Although no two leaders are precisely identical, the most effective leaders have several traits. Aside from personal preferences, beliefs, and life experiences, certain leadership traits are universal – honesty, responsiveness, enthusiasm, integrity, and so on.
While some of these characteristics may come naturally to certain leaders, the finest leaders develop these abilities via hard effort and habit building. Let’s look at several key behaviours that enable leaders to achieve and maintain success in business and life.
The 12 key components of effective leadership:
- Bravery
“Courage is the first virtue that allows for the development of all other virtues.” —Aristotle.
People will wait to see if a leader is courageous before following their instructions. People expect their leaders to be courageous. They want someone who can make difficult judgments while still looking out for the group’s best interests.
- When things get rough, they need a leader who will stay the course. When their leaders demonstrate bravery, people are considerably more likely to follow suit.
- Adversity is a pleasant test for the fearless leader. Adversity is a trial by fire that refines leaders and sharpens their game, like a blacksmith shaping red-hot iron. Adversity strengthens brave leaders and strengthens their commitment to their strategic goals.
Leaders who lack guts merely follow orders. They take the safest route—the road of least resistance—rather than taking the risk of leading.
- Effective communication
“We communicate less the more sophisticated our tools of communication become.” Joseph Priestley
The true task of leadership is communication. It’s a key component of how leaders achieve their objectives daily. You can’t be a great leader unless you can communicate effectively.
- Great communicators inspire people. Regardless of the physical distance, they establish a genuine, emotional, and personal connection with their followers.
- Great communicators establish this connection by gaining a thorough grasp of their audience and speaking directly to their needs in a way that they are ready to hear.
- Generosity
“A successful leader is someone who accepts a bit more blame than he deserves and a little less praise than he deserves.” —Maxwell, john.
Truly great leaders are giving. They take turns taking credit and expressing their gratitude. They’re just as invested in the success of their followers as they are in their own. They aim to motivate every one of their employees to do their personal best, not just because it would help the team succeed, but also because they care about each individual.
- Humility
“Humility does not mean thinking less of you; it simply means thinking less of yourself.” — Lewis, c.s.
Great leaders are modest. They don’t let their position of power make them believe that they are superior to others. As a result, they aren’t afraid to step in and do the grunt work when necessary. They will not ask their followers to do something that they would not do.
- Self-awareness
“It is ridiculous that a man should govern others when he himself cannot rule.” —an old Latin proverb.
Leaders’ lack of self-awareness is rarely due to dishonest, Machiavellian motivations or serious character defects, contrary to what Dilbert may have us believe. Leaders, like everyone else, tend to see themselves in a more positive light than others.
- Emotional intelligence is built based on self-awareness, which 90 % of great performers have in spades.
- Great leaders have a clear and accurate vision of their leadership style and their strengths and limitations, thanks to their high self-awareness.
- They know where they excel and where they fall short, and they have plans in place to compensate for those flaws.
- Following the golden rule
“How you view people determines how you treat them, and how you treat them determines who they become.” Jon wolfgang von goethe
The golden rule, which states that you should treat others the way you want to be treated, implies everyone is the same. It assumes that if you treat your followers how a leader would like to be treated, they would be content. It ignores the fact that a variety of factors drives people.
- One individual enjoys being the centre of attention, while the other despises it.
- Great leaders do not treat others how they would like to be treated. Instead, they apply the golden rule to each individual and treat them as they would like.
- Great leaders figure out what makes people tick, anticipate their needs, and adjust their leadership style appropriately.
- Passion
“You don’t need a master plan for how things will play out if you just work on things you like and are passionate about.” — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
It is contagious to have passion and excitement. Boredom and indifference are also dangerous. No one wants to work under a supervisor who is uninterested in their job or simply going through the motions. Great leaders are enthusiastic about what they do and seek to in still similar enthusiasm in others around them.
- Infectiousness
“The fundamental core of leadership is that you must have a vision,” says it has to be a vision that you can communicate clearly and strongly at all times. You can’t play the trumpet that isn’t sure.” —Theodore Hesburgh, reverend.
Great leaders understand that having a clear vision is insufficient. You must bring your vision to life so that your supporters can see it as vividly as you do. Great leaders do this by telling tales and painting verbal images so that everyone understands where they’re headed and what it will look and feel like when they get. Others are inspired to absorb the idea and make it their own as a result of this.
- Reliability
“just be yourself and talk from your heart and guts — that is all a guy has.” Hubert Humphrey.
Authenticity is being true to yourself in all aspects of your life, not simply what you say and do. When you’re genuine, your words and actions match who you say you are. Your followers shouldn’t have to waste time trying to figure out whether you have hidden agendas. Any time they spend doing so, their trust in you and their capacity to perform is eroded.
Authentic leaders are open and honest with their followers. They aren’t flawless, but they gain people’s respect by acting as though they believe what they say.
- Receptiveness
“it’s like having a bird in your palm when you’re in management. Squeeze it too hard and it dies; squeeze it lightly and it flies away.” Tommy Lasorda is a professional baseball player who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Great leaders make it obvious that they accept criticism, challenges, and other points of view. They understand that a culture in which individuals are reluctant to speak out, provide advice, or ask excellent questions is doomed to fail.
- Accountability
“when one of the ancient roman engineers built an arch, and the capstone was put into position, the engineer accepted responsibility for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood beneath the arch.” Michael Armstrong is a writer.
Great leaders have the support of their people. They don’t try to transfer responsibility, and when they fail, they don’t hide their humiliation. They’re not hesitant to say things like, “the buck stops here,” and they gain people’s trust by standing behind them.
- A clear sense of what you’re trying to achieve
“You don’t lead by guiding people in the direction of a destination. You take the initiative by travelling to that location and presenting a case.” Ken Kesey
While vision refers to a clear knowledge of where you’re heading, a feeling of purpose relates to knowing why you’re getting there. People enjoy feeling as if they are a part of something larger than themselves. By having a strong sense of purpose, great leaders offer others that sensation. You have to create your own assignment to achieve your goals and here you can take the help of professional assignment helpers.
Conclusion
You don’t have to have all of these qualities at the same time to be a successful leader. Concentrate on one or two at a time; each small improvement will help you become more successful. It’s fine if you “act” out some of these characteristics at first. The more you practice, the more intuitive it will become, and the more your new leadership style will get internalized.
About Author:
Nyomi Queen is a contributing writer to LiveWebTutors. She is a podcaster, style coach and has been a blogger and a professional blogger writing about educational skills, personal development, and motivation since 2010. She operates a team of experts and qualified professionals who provide assignment help in Australia