The definition of leadership is broadly defined and can include dozens of different perspectives. Leadership means different things to different people, but in the capacity of the business, leadership is everything. A good businessman is a good leader. If you’re trying to break into the business or struggling with your qualities of leadership, it might help to go back to the basics and look at the subject of leadership from different angles. If you’re not a good leader, what can you do to become one? Perhaps the best way to kick the assessment of your leadership qualities is to understand what it means to lead an organization or group of people. What’s your job here?
Highly successful leaders in business have a certain mindset, but more than that they have a certain variety of behaviors that enable them to inspire the best in people. It isn’t always the guy or gal banging their fist on a table and demanding that everyone get their act together. It isn’t always belting out instructions to employees. Sometimes you have to get creative with your leadership, switch tactics, and think outside the traditional view of leadership. By understanding the qualities of a good leader, you can begin to mirror these philosophies and behaviors so that you get more out of the people who look to you for leadership.
1. Good leaders think positively
It may seem strange to start off with the abstract concept of humility, but it’s an important component of a good leader’s outlook on life. They have a sense of their own limitations, the limitations of others, and most importantly, they have a sense of how to overcome those limitations to keep plugging away at their vision in life. So as strange as it is to say, a good leader is someone who comes across as flawed and human, not someone who comes across as perfect and demanding. People generally like leaders who don’t emphasize their leadership role but instead see themselves as level with the people they work with.
2. Good leaders think positively
Once again, we’re talking about abstractions, but it’s important to note that at least when it comes to their primary focus in life – their industry – great leaders tend to have a bright side to every story, even failure. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation highlights positivity as a true indicator of great thinking in leadership. Even if things aren’t going so well right now, always picture the best possible scenario, and it will be easier to envision the path it takes to get there.
3. Good leaders don’t just talk
Communicating is a two-way street. You talk. They listen. They talk. You listen. Even the lowest employee in the hierarchy can have something big to offer an organization. Bright ideas often come from the unlikeliest of people, and you can’t hear those ideas if you don’t listen. Listening to the people who look to you for leadership is every bit as important as talking to them, given that without followers, there can be no leaders. Always keep an ear out for great ideas, no matter who is communicating them.
4. Great leaders are creative
Following the status quo can net you good qualities as a leader, but the people who really thrive in leadership roles aren’t afraid to mix things up a little bit. Looking at problems from different angles and getting creative with solutions is often the best path to good leadership. If you want to get ahead as a leader and be the person people look to when they need a leader, it’s vital to invent solutions that are creative and original. Creative leadership is a big topic in organizations these days, and it should be. Creativity brings us our freshest, brightest ideas. Customers also appreciate a creative environment surrounding a business, and services like Retail Audit Services ScoutMI help to bring a more creative approach to business-type relationships.
5. Great leaders don’t waver when the final decision is made
Decisiveness has long been recognized as the quality of a great leader. Sure, you might have some internal wrangling going on while you’re mulling things over, and there’s no doubt that carefully thinking over decisions is important, but when you’ve made the decision, stick with it. As a leader you’ll be making decisions your entire career, and the more confidence the people who work under you have in those decisions, the better. Stick with that final call and feel good about it.
6. Good leaders are honest
Part of leadership is having to be honest about things that would make other people uncomfortable. In a business setting, honesty is the best policy with your employees, even if the honesty comes at the expense of popularity. In any relationship, whether personal or business, the foundation of that relationship is going to be honest. If you make a tough decision that someone else has a problem with, it’s still best to be honest about how you came to that decision and let things fall where they may. When people know they’re honest, that they can trust you, then you are truly a leader. Your place as captain of the ship will be more stable because everyone on your crew knows you’ll be honest at the end of the day. And they will respect that.
7. Good leaders enjoy working with others
Being a people person is almost a must in the business world, even if it’s online business. You have to have a genuine love for what you’re doing and for the people who are influenced by your leadership. When you have this affection for others, they can see it, and they will trust in your leadership even more. Trust is paramount to success, as is a good old-fashioned love for folks.
Great leaders not only make a better life for themselves, but they inspire those who look to them for leadership to be the best they can, too. When you become a better leader, the people who follow you will also become better, and that’s the hallmark of success.