“A true leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”
– John C. Maxwell
In short, a leader is the hero of a group or an organization. This is the person who influences, guides, and leads a group of people to success.
A leader has to have a vision for anyone it may be leading. Then they need to know and design the best way possible to communicate the vision to their team members.
Once the members are inspired the leader has to then evaluate the skills possessed by their subordinates and see who would be suitable for which position. The leader needs to fully optimize the structure of the organization in such a way the business runs like a vehicle with a well-oiled engine. Then, the leader needs to have a clever strategy in place to use whenever any conflict arises that may hinder the organization’s journey towards its goals.
So now that we have talked about what the leaders do, let us now talk about what qualities actually make a good leader.
Empathy: this is one of the most important and often overlooked qualities of a good leader. A good leader will work towards understanding what the members of his group want and how to use that to inspire them to work towards the goals of the company.
The fact of the matter is that just the way a company has goals, every individual would have goals too. A leader would see through that and relay the goals of the company to the members while pointing out the benefits that they will gain from achieving that goal.
Communication: you may have the most magnificent vision for the company but unless until you have a way of effectively broadcasting it to the company, you will not see your employees being motivated enough to follow through. Not only that, the leader will also have to encourage the employees or the group members to give their opinion regarding the matter as well.
Decision making: the leader needs to have a well-grounded decision-making capacity. The leader should be able to think on their feet but also if the option is available they should think long and hard about making a significant decision.
They can even consult the stakeholders to ask for their opinion. Once they have made a decision the leader should stand by it, and no other sort of unnecessary influence should hinder their decision.
Confidence: a good leader would be confident in the capabilities of the company and its employees. This would result in the employees feeling more confident in their abilities. In order to achieve that, the leader should be self-assured, which will radiate as they address the crowd.
Accountability: one of the qualities of a good leader is that they make sure to hold their subordinates accountable for their actions. If they do well, then they praise them, but if they do poorly then they get them to realize their fault and help them improve.
Many people say that leadership is an innate quality; however, that is not true. Leadership is a quality that can be acquired by anyone willing to learn.
