Compelling Qualities of a Good Leader
1. Resilience
“There’s so much change afoot in the workplace today and when change occurs, individuals who have resilience generally are also resourceful and agile. They have the ability to take on change and adapt to what’s happening around them and to them as the workplace changes. Individuals who have resilience/grit are able to take good risks and are open to change.”-Kimberly Rath, Chairman & Co-Founder of Talent Plus, Inc
2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ):
“Good leaders improve their emotional intelligence by making a concerted effort to understand the reasons behind an employee’s behavior. It could be a lack of trust, a bad past experience or a fear behind a bad decision. When you understand this, it’s easier to react with dignity to any type of situation.”– Vladimir Gendelman, Founder & CEO of CompanyFolders
3. Empathy
“While we often are focused on profitability and growth, and rightfully so, there are times that we need to remember that our teams are people often have things going on outside of work. By having empathy and understanding what else is happening in their lives, we can better lead them through good and bad times.”-Antonella Pisani, Founder of Official Coupon Code
4. Open-Minded
“Great leaders are inquisitive and use strong, open-ended questions to learn about their staff, identify opportunities and threats to their business, and challenge their top employees to take risks, think critically, and increase engagement. Of course it probably also goes without saying that asking a great question isn’t enough… great leaders also know how to listen and leverage the answers they receive to make good decisions.”-Jamie Newman, Founder of Your Best Manager and Host of “Your Best Manager” podcast
5. Humility
“A great leader has to be able to say, I’m sorry. If you want your organization to be constantly innovating and improving, your team members must be reflective and self-aware. You need them to know when they’ve made mistakes and correct them so they can get better. This is only a realistic expectation if the leader of the organization is willing to do the same thing. A good leader will say, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, and here’s what I’m doing to get better. If the leader can do this, it will set the right tone for the rest of the organization.”-Jacob Dayan, Partner & Co-Founder of Community Tax
6. Ownership / Accountability
“Leaders who take ownership and are accountable for their work can quickly implement any successes, as well as learn from any failures. Beyond making or saving a company hundreds of thousands, these leaders also typically develop their employees to do the same.”-Micah Pratt, Director of Medicare Health Plans
7. Influence
The impact a leader has on its team members determines the exploit of team members. A leader by exemplification, deposit sense of hope, energy, morale, focus, and feeling of accomplishment into team members thereby creating an enabling environment that is gear towards productivity.
8. Communication Skills
Good leaders communicate clearly both verbally and in written form in a way the team will understand the objectives leader must be able to listen actively and understand from the perspective of the team members, listening also includes observing the body language and other environmental signals. Effective listening empowers the leader to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the information.
9. Delegation
A good leader knows the responsibilities to share and who to share it with so to improve productivity. Delegating certain responsibilities permit a leader to focus on more productive matters.
10. Listening
“Effective leaders take the time to listen deeply to every person related to the business, group or organization. Often overlooked, creating and modeling a culture of listening in one’s company is the key to connecting with customers and employees, making each person feel valued as a person as well as a member of the team. I’ve seen listening grow businesses, make money, and build relationships and it’s the key ingredient to being an effective leader.”-Marilyn Shannon, Founder of Women’s Empower Networking, LLC.
11. Confidence
A good leader must be confident and must be able to instill confidence in team members. A confident leader does not waver over his decisions.
12. Organization
A good leader must possess exceptional organizational skills in order to coordinate company goals and objectives in such a manner that will enhance team members’ productivity. It also involves setting up parameters that guide team members towards attaining company aim and objectives.
13. Negotiation
Negotiation is the process of establishing a mutually acceptable interest in the conflict of interests. An efficient leader must be able to negotiate indifference in interests of team members and establish a common interest.
14. Unbiased
A leader must be unbiased in dealings with team members. Unbiased in rewards and recognition also unbiased in disciplinary actions.
15. Motivation
“The ability to praise is one of the most underrated leadership qualities out there. Recognition and appreciation serve to not only motivate and boost employee morale but also make employees continue to strive to impress you. It creates mutual respect; I work for them just as much as they work for me.”-Lena Requist, President of ONTRAPORT
16. Integrity
It is imperative for a leader to possess integrity. A good leader must show honesty at all times so to gain the trust of team members.“A great leader is someone who does the right thing, even when it’s unpopular or extremely tough to do so. You have to find something to care deeply about in your business and in each individual that touches your business. Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do.” -Steve Farber, President of Extreme Leadership, Inc., Author and one of Inc’s Top 50 Leadership Management Experts.
