A person's behavior and leadership qualities determine a leader. Such a person is able to organize the activities of the team: make decisions on behalf of the entire group, organize work, set an example. He proved that his choice for management was expedient and justified. He does not give in to solving problems that may seem insurmountable. Leadership and personality are interrelated concepts.
The leader organizes the activities of employees
The main character traits of a leader
The main character traits of a leader include:
- control over behavior and emotions;
- positive vision;
- resistance to stress;
- readiness for change;
- confidence in success;
- clarity in expressing thoughts;
- readiness to overcome difficulties;
- ability to manage time wisely;
- ability to persuade;
- ability to conduct constructive dialogue.
A leader is a strong personality who is able not only to solve problems and overcome difficulties, but also to foresee them in the future.
Formal and informal leadership
Leadership can be formal or informal.
The formal leader is the official head of the team. In rare cases, he evokes the sympathy of employees, at most - respect. An informal is a leader who is informally recognized by the majority of the group. They like him more. But his decision-making is also controlled by his manager.
An unofficial leader often appears in a team under an authoritarian management style. With this style, the official leader is perceived as a tyrant, and the socio-psychological process in the team is perceived as unfavorable and in need of a strong leader. In liberal or democratic management styles, an informal leader appears extremely rarely. No one is afraid of the leader, and no help is needed to defend their interests.
The decisions of the informal leader are controlled by the official leader
Leadership Qualities
A business leader must be persistent, decisive and able to give orders, make decisions, control and direct the activities of the team. A leader at work must be able to:
- determine the tasks of the group he leads;
- communicate them constructively to employees;
- convince of the need for a set goal;
- motivate maximum employees to quickly complete tasks;
- maintain authority in the team;
- remain calm regardless of the situation;
- respond quickly to any change in situation;
- think broadly and positively;
- achieve your goals despite obstacles;
- listen to the opinions of others;
- build the right questions;
- to take risks;
- make long-term plans and achieve results;
- dump ballast.
The problem with leadership and management is that the manager is not always endowed with the qualities of a leader. In addition to qualities, a manager must be able to behave like a leader.
Demonstration of qualities
The qualities of a leader are demonstrated by words, intonation, way of conducting a conversation, facial expressions and gestures, confidence and firmness of opinion.
- A confident person maintains good posture.
- Doesn't take his eyes off the other person's eyes.
- Smiles only in appropriate situations.
- Treats the interlocutor with respect.
- Dress appropriately for the position held.
Main types
The desire for leadership is the desire to take a worthy place in society. And it is common to all people. According to the style of decision-making in a team and methods of approach to resolving problems, types of leadership are determined: authoritarian, liberal or democratic.
Authoritarian leader
Authoritarian leadership provides the leader with the ability to make decisions autonomously, and also implies the subordination of all team members to management. Performance decisions made controlled. The manager has the right to criticize and, without giving reasons, take measures to punish subordinates, which causes mass discontent in the team.
- high probability of making wrong decisions;
- lack of initiative and passivity of employees;
- team dissatisfaction;
- difficult moral situation.
This style is advisable only in critical situations: an accident or a threat to life. The authoritarian style is capable of suppressing mass discontent.
Liberal leader
The liberal view is characterized by a lack of control and clarity in requirements. There is the possibility of unpredictable penalties.
Such a personality shows a tendency to regression, characterized by a lack of incentive to work, dissatisfaction of employees with management and the entire job. The climate in the team is unfavorable. Negative influence people against each other is expressed by hidden conflicts.
Democratic leader
In a democratic form, a person involves the team in discussing the most important tasks and goals, decision making. The group is given a certain level of freedom to discuss and stimulate work activity.
Such a leader is the most effective. High probability of making the right decisions, good performance indicators, favorable psychological environment. This type of leadership is an indicator of the professionalism of a manager and a good leader.
Leadership and Guidance
Leadership and management are often confused. But these are not synonymous words. In order to understand what leadership and management are, it is necessary to consider their differences.
Key Differences between Leadership and Management
|
Leadership |
Management |
| unofficial relationships | official relations |
| psychological basis | social basis |
| can be a leader | may not be a leader |
| sets and achieves goals independently | sets goals and ways to achieve them through the efforts of subordinates |
| leadership is based on trust, leads followers | subordination of the team is mandatory, rewards and punishments are applied |
Main similarities:
- a leader and a manager can be both at the same time;
- are representatives of government;
- may have an impact on the environment.
We can conclude that leadership is the influence on one's followers without the use of coercion and punishment. The authority of a leader depends on his personal qualities and ability to protect the interests of the group.
Management exerts influence through the exercise of formal authority. The position confers leadership authority, but not leadership qualities.
Signs of a leader
It is quite easy to identify such a person in a group; his main characteristics are:
- high activity and initiative in solving team problems;
- ability to influence team members;
- high awareness;
- the personal qualities of a leader are inherent;
- the ability to see a situation outside the framework of recognized norms.
Leader functions
A leader must not only be able to persuade and be active, but also perform certain functions. The functions of the leader are as follows:
- organize the life of the team in all areas of activity;
- set rules and ensure that the group adheres to them;
- officially represent the group in your person;
- be responsible for the results of the team’s activities;
- coordinate relationships within the group.
Conclusion
In order to be a leader, you must have not only certain personal qualities of a leader, but also constantly work on yourself, and reasonably believe that you are right. Self-confidence helps you overcome difficulties and not give in to problems. Develop leadership qualities such as calmness, logic, and the ability to look from the outside. Developing strong leadership skills will certainly help you earn respect and recognition among your employees, family and friends.
If you decide to become a real leader, then you will undoubtedly need a lot of work on yourself. After all, a leader has a multiple set of psychological qualities and knowledge for his viability.
Leader (from English) leader) - the first, going ahead of the rest 🙂 - a person who, in a certain group of people, enjoys recognition, authority and has influence, which is defined as managerial activity. The leader makes the most important decisions of the group or organization and manages all processes as a whole, while giving direction for further actions.
In this article we will talk not about that, but about To qualities of a leader.
Leader Qualities:
1) Self-confidence
2) Communication skills
Without this quality of a leader it is difficult to imagine the ability to establish contacts and quickly find mutual language with the team, the most important quality is not only in this path.
3) Ability to constantly learn
It's no secret that our world is constantly changing at an ever-increasing speed. It is in this regard that modern leaders simply need to constantly replenish their knowledge and introduce innovations in their business. This will significantly increase your competitiveness.
4) Determination
Very important quality, which separates the leader from other people. He always knows what he wants and what needs to be done for it. After all, you will agree to lead the crowd stupidly when you yourself don’t know where.
5) Responsibility
The ability to be responsible for one’s words, actions, and decisions is an integral quality of a leader. Here you can no longer say “who is to blame?” You will have to take on the entire burden of possible failures and failures, but share success with everyone.
6) Self-discipline
Ordinary people easily allow themselves everything possible weaknesses. But the leader cannot afford to give up and must constantly be collected and ready for action.
7) Ability to communicate and listen to people
The ability to communicate and listen to people are one of the main leadership qualities. This is where leadership begins. You must not only communicate and convince people to understandable languages, but also to be able to listen and understand each person as an individual.
8) Ability to create a team
We all understand that without a team, a leader ceases to be a leader. Therefore, the ability to create a team is one of the key qualities of a leader. It costs a lot to attract and convince people to follow your banner.
9) Persistence
A leader is a person who never gives up and is constantly active. He searches for answers and solutions until he finds them.
10) Ambition
A leader always strives for high goals and bright results, while doing this consciously without imagining fairy-tale mountains.
The main referents (signs) of leadership are:
High level activity and initiative of a person when a group solves joint problems;
Greater awareness of the problem being solved, the group members, and the situation as a whole;
Significantly expressed ability to influence other people;
Greater compliance of behavior with the opinions and values accepted in this group;
A more vivid manifestation of personal qualities that are standard for this group.
Among the most frequently mentioned personality traits include: dominance, self-confidence, emotional balance, stress resistance, creativity, desire to achieve, enterprise, responsibility, reliability in completing tasks, independence, sociability.
Let us dwell in a little more detail on each of the listed features.
Dominance translated from English means “dominance”, “predominance”, “influence”. We are talking about dominance as the desire of a leader to influence other people. At the same time, it is necessary to constantly remember the psychological side of the issue. His influence should find an internal response among his subordinates. Otherwise, the leader’s desire to dominate will remain nothing more than a routine claim to power.
The next personality trait is called self confidence . IN difficult situation You can rely on such a person: he will support and protect. Such a leader provides a certain psychological comfort and increases motivation to complete the task. Subordinates, as a rule, feel very well the state of the leader, and the latter, no matter how the circumstances develop, should, at least outwardly, behave quite calmly and confidently.
Let's focus on two related personality traits - emotional balance and stress resistance . Emotional imbalance can reduce a person’s self-confidence, and thereby his business activity. But the leader is a living person. Constant suppression of negative emotional reactions, containing them in a public work environment can result in a number of unpleasant consequences for the individual - neuroses and those developing on their basis psychosomatic diseases. Therefore, the point related to the manager’s search for means of emotional release deserves attention. Means of relaxation should be sought in the structure of an individual’s leisure time, the forms of which are extremely diverse.
Emotional balance goes hand in hand with the individual's resistance to stress. Stress is overexertion, reducing vital activity, disorganizing behavior, weakening attempts to achieve a goal. The whole complexity of stress lies in the fact that the level of tension that is favorable for the effective functioning of some of us is completely unbearable for others. Different people need to be happy various degrees stress.
Another personality trait is creativity. Translated, it means “the ability to creatively solve problems.” The ability of a leader to see elements of novelty and creativity in the activities of other people, and to support their endeavors.
The following two personality characteristics are: achievement drive and entrepreneurship. In close connection with them is personality's propensity to take risks.
The striving for achievement reflects the fundamental human need to achieve a goal. Such people most prefer situations in which they can take responsibility for solving a problem. They set fairly moderate goals for themselves, trying to ensure that the risk is largely calculated and predictable in advance. People who need to achieve a goal want a specific feedback informing them how well they are doing on the task. Perhaps this is why they feel great in business life: because it constantly creates situations with clear information about achieving success.
Now regarding two more quite related personal characteristics – responsibility and reliability in completing the task.
We constantly feel the deficit of these human qualities in Everyday life, reaping the rewards of years of dismal irresponsibility. Meanwhile, once upon a time in Russia, responsibility and reliability were business cards entrepreneurs. Considerable deals were concluded on the word of honor, and God forbid, it was possible to break the undertaken obligation: the offender would face big troubles, primarily financial ones, and they simply stopped doing business with him.
Undoubtedly, an important personal trait that ensures successful actions in various areas of life, including when making decisions, is independence. The main thing is that the manager has his own point of view on emerging problems, his professional and human face and supported this property in his subordinates. Prominent entrepreneurs often encourage dissent in their companies if it serves the social and economic health of the latter.
And finally, the last personality trait discussed here is sociability . There is no particular need to prove how important it is in any activity.
I would like to especially note such a personal quality of a leader as charisma (Appendix 19) . The charismatic influence of a person is built on the strength of the leader's personal qualities or abilities. It is determined by the attraction of other people to the leader. Charismatic influence is entirely personal. Here are some characteristics of a charismatic personality:
- Energy exchange. It seems that this personality radiates energy and charges the people around him with it;
- Impressive appearance. A charismatic leader is not necessarily handsome, but he is attractive, has good posture and carries himself well;
- Independence of character. Does not rely on others in its pursuit of well-being and respect;
- Good rhetorical skills. He has verbal ability and interpersonal communication ability.
- Perception of admiration for one's personality. He feels comfortable when others express admiration for him, without falling into arrogance or selfishness;
- Dignified and confident demeanor. He looks collected and in control of the situation.
People are more likely to be influenced by those who have character traits they admire and who are their ideals, the ones they would like to be like.
We looked at a number of important personality traits. Of course, a person is not born with a ready-made set of these traits. All of them represent a unique alloy of both the natural characteristics of man and the socio-historical conditions of his life.
The main thing is that a person has a desire to improve himself, a clear understanding of the need to build his personality daily and hourly.
But the leadership structure is not exhausted by the two roles presented above (formal and informal). Things happen in the life of a team different situations and in them the so-called situational leaders – people who are capable of leading a team for a certain period of time.
In addition, a team may consist of several microgroups, and they often have their own leaders. And they are sometimes capable of exerting a significant influence on the life of the team, especially in cases where one or another group occupies a dominant position in the team.
How to become a leader
Indeed, how do people become leaders? Does it come with experience, with age, with education, or is a true leader born that way?
The famous scientist, author of the book “Psychology of a Leader” A. Meneghetti, is convinced that a person receives certain inclinations of a leader from birth, but this does not mean that he will become a leader. To become a leader, you must achieve the appropriate level of culture, education, life experience and professionalism. Meneghetti identifies several steps on the path to leadership:
✓ The first step is culture and education . These include general culture (it is important to know the culture of your country and environment, as well as a little understanding of art, music, etc.), professional culture (to be a professional in your field) and diplomatic experience (the ability to create people who can realize goals, because the leader cannot find ready people).
✓ The second stage is ability to overcome stereotypes . This requires inner maturity. A leader must be able to rise above traditional values. This second aspect must always be in harmony with the first. You cannot offend people by destroying humanistic, ideological and other values; you must rise above them. The second level of leader formation cannot be achieved at a university or academy; only experience and life teachers lead to it.
✓ The third stage is knowledge of your unconscious . The unconscious is a storehouse of life and intelligence that we do not fully utilize. Over its history, humanity has developed many techniques for activating the potential stored in the human subconscious. Meditation techniques of Eastern origin are known. It turns out that true leadership is work, work and more work. First of all, work on yourself. And the innate inclinations of a leader are that internal potential that must be subjugated and directed in the right direction, otherwise a born leader will not go further than the leader of a neighborhood football team.
P. Senge, speaking about the formation of a leader, notes: “Such people cannot be created at all, because they create themselves. Most great leaders were not tall, thin, or particularly attractive. Often, they are rather mediocre speakers, do not stand out in the crowd, and their eloquence is not capable of igniting listeners. They tend to have clarity and persuasive ideas, depth of conviction, and a constant willingness to learn. They don’t have a ready answer for everything, but they know how to inspire confidence in others that together “we can learn everything we need to achieve what we want. The ability of such people to be natural leaders is by-product their whole life, subordinated to the development of the ability to formulate and persuade, listen and evaluate the ideas of other people. They reflect on personal values and link their own behavior to them. If personal charisma (unaccountable attractiveness to others) does not rely on such efforts, then it is just style without substance. And then everyone who succumbs to the charm of an empty style loses the last ability to think for themselves and make reasonable decisions. Such a leader is dangerous both for society and for the organization.”
Being able to be a leader is important for everyone who decides to engage in own business or head a division of the organization. For some, this skill is given by nature, and it manifests itself in childhood - at school, on sports fields, among peers. It is undoubtedly easier for such children to grow into real leaders in life. However, if nature has not fully endowed you with leadership qualities, this can always be corrected by hard work on yourself.
He is of the opinion that everything can always be developed in oneself, the main thing is to have great desire and perseverance. To know what you need to strive for, consider the personal qualities of a leader, which were formulated John Maxwell(trainer for personal development, and in particular, leadership). In his opinion, every true leader must harmoniously combine 21 qualities, which we'll talk Further.
Hardness
On life path every person meets from time to time difficult situations, and to make the right decision, you need to show your character. As a rule, it is in such situations that the degree of strength of character and perseverance is revealed. For a person who does not know how to be firm in his decision important issues and demonstrates fickleness, other people will never go along.
Charisma
Hundreds of books have been written on the topic of becoming a charismatic leader. This is a separate part of the general theory of leadership. And it’s not for nothing that psychologists pay such attention to this - developing charismatic qualities in yourself is not so easy if they are not given to you by nature. Not easy, but quite possible! The idea that you either have charisma or you don’t, and nothing can be done about it, is wrong. Such people themselves block their personal achievements. Charisma is a personal attraction, and in order to develop it in yourself, first of all, you need to learn to love your life and the people who surround you.
Devotion
To get people to follow you, you must be dedicated to what you do. Adequate love and commitment to one’s work are essential qualities of a leader. Your goal is to make people believe in your common cause, but how will you do this if you don’t believe yourself? Loyalty can also be expressed in other, more mundane things: how much time you spend at work, what you sacrifice for it, and how much personal effort you put into achieving a goal.
Communication skills
You've probably noticed that the leader in every team is a sociable, talkative and easy-to-get-together person. We do not mean excessive talkativeness, but communication skills. If you want to become a leader, it is extremely important to develop the skills to communicate with the most different people. If you have a great idea or thought, but you cannot effectively communicate it to others, how will they know about it? And then the fact that you have some unique idea will not matter to them at all.
In general, in order to develop your communication skills, it is important to adhere to the following principles - do not complicate your speech, notice individuality in each person, speak only sincerely and insist on a response.
Awareness
A knowledgeable or competent leader is not just a person who can convey his thoughts to others, but can also develop a plan of action to solve a given problem; plan what he needs to do himself and what others need to do. A competent leader does not need to convince people to follow him. When he becomes competent, people themselves want to follow him. Moreover, awareness is one of those qualities that needs to be proven constantly. Every day you must demonstrate this quality in communicating with your followers, and you should never stop at the level once achieved.
Courage
The courage that lives within a leader can engender this quality in his followers. It is important to remember that when faced with a difficult life situation, which requires the manifestation of courage, boldness and bravery, it is necessary to first overcome the struggle with oneself. A courageous leader is one who makes not just quick and resourceful decisions, but also the right decisions.
Foresight
With this quality you will be able to find a solution current problem and know that in the future it will not entail negative consequences. In order to choose the right path to solve a problem, it is necessary to find out the origins of this difficulty. Since there is never only one right solution, it is important to consider all alternatives and choose the most optimal one.
Concentration
A leader's effectiveness is determined by his ability to focus on the task at hand. This is also where the need for correct prioritization arises. To achieve your goal most effectively, you need to know which things require more concentration and which require less. John Maxwell advises focusing on strengths by 70%, on weaknesses by 5%, and on new, not yet developed aspects by 25%.
Generosity
Generosity is a powerful factor in persuasion and leadership. However, even here it is important to constantly stick to the same line and be generous always, and not just “on holidays.” Generosity shown only once is unlikely to give reason to consider you a truly magnanimous and generous person. A true leader A person who is able to captivate people must act in the interests of his group and each individual member, and not just his own.
Cultivating true generosity in yourself is not a quick process, however, when you succeed, you will notice how people themselves will begin to reach out to you. Of course, this is only possible in combination with the other leadership qualities we talk about in this article. Start with sincere gratitude for what you have, and perceive money not as an end, but as a means.
Initiative
To become successful, you need to act. Moreover, to show not some abstract actions, but quite concrete ones. If you stop even for a little bit, you already risk losing a lot of what you could have. Moving along a given path, of course, sometimes you will make mistakes, but the main thing is to never stop acting. Show initiative in motivating yourself: don’t wait for external incentives, motivate yourself from within. It is also worth looking within yourself for the reason for the lack of initiative. For everything that is not the way you would like, only you are to blame, and not the people around you.
The art of listening and hearing
John Maxwell called this quality art, since such a skill requires a lot of work on oneself. A leader should always build his communication strategy with his followers in such a way that they talk to him not about what the leader wants to hear, but about what he really needs to know in a given situation. If they only talk to you about pleasant things, praising your knowledge and skills, but are afraid (or do not want) to report troubles or admit their mistakes, then only the illusion of leadership is created.
To hear what your interlocutor (subordinate, partner, client, competitor) really wanted to convey to you, during a conversation, open not only your ears, but also your heart. Perceiving only bare facts will not give you a chance to penetrate to the very essence of the problem. Learn to read between the lines and understand not only the words of your interlocutor, but also his feelings and emotions.
Passion
What can having passion do for a leader? Firstly, it fully develops the willpower of the individual. If you have a strong desire to achieve something, you will always find the strength to do it, even if you have to sacrifice something. Secondly, passion enhances your ability to achieve your goal. Third, passion has the power to change the world around you. If you are guided by the passion you have developed for your goal, and not by any other intentions or feelings, you will become a more effective leader.
Passion can erase the word “impossible” from your vocabulary - because if you passionately desire something, then nothing can stop you from achieving your goal.
Positive attitude
To each successful person you just need to constantly charge positive energy. Positive thoughts and attitudes - important point in your development as a successful person. This affects not only your own perception of the world and the people around you, but also how the people around you perceive you.
It is worth understanding that on the path of every person there will be both people giving you flowers and people throwing stones at you. It is important not to let these stones spoil your positive attitude in life. And the most experienced and effective leaders can even turn all the negativity directed towards them from ill-wishers into positive. It is important to always remember that your attitude in life determines much that happens to you - from small things to great events.
Ability to overcome current difficulties
No matter what field you work in, from time to time you will encounter difficulties and problems that need to be solved. It is impossible to escape from problems; they have always been, are and will be in our lives. Modern world is in constant development and it is characterized by an ever-increasing complexity of diversity.
To develop problem-solving skills, rely on the following: analyze the current situation and make predictions possible difficulties; accept reality as it is; always consider the whole picture, and not its individual fragments; act in order, without skipping a single step; don't give up, even when something goes wrong.
Ability to get along with people
One way or another, each of us interacts with different people. And those who strive to become a leader must have a special attitude towards relationships with surrounding individuals. People will be drawn to you if they enjoy working with you; if you can always get along with them in any situation, even the most uncomfortable ones. The ability to build favorable relationships with people is based on three factors: understanding, sympathy and desire to help.
Responsibility
It is important to remember once and for all: you alone are responsible for who you are, what you have and what you do. True leaders never shift responsibility to relatives, friends, colleagues, bosses, or subordinates. Big success is possible only if you have the ability to take responsibility and answer with dignity for yourself and your actions in any outcome of the situation.
Self confidence
If you have somehow gained a leadership position, but there are still traces of self-doubt inside you, you as a leader will only harm your team, but most of all, harm yourself. In this situation, your internal personal shortcomings (uncertainty in your actions) will only intensify, since much will be expected of you as a leader, but you will not be able to demonstrate this much. A confident leader is a leader who is able to instill confidence in other people; a leader who gives people more than he receives from them; a leader who empowers himself and his followers.
Self-control
Self-control is one of the foundations of success in achieving your goals. Without self-discipline, you will not be able to get the most out of your capabilities and reveal all your skills and talents. To develop the self-control of a leader, you need to begin to lead a disciplined lifestyle, and it should concern not only work, but also all other areas of your life. Forget about any excuses for your wrong actions, set priorities and strictly follow the plan.
Ability to work for others
It’s worth making a reservation right away: what is meant here is not your position or work responsibilities, but the psychological side of this skill. Paradoxically, to learn how to truly serve people, you need to have strong self-confidence. Only she can allow you to do this without compromising adequate self-esteem (which exists in every person). A leader who serves others does so at will, and puts the interests of other people somewhat higher than his own.
Self improvement
A true leader will never be satisfied with what he has already achieved. Even when you have already gained respect from others, your opinion is valued and you can influence people, never stop improving yourself.
If you stop there, you risk losing a lot of what you have already achieved. Why? Logical chain is simple: 1) the ability to improve yourself determines who you are; 2) who you are determines who and how you can lead; 3) and who you lead has a significant impact on the overall success of your team. To begin effective self-training, you need to get rid of excessive pride and narcissism, and admit that there is still a lot you don’t know and can’t do.
Work for the future
Without this quality, no person can become a leader. Those who want to get everything at once, as a rule, never receive anything. Look to the future, concentrate your energies on what you want and you will definitely succeed!
Many people want to develop leadership qualities. But not everyone understands who a leader is and who he is. Speaking in simple language, distinguished by purposefulness, tirelessness, the ability to motivate other people, serve as an example for them, and lead them to results. A leader is not only a prestigious status, but also a great responsibility. And since this topic very interesting, a little more attention should be paid to its consideration.
Becoming a Leader
First, let's talk a little about this. Is it possible to become a leader? Yes, if a person initially has the appropriate character, temperament, fire inside and what is called acumen. All of the above can “sleep” in a person for some time, but then either awakens itself under the influence of circumstances, or their owner starts the process.
However, all leaders go through four stages of development. Briefly they can be outlined as follows:
- You are your own leader. A person learns to understand himself, to take responsibility for own words and actions, formulates individual motivation, trains discipline, sets goals, and achieves them.
- Leader in the situation. The person takes responsibility for not large group/company in certain circumstances. The prefect in the university group is one example.
- Leader in a team. A person who can lead a large group of people to complex and important goals. For example, the head of a department of a company.
- Team leader. Someone who has enormous potential, inexhaustible confidence, strong fortitude and an ambitious goal, for the achievement of which he gathers a whole team. For example, a businessman organizing his own business.
Being a leader is not easy. But this status brings great benefits. So what qualities should a leader have?
Ability to work with goals
This needs to be said first. The main quality of a leader is the ability to determine a goal and work with it in the future. He knows for sure the following:
- What strategies can help achieve results.
- In what direction should you move to achieve it?
- How much time and resources will be required to achieve the goal.
- What will be obtained as a result.
A leader also knows how to plan, analyze, think constructively and offer practical thoughts. In addition, he is able to clearly and clearly explain everything listed to any member of the team.
Communication skills
This must also be considered one of the main qualities of a leader. Communication skills mean the ability to establish contacts and facilitate mutually enriching, constructive communication. If a person has this quality, then he is considered socially successful.
And for a leader, the ability to communicate effectively with people, colleagues and partners is also the key to success. If he is a sociable person, then it will not be difficult for him to create a useful connection at the right time, which will help in achieving the goal effectively. In addition, this quality helps to win people over, ask the right questions, quietly move the topic in the right direction and quickly receive the information of interest.
Ability to inspire and motivate
This is a very important quality. A leader is a person who not only leads people, but someone you want to follow! He must be able to create impulses of action that stimulate both himself and others. Moreover, it must also inspire action and create long-term and sustainable motivation.
A leader knows how to demonstrate an attractive and colorful future and thereby make his followers and wards want to quickly plunge into it headlong. To do this he must:
- Have a well-spoken speech.
- Create a “picture” of the future, vividly describe it, but do not embellish it.
- To some extent, be a psychologist. There is no way to do without knowing the “points” of your colleagues and mentees that need to be influenced for inspiration and motivation.
And of course, a leader must lead by example. Energetic, positive, confident and at the same time calm in a businesslike manner. So that people, looking at him, know that everything will work out, they will definitely succeed, and even under such leadership.
Humanity
Despite the fact that we are all human, this quality is not characteristic of everyone. But a leader simply must have it. Who will people follow? Who will they support? Who will they listen to? Only that someone provides them with support, cares about their interests, and treats them humanely and with understanding.
This is very important personal quality. A leader can be strict and inviting at the same time. Many are afraid to show understanding and support for fear of losing authority, but good leaders know in what situations they need to show one side or the other.
Organization
When talking about what qualities a leader should have, one cannot fail to mention organization. It is very important not to waste time on trifles, to be able to brush aside unnecessary actions, and to concentrate on what is important. The basis of a true leader's actions is:
- Self-discipline and discipline.
- Clear order of action.
- A thoughtful schedule and strict follow-up to it.
- Diligence and punctuality.
- Ability to manage time.
- The ability to focus as much as possible on a specific action.
In the process, the leader manifests himself directly. After all, he not only follows everything listed above, he also teaches it to his subordinates. By the way, in the business environment this is called time management.
What is leadership?
This is not quality, but it also deserves attention. Leadership is a process social influence, due to which a person receives support from other people (members of the team, as a rule) to achieve certain goals.
There can be a lot of varieties. Leadership style determines a person’s worldview, characteristics of his character, and experience. Sometimes circumstances also influence. The styles are as follows:
- Autocratic. Characterized by highly centralized power. The leader makes all decisions, subordinates only carry out orders.
- Democratic. All team members take part in decision making.
- Liberal. The leader delegates his authority to his subordinates, which increases their initiative and creativity.
- Narcissistic. A leader does not take into account the interests of others. This does not always lead to a bad outcome, but in a team with such authority, people tend to feel uncomfortable because of his arrogance and aggressiveness.
- Toxic. Authority uses leadership in such a way that the team ends up in a worse position.
- Result oriented. The leader leads the team towards the goal, strictly following the plan and remembering the time frame.
- Relationship-oriented. The leader tries to improve relationships in the team, putting real goals in the background.
Political sphere
It would be nice to briefly consider the topic within a particular sector of life. For example, what should be the qualities of a political leader? The main ones include:
- Consistent activity and activity. It is important. A politician should be perceived by people as an active and active person. Expressive performances, impressive decisions, speeches, projects, actions... this quality demonstrates all this.
- The ability to shape one’s behavior and image. A politician must be able to focus on people, grasp their demands and meet them.
- Ability to think politically. It helps to formulate a social position in certain cases and determine one’s behavior.
- The ability to grasp the relationship between events in the life of society and spheres.
- The ability to inspire justified trust. No political leader will influence people unless they trust him.
This list can also include the ability to use power and take responsibility, the ability to understand ordinary citizens, and also a manifestation of humanism and high morality.
Signs of a leader
I would like to list them last. Much has been said above about what qualities characterize a leader. And here are some of the signs by which such a person can be easily recognized:
- He does not wait for orders, but acts himself, and does it wisely and effectively, for the good.
- He is characterized by courage and strong character.
- He makes bold decisions.
- He has many like-minded people and advisers.
- He thinks optimistically, but not recklessly.
- One of best qualities leader - he always knows what he wants.
- He is not afraid to destroy everything in order to build something new.
- A leader does not try to be someone, he remains himself.
- Such a person does not compete with others, but cooperates.
- He perceives change and crisis not as a problem, but as an opportunity to take active action.
- Obstacles motivate him, not depress him.
- He always goes to the end. Nothing can make him go astray.
- His life always impresses and delights.
- Many are trying to imitate him.
- The leader does not tense up. If a problem arises, he solves it without wasting time on complaining and worrying.
- In any area of life, it is clear from him that he is a leader. Even if he is resting alone.
Having studied even this small list, you can understand that a leader is a strong and strong-willed personality capable of both independently performing actions and exploits, and successfully motivating others to do so.
