Truth be told, not everyone is cut out to be a successful leader because it is just not meant for everyone and that’s completely fine. I believe that everyone in the organization is a leader and every one of us has the caliber to lead, whether we choose to lead or not. In fact, everyone is leading in their own capacities like when you make a decision when you delegate work when you respond to certain situations when you go out of the way when you add something to the conversation when you assist someone and much more. Leading does not require you to gather people and give them a long speech or pep talk and inspire them to do more in life.
“Are you a leader?”
Leadership is not only about having great ideas and vision but it’s about growing yourself, having a clear vision, and most importantly managing people in the best possible manner. If your employees are not willing to follow you, your vision won’t get you far. Many entrepreneurs take leadership skills for granted and do not consider it important for business.
It is rightly said by Heraclitus that “Change is the only constant in the world”. Change affects but everyone deals with it differently. And it is important to realize that changes or circumstances do not dictate your life but rather the way you are dealing with changes impact your life.
Similarly, your management level in career, type of business and its environment does not matter, you should master yourself in leadership skills to achieve the next level of professional life. While there are many basic skills of leadership that can be learned but there are some crucial qualities that are more innate.
There are a variety of leadership styles and people use different techniques to embrace leadership but the most important part is – “How you align your values with your short and long term goals”. Quality leadership is always in demand for entrepreneurs and the successful implementation of leadership can only meet the changing demands of businesses. Above all, the good news is that simple things work best with people. I believe that “the ability to lead by example while sharing, communicating, delegating or mobilizing” is leadership.
Though different people use different leadership styles, these 7 character traits should be universal for every leader:
- Self-awareness
It is the ability to understand own strengths and weaknesses. Mostly, I meet aspiring entrepreneurs that make the mistake of going in lengths to cover up their weaknesses rather them addressing them openly. Know yourself and leverage the positives so that your business doesn’t suffer.
- Decisiveness
Our fear of making wrong decisions or postponing the actions leaves us nowhere. Know the importance of moving confidently even if you are 100% sure of the direction because any direction is better than no direction.
- Fairness
Treat everyone with fairness as it is one of the most vital characteristics of an effective leader. Have some principles and ethics that ensure positive outcomes and handle the internal issues with the established set of principles that are fair to all.
- Enthusiasm
If you want everyone to follow you, lead them with all the enthusiasm you have and the best way to do is lead by example. No employee is willing to put their sweat and soul for a person who is less enthusiastic about work, business, and life. Don’t tell but show them your enthusiasm.
- Integrity
Earn the respect of your team in every possible manner. Don’t rely on your seniority or profile name but your behavior with people should gain respect. Just do the right thing and stand for people doing right within your business.
- Knowledge
Too many entrepreneurs get comfortable in their own cabin corner and stop watching their own businesses and its day to day operations. Don’t miss to talk to your employees about your business goals, stay on top of the facts and practices of business as well as the industry at large.
- Endurance
Finally, every leader should know how to persevere even when things go wrong. Being a leader does not mean you will have wins all the time. You will win, you will lose but you should never lose your sense of confidence and always have to believe in yourself.
We are all leaders but we lead in a different manner. Recognize that leadership is not how you behave when you are aware of the situation but it is more about how you behave in uncertain situations, which requires tremendous leadership skills.
Embrace your inner wisdom and BE A LEADER…!!