Seven qualities a leader should have

A company’s success depends largely on its representative’s leadership skills.

Their positioning is crucial for the team or firm to develop – which is not always an easy task.

A leader will always have a team formed by heterogeneous people with their own interests and knowledge. He/she will have the mission to, respecting and adapting to differences, protect each member’s independence, helping them to reach their full potential and creativity, and stimulating their sense of presence in a way that allows a true team to be made.

From several studies about leadership qualities, I would mention the following as the most important ones:

Define goals and expectations

So that teams can work together with a common goal. People that have a clearly defined goal, will be more dedicated since they know what is expected from them.

Thereby, a leader must communicate the mission, vision, and strategy to the teams. In the long term, the goal can be ambitious and, at the same time, develop smaller actions with short-term results that will contribute to the team’s motivation and focus.

Invest in people

Human talent is the most valuable asset in any organization. Therefore, an investment should be made towards training professionals and giving them the knowledge and tools to improve, to allow them to have the best performance possible.

The leader must know his/her team well, to be able to identify in each moment, strong and weak points so that individual action plans can be made – adjusted to each person’s needs and having in mind the optimization of their potential.

Enhance talent

A leader should create career plans for all the people working in the team.

Deploying performance evaluations and giving feedback on the strengths and weaknesses is important for personal growth and to develop a sense of belonging.

In contrast, talented people tend to be ambitious, which can be a challenge regarding their retention.

For this reason, it is indispensable to care for and motivate talented employees.

Another crucial aspect is the compromise, and this one is only achieved through fluid and honest communication between employer and employees so that they feel motivated and accomplished.

Communication, the key to lead with efficiency

It’s elementary to develop communication as an essential tool to pass on the values to the team. The key is open, clear, and concise communication.

However, this communication and information flow can’t be one-sided. Good leaders are capable of hearing their employees and know their concerns.

For today and tomorrow leaders, communication and leadership are allies.

Active hearing

Active hearing implies observing and asking, relaxing and trusting, being firm but also flexible. It’s not just about knowing what are the team’s necessities, but also attentively hear and reunite all the ideas and inputs to implement them.

Due to active hearing, employees understand better the objectives of their work. It amplifies their perception and focus on the goals and nudges them to compromise with the organization.

Enthusiasm and resilience

These are essential values in every leader that seeks to be acknowledged among his/her team. To be so, it is necessary to create a healthy, fun, and optimist workgroup that is also ambitious and focused.

One of the key skills for success is the capacity to motivate, inspire, and cheer employees.

Be an example

Leaders that give responsibility to their employees, also motivate them and guarantee their loyalty.

Therefore, having an innovative behavior, being a visionary, detecting improvement opportunities, and creating a creative and stimulating environment, are key aspects to become a good leader.