It’s hard to say what the exact formula behind becoming a superior #leader is. Either it’s an inborn behavioural trait or development of the personality or gaining expertise by adopting certain skills through practice is still a matter of debate among psychologists.
According Brian Tracy- “Followers think and talk about the problems; leaders think and talk about the solutions”. #briantracy
Being a leader is not an easy thing. You become one of the prime faces of your organization. While your company’s profit will take you to the peak of your success, its failure will make you befall simultaneously. #Leadership is a matter of great responsibility and superior leaders are those who have all the following aspects and traits in their characteristics. #HR
1. Mission and vision:
As a superior leader, you have to be in line with the mission and vision of your organization and how to accomplish it. The mission should be direct and to the point and it’s your duty to make sure all the employees are identifying with it and showing enough diligence to achieve it. Your vision should be categorically defined and redefined, so that every employee can instantly comprehend it. #leadership
2. Challenge and Initiative:
You have to face multiple situations every now and then that ask for challenge and promise. A superior leader always initiates himself/herself to face such challenging situations and win over it. When it’s a do or die scenario going on in your company, you just cannot afford to sit back; you have to come forward and take initiative. #business
3. Interpersonal Skills:
A leader becomes superior only when he/she succeeds in solving problems and convincing people quickly to get their jobs done. These depend a lot on the leader’s interpersonal skills. You have to make yourself approachable and friendly to others. Build rapport with almost anyone and everyone whom you may need for the benefits of your company. If your employees will find their boss to be cordial and congenial, they will come to you with their problems and discuss those with you at length. This will help you to develop a more cohesive team and a stronger team spirit. Not all leaders are adept at these skills, but very often you have to pay too high a cost, if you cannot master the interpersonal skills properly. For that you may take a course, hire a trainer or a therapist to develop the interpersonal skills within yourself.
4. Moral Values:
A superior leader is highly aware of his/her moral values. If you are not morally strong and integral enough, you cannot guide your subordinates through the right pathway. Every time make yourself a subject of self evaluation. Try to find out your loopholes and work on it. Develop yourself not only as a strong leader but also as an honest leader.
5. Inspiration:
You are the role model of your team. Employees will keep on looking up to you for guidance and encouragement. A superior leader always inspires his team. Hence come back to your employees time and again, praise them, trust them and show them how patiently you are depending on them. Your trust will make them respect and love you and they will try to give their best not to let you down.
At its very core, a business cannot thrive unless it has excellent workers and excellent leadership. Very few “excellent” workers will remain excellent if they find their efforts go unnoticed or unrewarded by management, or if they see the business itself spiraling into the ground because of inept management decisions. Rather than stay in such an environment, these workers will find more pleasant employment elsewhere.
Some will even start up their own businesses. Those that want to start their own businesses possess that intangible “leadership” potential – they know how a business should be run and what needs to be done to keep it successful.
It is important, therefore, that these particular employees, the ones with leadership potential, be identified and promoted into management positions where their abilities and skills will bear fruit.
Not everyone wants to be a leader
Many “excellent” workers thrive because they have no responsibility beyond their own specific job – they like being given instructions on what to do, and then they do it – very well. They would be lost if they were moved up in the hierarchy to a position where they had to tell others what to do.
To promote such individuals out of their comfort zone is usually a recipe for disaster.
Not everyone can be a leader
There are a subset of employees who are good (or even not so good) at their jobs, and want to be promoted into a management level because they feel they’d be good at it, but for whatever reason they won’t be. Either they have no people skills and are too overbearing, or they just aren’t good enough at their job and so will not be able to earn the respect of those workers under them whom they are telling what to do.
How to identify good leaders
Depending on how many employees are in your company, you will doubtless have people divided into teams. In a team environment, potential leaders will usually come to the forefront. They will be outspoken in weekly meetings, giving their opinions and advice on the project under discussion.
It is the responsibility of supervisors to be aware of the potentialities of team leaders. Are these outspoken individuals contributing good work? How do their fellow team members respond to them – are they browbeaten or do they recognize this leader as the best person for the job?
Open communication
Another way to discover employees with leadership potential is to foster open communication and programs where employees can suggest ways to improve the processes or procedures of their team, their division, or of the company in general. Anyone who comes forward with suggestions usually has the knowledge, the ambition and the drive to be a leader. If they have the people skills as well, that is usually a winning combination.
Leadership training
Many leaders are born with great people skills, and the ability to draw the best out of their employees. However, leadership can be taught.
Any business that is structured with team leaders, supervisors, and other upper management positions should also put in place a leadership training program. Many individuals who were excellent team leaders flounder when thrown into the larger role of a supervisor, but can find their feet with proper training.
Next Steps
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