Being a leader isn't an easy road, it involves pressure, responsibility, and accountability to name just a few demands. Demonstrating the following five factors of leadership will help you to not only conquer the road, but do it with the respect of your team and do it greatly.
1. Vision
Having vision allows you to maintain dedication and commitment to seeing your goals accomplished in the future, be it five months or five years from now.
As a leader, there will be times when the chips are down. Your team might be under the pump, impossible deadlines looming or a setback suffered. When you're able to get in there, work alongside your team, and prove how dedicated you are to the company, you'll win respect and transfer that energy on to your team.
It's your responsibility to be their rock and keep your vision in mind at all times to ensure progress is being made to achieve it. Give your team appreciation for their hard work and remind them what you're all working towards together. Passion is contagious and it is only by remaining true to the vision you hold that you will be able to continually motivate others.
2. Intuition
To become great, you must learn to trust yourself and your instinct when it comes to making difficult decisions - especially ones that have to be made quickly or difficult choices that may also be unpopular.
You'll need to have courage and make decisions with authority. You have to learn how to not give in to pressure if individuals don't like a decision made in the best interests of the entire business.
At times, you may also let your intuition guide you into deciding to use collaborative decision-making or to seek guidance from your mentors and peers. This is when your gut tells you that you can simply not make the decision on your own. Seeking help when you need it is a proactive move and means you're not operating according to your own pride or ego.
3. Attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude, having confidence and a sense of humour are going to make your job as a leader easier since productivity increases when morale is high. It's up to you to bring energy on a day to day basis and be a constant source of encouragement to your team.
When you help them laugh at their mistakes and learn, you'll create a work culture that support and nurtures each other to achieve goals.
4. Empathy
Quite possibly this is the hardest one to master, and may be what can truly set a great leader apart from their contemporaries. Emotional intelligence does not always come readily to everyone, but like most things, it can be a trained skill if you don't have a natural talent in it.
Empathy is the ability to understand and feel other peoples' perspectives, while emotional intelligence is the ability to read emotions and guide your communication or decisions in accordance with this. A leader with these qualities will go the extra mile in supporting, being helpful, and having concern for the welfare of their employees.
They'll praise employees in public and address issues in private. They understand how well recognition for achievements can motivate people and help them to feel valued and meaningful within a business. Likewise, they can recognise that there is no benefit to be gained in not privately addressing problems. They avoid criticism and blame because they know these are time wasters that only serve to stall an effective solution.
5. Communication
Without effective communication, there's going to be a breakdown on the horizon. Fortunately, to be a great leader, you'll understand how important solid lines of communication are to the ongoing success and operation of the business. You will know how to express yourself in a way that is clear, but also successful to ensure that work is done both correctly and efficiently.
As a leader, you have a responsibility to define the values of the company and be a reflection of these. When you exhibit honest and ethical behaviour in all of your interactions and work, this will flow through the office and your team's behaviour will elevate itself to match these instilled principles.
