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Five Qualities Great Leaders Possess and How to Nurture Them

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Maya Verber.
five-leadership-qualities
Whether you’ve just started your own business, had a promotion at work, or are simply looking for a way to motivate and enthuse those around you, developing your leadership qualities will prove invaluable.

But did being a great leader just come naturally to the likes of Nelson Mandela or Abraham Lincoln? What about Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s pioneering CEO? Or is it something that can be taught and nurtured?

I believe that being a great leader is about developing the skills necessary to steer those around you towards a common goal, in both smooth periods and more difficult times and that there are five key qualities that great leaders share. Start to work on these and you will be equipped to succeed in whatever area you choose.

1.Communication & Listening

Examine the world’s greatest leaders and you will find them all to be first rate communicators. Want to motivate and inspire people? To promote discipline and accountability? To endorse your values and realise your vision? Clear communication is the key.
The ability to listen is just as important being able to clearly describe what you want done. Perhaps there’s a problem you weren’t aware of, or an issue everyone in the team is facing.

Employees and subordinates long to be asked for feedback and to be heard so ask how everyone’s getting on on a regular basis. Companies ranked the ‘best places to work’ invariably have a system in place for soliciting opinions and taking action based on their findings. 

2.Positive Attitude

On days when things aren’t going so well, it can be easy to worry about the future, or lose faith in your original plan. As the saying goes, “a smooth sea made a skilled mariner”, so try to see problems as stepping stones to your final destination.

When US News & World Report caught up with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, he stressed the importance of using failure as motivation:

“While we’re crossing the desert, we may be thirsty, but we sincerely believe there’s an oasis on the other side. You’re going to have to have a willingness to repeatedly fail if you’re going to experiment. For a certain kind of person, that is a very exciting, very motivating culture.”

For more of Jeff’s thoughts on leading Amazon to success check out the full US News report on America’s Best Leaders. As a leader, your job is to maintain the morale of those who look up to you. Assure others that setbacks are natural.

3. Commitment and Hard Work

If you want your team to work hard then it is great to lead by example. Seeing your boss working alongside you is great motivation, not only will it prove you are truly committed to success and earn you the respect of others but it will instil a hardworking ethos among the workers.

4.Integrity

No one could question Nelson Mandela’s integrity, after he was released from prison he was asked whether he hated the people responsible for his 27 year internment, he replied “no I don’t hate anyone, I hate racism”.
 
A great leader’s actions reflect their inner values. Honest dealings and consistent behaviour are signs of trustworthiness, so try to be measured in all of your actions and your team will reward you for it.

5.Ability to Change

Successful leaders willingly support and embrace change in both themselves and others. 

Perhaps you could apply this quality to your leadership skills themselves; there’s no shame in seeking help to become more successful in your dealings with others. There’s a huge range of leadership development programmes available in the US and abroad so whether you’re at director or entry level, there will be something out there for you.

If you think you’ve nailed these five qualities already – lucky you – then check out our previous post, How to Caffeinate Your Leadership Repertoire, for an extra little boost.

About the Author: Maya Verber is a marketing professional and enthusiast specialising in leadership. Yoga lover, freelance writer and self-help blogger.

Image Credit: Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Will I Ever Find God?

During the course of their long journey, a renowned master and his student were passing by a village one morning. They stopped by a villager’s house to request some water.

While giving them a jug of water, villager asked:

“Will I ever find God?”
“You will,” replied the Master.

And they continued their journey. In the afternoon stopped by a place to eat their lunch.

A young careless princess passed by the road. While drinking some water from their jug, she asked:

“Will I ever find God?”
“No, you won’t,” said the Master.

In the evening, when they reached another village, a gentle but strong leader of the village welcomed them and offered the dinner and asked the same question:

“Will I ever find God?”
“That’s up to your choice,” replied the Master.

And they went to sleep.

The student was not able to sleep. During the day, they met three different people. All of them asked the same question but Master gave them different replies. He was wondering whether he has chosen the right master.

“Because they all are different human beings, and each one of them will find God his or her own path.”

“The villager will find God by believing in what I said.”
“The literate princess will try different wise ways and find God on her own as she would not necessarily believe in what I said.”
“The leader will believe in his own choice so when he will make the correct choice, he’ll find God!”

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Be Like Whale

be like whale

Recently I watched a video about Great White Sharks Vs. Killer Whales.

Very interesting video that led me to this thought: Given a choice, whose style would we like to adapt to attack the problems on our plater?

Of Great White Shark or Killer Whale?

Both have strength. Both rule the sea. Both hunt.

…both hunt but with totally different styles.

Shark: Unplanned hunting with surprise attacks. Full of instinct. Ad-hoc.
Whale: Create strategies. Plans. Inspects and adapts. Learns new behaviors and practices it well beforehand and then attacks. Strategic.

While I understand that one should be able to adopt to any style that helps but each one of us would have a “default” through which we would like to operate given a choice.

More often than not, each one of us would have a preference of behaving like one particular style over the other. Shark over Whale or Whale over Shark. I do have my preference…and that’s to Be Like Whale.

Want to know why? Read on…

Why I would like to adapt Whale’s Style

I like creating strategies and getting clear about what the outcome will look like. This habit is probably because of my background in Chess. It doesn’t mean that I need absolute CLARITY prior to starting the work. Partial clarity, uncertainties and changing needs…all such things are part of the game but If I am powered by some strategy, I feel better. So many times when creating strategies is not very much feasible,  I have worked with only one strategy – Have No Strategy!

…having no strategy but knowing that you do not have a strategy is also a strategy, isn’t it so?. Much like Whale. Here’re some of the traits that I think we can learn from Whale:

1. Some strategy

All strategy and no play won’t make you a winner. All play and no strategy or plan will lead to even worse disasters. Wiser is to learn to have some strategy. It doesn’t have to be a perfect strategy, just one that can facilitate continuous improvement.

2. Just enough planning

All plan and no execution wouldn’t work. Only execution and no plan will be too volatile. Just enough planning to move you forward works well.

3. Be result oriented

Be result oriented, not result focused. If we focus on end-result, our goals then we indirectly lose focus on doing things that bring us results. Focusing on results and focusing on doing things that lead to results are two distinct things.

4. Inspect and adapt

The fittest not only survives, but thrives. The secret to good health (of anything) is proportionate to one’s ability to inspect and adapt to changing situations.

5. Teach your tribe

Alone one may climb mountains, together the team can move mountains. If you teach your tribe…your team what you know and seek to learn from their experiences too… you too can move the mountains.

Don’t you want to move the mountains and make a difference?

Be a team player, be a team leader whenever needed and be a great follower when that is beneficial to the whole flock.

Why I would like to avoid how Shark acts?

Sharks are self-centered, operates in their own silos and shoots in the dark. Often attacks surprisingly where there is more of disasters. They don’t believe much in planning, be result focused, seldom inspects or adapts and don’t believe in being a good team player.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times when surprise attack may be a good tool but not always.

Given a choice, you would like to learn from whose style? Shark or Whale? Why?


Photo Credit: Victor Habbick/Freedigitalphotos.net

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On Worrying

Who would not have worried about tomorrow?

Only the ones who have no idea if they will be able to live their today happily. Ask Maslow. Ask any need theorist.

But does worrying help? Despite that you cannot avoid worrying usually, isn’t it?

Came across a thoughtful quote from John T. Tindsley on worrying,

“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday and all is well.“

on worrying

So profound.

Reflection leads to a not so surprising discovery – many years of my life have been spent in worrying or responding to other people’s actions powered by worries.

Look at your life and I am sure you would not find it surprising, would you?

Don’t mislead it with irresponsibility

Not worrying and irresponsibility are two different things. People who do not want to own outcomes and consequences thereof always find someone to stick the responsibility on.

Not worrying is nothing but focusing on actions that matter. Irresponsibility is focusing on finding someone on whom the failures can be blamed.

So, what to do?

While it may not be possible to get rid of worry altogether, it is quite possible to engage yourself truly in the task on hand. If you invest much of your time in thinking about its outcome, then your worry will be increased. Investing in getting the task done is a better choice.

Interesting thing about outcome is this – it is one of the thousands of possibilities of a set of actions that has come true.  If you think vividly about the outcome then there might be chances you would want to respond to situations that will never happen.

Better idea, as it turns out, is not “Not to worry” but “To engage yourself fully in the actions that matter.”

What’s your view?

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