10 Qualities for Effective Leadership
By Sadaf Javed
It is said that a leader can transform the life of his subordinates. According to the Oxford dictionary, leadership is defined as, “the action of leading a group of people or an organization”. While, Gardner (1990, p.1) describes leadership as “the process of persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader and his or her followers”.
There are a number of qualities that are attributed to a leader. These qualities can be enhanced and polished with some effort to achieve desired outcomes effectively and efficiently.
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- Careful listener:
A good leader should be a good listener. He must listen to the problems and insecurities of his subordinates in order to resolve them. It is generally observed that if a group leader does not listen to his subordinates and solve their queries, the group’s performance declines as there is lack of communication and trust between the group leader and members.
- Effective communication skills:
A good leader must have good communication skills. He should be able to reduce the barriers to effective communication between himself and his team members. And again, for effective communication, he should be a good listener.
- Creates a mutual relationship with team members:
A good leader should be able to create mutual relationships with his team members. He should ask for their ideas and input instead of merely issuing orders. This will eventually build trust between the leader and the team members and boost the confidence of members.
- Don’t just sit in your side cabin:
A good leader must ensure that he does just not sit in his office and issue orders. For a person to be a good leader it is necessary to come out and spend some time with his subordinates, discussing their performance, their issues, doubts, and also discussing innovative ideas for their business growth.
- Motivate others:
A good leader should motivate his team members to achieve maximum output. As not all persons are equal in caliber, some persons need a bit more time in understanding things than others. So, a good team leader is that who keeps all his subordinates on the same track and guide and motivate them to enhance their capacities.
- Getting the right work from the right person:
A good leader knows the capabilities of his team members. He should assign the right task to the right person in order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. A good leader also considers the work capacity of his team members.
- Praise:
Praise your team members! It will definitely increase their working output as well as enhance their confidence. A good leader knows that it is human nature to get rewarded for the good work they have done. He organizes small meetings whether formal or informal in order to praise his subordinates to encourage them to work more and also to encourage others to get motivated.
- Transparency:
A good leader should keep transparency in his dealings with either team members or clients. This will eventually develop a good level of trust among both parties. A transparent environment in the organization will ensure that every member of the team works effectively without any negative means.
- Work ethics and Sense of responsibility:
A good team leader should be aware of what is ethically appropriate for his team members. He develops a good code of conduct and code of ethics for his team and ensures they follow it.
A good team leader should of responsible and should be able to admit the responsibility of any damage on their organization’s end. He should not blame others for any misfortune but thinks sensibly to find the root cause and improve their performance.
- Don’t forget yourself:
Most importantly, a good leader must have an idea of what he wants to achieve and have clear directions. He should be able to tackle the stress so that it would not collapse him.
Conclusion:
Leadership qualities are inborn, everyone can not be a good leader but everyone can try to develop some potential leadership qualities by experience and effort in order to run a successful organization. With right guidance and motivation, everyone can acquire the basic skills that are necessary for a good leader and improve their influence on their team members.
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