8 qualities of an excellent leader

Who is a Leader?

A leader is a person who leads a group or an organization in order to achieve a certain goal. A leader doesn’t just give orders but instead, he/she works with the fellow members to achieve the goal together.

There are many ways to become a leader, you can get selected, promoted, elected, etc. The best way to become a leader is when people want to follow you. People naturally will look up to you as a leader and this can happen after you practice these qualities mentioned below.

Qualities of a good leader:

1. Vision

A person becomes a leader when he/she has a vision for a better future. A strong solid vision is the reason team members are motivated to join the team and work hard to achieve the goal. A vision is achieving a certain long- or short-term goal with limited resources and time and it gives his/her team members a path to achieve that goal faster with minimum wastage for a profitable and brighter future.

2. Confidence

Whenever any setbacks happen, everyone in the group looks up to team leaders for confidence. If a leader himself is suffering from a lack of confidence how will he ensure his team members and motivate them to focus on achieving the goal? Many times, a leader has to take risky decisions and if he won’t have confidence in his vision, his team will become vulnerable and wouldn’t be able to work. A good plan is not enough, we also need confidence in order to achieve the goal.

3. Know Your People

Knowing names is definitely a good start but sometimes knowing this basic information isn’t enough. A leader should know what problem his team members are facing and how it can be solved, what motivates and demotivates team members, what are their weaknesses and strong points, and how the team members can be helpful in order to achieve the goal they are seeking. With this information, a leader has to make sure that his/ her team members’ strengths and use it in a way that is profitable.

4. Accountability

When you are a leader, you are accountable for every mistake you or your team makes. A good leader never blames his team but instead, he can guide them whenever they go wrong. A leader is a person whom everyone looks up to, so when he takes charge of any situation, it sets an example for his team. A leader’s leadership is all about taking responsibility whether it’s good or bad. So, if anything goes wrong, blame yourself, this also sets an empowering image. Accountability makes you a trustworthy leader and it makes you stand out as a leader.

5. Respect team members’ perspective

Two people can’t think alike. Hence there will a time come when your junior will have his/her opinion on a certain matter. It is the responsibility of a leader to respect a different perspective and take it into consideration. In fact, diversity in perspective is very helpful when it comes to creative decisions. And it motives team members and encourages them to work harder. Only an excellent leader is strong enough to suck his ego and acknowledge members’ thought processes/ideas and consider the suggestion if it’s profitable.

6. Problem Solving

Whenever any misfortunate situation happens/ problem occurs everyone looks up to their team leader to help/guide them and get the solution. And if the leader doesn’t have this skill, the group will get stuck every time a situation occurs and wouldn’t be able to achieve the goal. Hence to become a successful and excellent leader, one should have this quality.

7. Communication

A leader with good communication skills can explain his vision well to his team in a way they can understand. Here communication is not just regarding setting goals and achieving it. The leader is responsible for communicating the rules, declaring news regarding goals (good or bad), building connections, discussion on needed subjects, etc. with his team members, peers, customers, boss, etc. So, to become an excellent leader, a person needs to be good with his communication skills.

8. Motivation

It is very important for a leader to remain motivated and motivate his team members to work enthusiastically. When a project starts everyone is excited but after a period of time the motivation and excitement go down due to many reasons. It’s the responsibility of a leader to get to the core of demotivation, get the solution for the same, and get creative to motivate his team in different ways, at every certain interval period of time. A motivated person gives a profitable result. And to keep everyone motivated, the leader himself/ herself should remain motivated and excited all the time.

Some are born with leadership qualities and some have to develop this skill inside themselves but to become an excellent leader, you need constant practice. It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced person or a new one, there is always room for improvement. It’s not easy to become a leader, we have to make many sacrifices and hard decisions in order to achieve goals. Hence only a person who is dedicated and passionate can become an excellent leader.