What are your views regarding this saying? ‘Great leaders are born, not made’. To a certain point, I agree. I believe the qualities for a great leadership are innate. The good news is that leadership skills can be learned, and they are enhanced by practice and repetition.
Many leaders are good, but few qualify as exceptional. The word leadership can bring to mind a number of different images. My favourite definition of a leader is, someone who help themselves and others do the right think. Leaders are those people who, build an inspiring vision, and are innovators. Leaders, set out the direction of the team or a whole organisation; a motivating, exciting and dynamic direction. Apart from setting directions, leaders must also make use of their management skills to guide people to reach the destination in a smooth and organised manner.
Here are some qualities and traits of great leaders that you can learn and practice. It isn’t easy but the results are truly rewarding.
- Vision: All great leaders have one thing in common- vision. They have a clear idea of where they are going and how to get there. Excellent strategic planning is their forte. This is the quality that distinguishes leaders from managers.
- Integrity: The first value that all leaders agree upon for their company is integrity. Honesty is important in everything they do, both internally and externally. Integrity means that you always say the truth, to everyone and in every situation.
- Focus: Outstanding leaders plan ahead, and are extremely organised. They think about multiple scenarios and different impacts of their decision. These breed of leaders communicate their plans to key players and have more than one plan in case some things change.
- Cooperation: Not only are the best leaders confident, but their confidence is contagious. Once their plan is communicated, they are able to get everyone in their team on board. Leadership means being able to get people to work for you because they want to.
- Humility and Empathy: It is becoming increasingly apparent that leaders who are capable of experiencing and showing feelings of empathy and humility have greater success. Leaders who have increased self- awareness gain more commitment from their employees.
- Optimism: The best leaders are a source of positive energy to the team. They communicate easily, are helpful and genuinely concerned about people’s well- being. If the team is happy, they would give their best work to the brand.
So, whether a person is born a leader or develops skills to become a leader is open for debate. The aforementioned are some clear characteristics of a good leaders. These qualities can be natural or developed throughout time.