21 Characteristics of Outstanding Leaders
There are a multitude of practices that strong leaders use to achieve career success. Look at the following list to determine how many you are using now. Remember, it is never too late to learn something new!
1. Possess professional competence: Do you know what you need to know to do your job well? If not, what are you waiting for?
2. Eliminate obstacles to teamwork: No leader can lead alone. Don’t have a follower? You are not leading. Teams are more powerful than any individual. Make teams work for you. It’s the fastest way to increase results and your productivity.
3. Grow your employees: Accelerates growth by knowing how to assign responsibilities. Match skills to job requirements. Delegate to add responsibility but maintain accountability. Have no secrets. Share what you know. It’s the right thing to do. Not all employees are the same. Respect their individuality and work with what you have. Finally, train them. Not training an employee is like punching him in the face. Sooner or later your lack of training will be the final blow.
Four. Be an encouragement: We all need an occasional push. Maintains momentum. Encourage, don’t discourage, employees who want to grow and learn. Not doing so is a disservice.
5. Be a perpetual learner: If you are not growing, you are stagnant. Stay cool by refreshing your knowledge. The more you know, the better the growth potential.
6. Practice integrity: Integrity is the cornerstone of your leadership cathedral. Notice that I didn’t just say one house. You want an almost indestructible place to maintain your integrity. Building the trust that only integrity can build is so important.
7. Walk the talk: People watch your actions, not what you say. Being incongruous here can be lethal to your leadership success. When you’re consistent here, you earn respect and they follow you.
8. Be open to new ideas: Do not discriminate the sources of information. I’ve found that hourly employees can have super ideas. Consider all sources. When you keep an open mind, it gives you more opportunities to shut your mouth.
9. Be a direct shooter: Employees need accurate performance reviews. Coating your comments in sugar serves no useful purpose except to harm an employee. Be brave. Tell the truth professionally, but never lie.
10. Be accessible: Some leaders will say, “My door is always open.” In reality, they limit your accessibility. There are also limited opportunities to exchange dialogues with employees. Accessibility has no real meaning here. You want to know that this practice can affect your personal productivity. Balance your time alone and with employees. It is a winning combination.
eleven. Teach your employees to understand the bottom lineToo often, employees cannot relate their actions to profitability. Neglecting this will have a negative impact on profits. It’s hard to change what you don’t know. Companies are not considered benevolent partnerships. They need profits to stay open. When employees understand how their role can help, they will step up to help.
12. Know how to solve problems — processes and people: All organizations have processes. Leaders study and understand them to do their job. It is an important and necessary approach to be able to approach and solve problems with people. Neglect one and failure is just around the corner.
13. Practice visionary thinking: Create possibilities. Without vision, people die. Without visionary thinking, the organization will perish. Use your thinking skills to review all sides of a problem and come up with the correct solution.
14. Make people feel important: We all want to feel important. Witness the explosion of social media. It’s a way to get our 15 minutes of fame. But at work we can make people feel important. We can recognize their contributions, help them grow and avoid any sign of discrimination.
fifteen. Be consistent: Not being consistent is the first step to becoming that failure. Predictability is important to employees. That can only happen when a leader is consistent. You don’t have to like me if I know how to deal with you. It is the erratic reactions that baffle and stifle the follow-up.
sixteen. Be passionate: If you lack passion, you are missing one of the most enjoyable parts of being alive. Believe in your employees. Believe in your organization. Believe that you have the passion to help both of you improve.
17. Improve the lives of those you lead: Leaders have a responsibility to make improvements. Regression is not a support mechanism. Look for better and better surfaces. Supports inertia and idle surfaces.
18. Dare to be different: Following the crowd is what most do. But great leaders have no qualms about embarking on a new path. Different may be difficult, but it can be another word for success. Don’t be afraid to stray from the path of others. It may be your best decision yet.
19. Live a balanced life: Spirituality, family and career are the three components that make up a balanced lifestyle. Yes, we can become biased. But, in setting our priorities with God, family, and work as a hierarchical order, we will rarely be out of balance.
twenty. Consider time your most important asset: I don’t care how rich you are. You don’t have enough money to buy another second of time. Time is the great equalizer. Time if life. Do you want to live the best life you can? Be disciplined in the way you use your time.
twenty-one. Become a servant leader: I saved this for last, but it is a very important component of leadership. Leadership, for me, is synonymous with service. Leaders serve those they lead by developing their skills and increasing their career opportunities. If you are not willing to serve, do not take on the mantle of a leader. Period!