of getting in the way, fantastic.
Love Love Love it!! Very well written. Thanks for the in site.
thank you for these good ideas
a good leader must be in a good habits
Great ideas David. It's remarkable how much a little self-awareness can help build great leaders. Savvy leaders understand their own behaviors and how they affect others. Imagine workplaces where leaders help their people shine instead of getting in the way, fantastic.
a leader must be a reader and also a good listener...
good work david, i think a good leader should be tolerant.
A leader should also learn to understand the needs of his followers,in the case when you give an instruction, without following up on the outcomes of the team or asking for feedback, can reduce the leadership influence.Its quite improtant to understand the team needs for them to function properly
A leader should also be able to identify what jobs comes first on the priority list in cases when the work load is quite high on a days work
A leader should be able to motivate the followers at all times by getting involved and being ahead of the team
Great article for dynamic leadership!
Great job David! Attributes mentioned were indeed essential to be an effective leader, really helpful, for short a leader should lead with a pure heart, an open mind and a pleasant disposition.But one thing every leader should never forget is to be committed to lifelong learning and growth. :) God bless!
Good Work DAVID keep it on. Do not listen to person lik Mitch Miccrimmon because they mentioned only the mistakes but do not inspires others
it is also necessary deciviness, willingness, moral, percuasition, self confidance.
David,
Good awareness about leadership. But again handling the situation is one of the important aspect where the decision making ability counts. Thanks for info
Excellent post for leadership qualities!
Thank you.
Lowell Mims
Your Top 10 Leadership qualities article is so much rare and it is important for every persons. Famous People
Your Top 10 Leadership qualities article is so much rare and it is important for every persons. Famous People
Very interesting article! I especially liked the part about creativity. I saw this blog post by KRT Marketing on leadership, and I thought it was a great twist to this article. http://blog.krtmarketing.com/2011/11/04/a-lesson-on-leadership
Very interesting article! I especially liked the part about creativity. I saw this blog post by KRT Marketing on leadership, and I thought it was a great twist to this article. http://blog.krtmarketing.com/2011/11/04/a-lesson-on-leadership
thank you for these good ideas
leader without brain is a tree without leaves.
leader must be with strong willpower.
Leaders should be able to create motivation in other to encourage effective team work.
Peace Sylverson
NUC
I agree with most of the comments that a leader should be a little tolerate but firm, the leader must know that he or she is not in this world alone.Therefore ,patience,fairness,consideration and structure should be provided to all involved. "do the right thing" because its right and there will never be any skeltons in your closet to bury.There is never an i in team so give credit to your help when possible
1. Influencing to their subordinates
2. Patience
3. Listens
4. Caring
5. Humor
6. Peacefulness
7. Honesty
8. Humility
9. Joyful
10. Faith-full
it is a great article, it takes time to groom people to get to that Leadership stage. Thanx for the Leadership article.
Leadership is also showing and having respect for others which the above does not show. I agree in principle to both David Hakala and Dr. McCrimmon have worte about. An individual leader must have qualities that will inspire others both top down and bottom up. In either case if these qualities or traits are not present in top down management or bottom up the "leader" themselves will not have the confidence of the individuals they were meant to lead. A strategic decision can only be made and attained by collaborative effort from the individuals involved. Then the "boss," the one placed in the position of leading the organization can make an accurate, well informaed decision. A good example of this is when a military leader is given an objective to obtain - terrain, person, or location. If all the information is not presented from others in his organization then the decision can not be made. Playing the what if game, if the military leader has all the information for his sources except, say, from the weather officer then there is a risk if he plans to attack with heavy armor if it rains and makes traversing the terrain impossible with heavy tanks. Both of these men have different perspectives that they are looking at the topic of leadership as a whole. I appreciate both perspectives but also don't agree totally with either. These traits need far more discussion than what is available in these short comments.
Leader is only one who create leadership not only lovers , workers and followers ,
...hope that leaders will find this article so that they can assess themselves...
Though the same thing which i studied earlier, here describe differently . Thank You
hey i im happy
hey i im happy
A Leader is a man who has the ability to make others do what they don't want to do and like it.
a leader is one who dears to do the imposible beacuse to me the word imposile is somthing that has not been done.
Fantastic article for every one who are to be Leaders.
Lion Nandanathilake MJF/JP
really good article on a common but difficult subject matter.
a good leader is one who knows his responsibilities and does all his work on time with fill perfection.
thank U for this very substantive article on leadership...
Leadership also mean listening and understanding the needs of your people. Followers always expect many things from you when they work to your expectations. In achieving goals, mitigating targets, leaders forget the growth of their followers / subordinates. Without their growth, without their ability to achieve higher positions, leader can not think of him self to drive alone.
Many leaders are seen that organization becomes help less in their absence. This is not a healthy sign. Leader should develop Systems. If you develop a System and motivate your subordinates, organization will always get a success. If an organization or Group can work in the same speed and motivation in absence of their leader, then only a leader is called successful. Leader can be elevated further in such cases only.
A leader should know that there is another height of success greater than the one his team has achieved
A good leader is that who use his power & money given by the government in a best, useful & suitable way.
A good leader is that who use his power & money given by the government in a best, useful & suitable way.
David defines leadership as follows: "Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get others to willingly follow." This is fine as far as it goes, but like most who think about leadership, David talks only about influencing people who report to the leader. Hence leadership influence is really meant to be applied downward. I think leadership can be shown upward and sideways as well whenever colleagues influence each other by showing a better way, which can be done either by example of by overtly promoting a new direction.
Another point worth thinking about is this: if leadership is genuinely an influence process, then how are we to classify decision making, such as when the person in charge makes a strategic decision? For me, this is management. Leadership must be restricted to influence. Otherwise we have no way of accounting for bottom-up leadership where the person showing it has no authority to decide for the people being influenced (led).
Interestingly, showing leadership upward doesn't require many of the qualities David talks about. You only need to be fair, for example, if you have responsibility for people. Leadership shown upwards works if the target audience is influenced and this can be done with a presentation of hard evidence if it is convincing enough. A technical geek with poor emotional intelligence might develop a new product, say an iPhone killer, and promote it to management in an aggressive or blunt manner but still show leadership if management buys his proposal.
In step with the first leadership quality, integrity, I feel it would have been appropriate to give credit to Dale Carnegie for outlining theses traits.
every one who should have zeal to make a leader ,must follow the steps and lead the remain towards the good result.
I very much like leaders that are honest and open with their employees. If you have something to say, just say it, don't tip toe around the subject. The same goes for humor. Nobody likes a grumpy strict leader to boss him around and treat him like some dog or slave.
These simple social skills are what makes or breaks a good leader, and so many people in our current society seriously lack these but they think it's normal. I'd recommend "Are leaders born or made?" written by David Grabovac (link here: http://whois.domaintools.com/grabovac.info) to these guys. Grabovac perfectly compares today's leaders with past leaders throughout history, pointing out the skills necessary to be a good leader but also the skills that make one not fit to lead.
A leader should be impartial too.
These attributes are quintessential instances of impeccable leadership traits !!!
Another element could be breaking rules and innovating new winning techniques
A comment by Mitch McCrimmon:
" David defines leadership as follows: "Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get others to willingly follow." This is fine as far as it goes, but like most who think about leadership, David talks only about influencing people who report to the leader. Hence leadership influence is really meant to be applied downward. I think leadership can be shown upward and sideways as well whenever colleagues influence each other by showing a better way, which can be done either by example of by overtly promoting a new direction.
Another point worth thinking about is this: if leadership is genuinely an influence process, then how are we to classify decision making, such as when the person in charge makes a strategic decision? For me, this is management. Leadership must be restricted to influence. Otherwise we have no way of accounting for bottom-up leadership where the person showing it has no authority to decide for the people being influenced (led).
Interestingly, showing leadership upward doesn't require many of the qualities David talks about. You only need to be fair, for example, if you have responsibility for people. Leadership shown upwards works if the target audience is influenced and this can be done with a presentation of hard evidence if it is convincing enough. A technical geek with poor emotional intelligence might develop a new product, say an iPhone killer, and promote it to management in an aggressive or blunt manner but still show leadership if management buys his proposal."
I was wondering if the above example " A technical geek with poor emotional intelligence might develop a new product, say an iPhone killer, and promote it to management in an aggressive or blunt manner but still show leadership if management buys his proposal." is correct. How does that show leadership? The technical geek might be influential but that does not necessarily mean that he is a leader. He does not lead anybody. I think that not all influential people are leaders though leaders are influential people.
interesting article:)
Good stuff. If you have known great leaders, you will recognized these traits.
Its really good for developing more skills of the employees, for getting the positive attributes from them and as well its also really very helpful for the freshers and the upcoming leaders like students. so thanks for all this. its really pleasure to have such things to us.
Right !!! I Agree and I really liked these all things and will help in my professional life.
Some of our leader in Nigerian sepecially those one man business company they fall into the "not to follow qualities
Some of our leader in Nigerian sepecially those one man business company they fall into the "not to follow qualities
. Loving
2. Patience
3. Listens
4. Caring
5. Humor
6. Peacefulness
7. Honesty
8. Humility
9. Joyful
10. Faith in something... whatever it is for them that they can believe in
Nothing too revealing or inspiring,standard 'text book'stuff, which sees the business world from a one dimensional, static perspective. Applied leadership is less about the subjective qualities, ie; fairness, and more about surviving turbulent times and leading in uncertainty.
Helena T Cullina
British Tutors
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