You might have heard leadership quote the specifies differences between a leader and a boss. In reality, people do perceive these two designations in different ways, even though their functionality is similar.
A boss is someone who might show the way but might not lead the way. Whereas, a leader shows the way and also goes with you. It is the first good characteristic that set him/her apart and makes a huge impact on people under leadership management.
What is leadership all about
The person you report to might be a manager making sure you get the job done on time. However, a good leader will not only instruct you but also help and guide you. He/she is farsighted and can transform dreams into reality. (cnchealthplan.com) He/she takes you along in his journey and achieves goals together.
What is leadership skills?
Leadership skills are the more than the kind of a work a leader is entitled to do. His skills involve how he/she manages and takes the team forward to accomplish their goals. It concerns honesty, integrity, confidence, will, decision-making capabilities, and much more. An entire team depends on this person and his/her skills.
Must have qualities of leadership
Along with regular leadership activities here are the kind of skillset a leader must have:
1. Honesty
Honesty is the basic quality of a leader without which a team cannot be successful. You could be the leader of a sports team, a manager on a business, or the captain of an army – nothing works well for the group without your integrity.
How can you expect subordinates to be truthful if you lack this quality yourself? Leaders walk up the ladder of success when they stick to the values.
3. Confidence
A leader is a driving force for every follower and a boost to their confidence level. There are times when people in the team feel helpless, but a leader always needs to be confident about their aim.
If a leader is unsure about taking decisions, the subordinates will also be confused and might refuse to follow you. Leaders must ooze with confidence and assertiveness to expect subordinates to look up to him/her.
3. Inspire people
One of the difficult skills that a leader needs to have and maintain is persuading people to follow. This is only possible when he/she sets a good example. Times when the going gets tough, the followers look up to their leaders to see how to react to difficult situations.
If leaders handle tough situations with grace and positivity, it will show through their actions. Leaders need to have the power to keep calm under pressure and up the motivational level.
Leadership qualities make other people dream, learn, and do more. If you manage to inspire your subordinates, you will be able to overcome any difficulty.
4. Passion
The love for your work comes from within and no one can ever force you to like your job. If a leader doesn’t like what he/she does or isn’t passionate about it, others will lack passion too.
When your teammates find you work extremely hard to achieve a goal, they will try their best to lift you up. It also makes them respect you more and infuse constant energy to the workspace.
If subordinates find lack of interest in leadership and management, they too will lack passion. Thus, a leader needs to constantly be on his toes and make sure people find motivation in them.
5. Well communicable
One of the essential leadership styles includes a leader’s potential to communicate. He/she must be easily approachable and open to hearing everyone out.
If you do not manage to explain to your team due to a lack of communication skills, you cannot be a good leader. You need to know how to make yourself explicable and easy to understand.
Words can motivate people and put them on the right track. You need to make them do the unthinkable and you can only do that when you convey what they need to do.
Also, you must give subordinates the space to come up to you and discuss their issues and grievances. If you’re only telling them what to do but not hearing them out, you will lack the right leadership skillset.
6. Decision-making ability
A leader has a futuristic vision and that determines to make the correct decision. One decision taken by a leader can have an impact on the masses. Leaders need to think a lot before making a choice as it leaves an impact on the entire team.
Although most decision makers take decisions by themselves, you must consult stakeholders before taking a huge step. When it concerns everybody, it is good to at least inform your next move and take opinions about what they think or suggest.
7. Accountability
A good leader will take more share of the blame when things go wrong and less share of the credit when things go right. You must also make sure that every subordinate is accountable for all the good things they do and the mistakes they make.
Give them credit when they do something good and help them improve when they don’t. If you hold them accountable for their actions, they will have a better sense of responsibility and take their tasks more seriously.
8. Empowerment
A leader definitely needs to acknowledge the leadership skills that he must have, but also realize that he can go wrong at times. You need to help your subordinates to delegate tasks for themselves and be empowered enough to not need you all the time.
If you’re continuously micromanaging every step of your team, they will always be dependent on you. What happens if you plan to take a leave or fall sick? Can the team not function without you?
When you delegate tasks to the subordinates, they get a chance to make decisions and show how well they can perform without your assistance. It not only helps them grow but also lets you cater to other important aspects that need attention.
9. Power to innovate
The power to innovate sets a leader apart from his follower. In order to get ahead in the competitive world, leadership needs creativity and innovation. Creative thinking and continuous trial and error to innovate, make you stand out from the rest of the people. Leadership needs you to think out of the box and come up with things no one has tried before. This is when you can turn dreams to reality.
10. Empathy
Leaders must also have empathy for the subordinates because it is about teamwork and not what he does himself. You can’t neglect your followers in times of their need or problems. You need to understand how they feel in order to boost their efficiency. Leaders must work hard and provide the subordinates with solutions so that it becomes easier for them to work.
Final thoughts
Good leadership qualities need all of these and they start by one simple step of being at peace with yourself. Once you are in the best frame of mind, you can take up any challenge and face any problem as it comes your way. Just make sure you take your team ahead with you in this journey and together you will find success.
