73 qualities of a leader

06/07/2015 14 514 3 Reading time: 15 min. Rating:

Author

: Konstantin Bely

In this publication, I want to look at the basic leadership qualities : what qualities a person must have to become a leader. In order to achieve success in any business, in principle, it is not necessary to be a leader, at the same time, leaders have a much greater chance of achieving the desired goal faster. Therefore, it is still advisable to develop the qualities of a leader in yourself - this will definitely not be superfluous, but will only help you in any area of life, business, work.

Why are some people leaders in any team all their lives, starting from school, others become leaders later, at some point in their lives, and others play supporting roles all their lives? The reason for this is leadership qualities. The first have them innately, the second develop them in themselves, and the third don’t even think about it, they are satisfied with who they are. What are leadership qualities and what do they include? This is discussed further in today’s article.

What does a leader look like?

A successful person consists of more than just internal qualities. Equally important is the appearance and image as a whole. Individuals who are leaders by nature tend to look well-groomed and tidy. A successful person can be distinguished by:

stylish business look;
well-groomed hairstyle;
perfectly clean shoes;
expensive accessories.

To ensure your appearance remains at its best, do not neglect these rules:

Start getting enough sleep.
Learn to eat healthy.
Pay attention to sports.

BBQcash experts recommend:
The ideal time a person should devote to sleep is 8 hours a day. If you don't get enough sleep, be prepared for your mental clarity to become clouded and your concentration to be severely impaired. A proper nutrition system has a beneficial effect on both appearance and health. Try to give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits in your food. Sports will help relieve mental stress and relax after a busy day.

A well-known example of a person with developed leadership qualities is Vladimir Putin. Already at the age of 48, he took the post of President.

How to speak, move and listen correctly

Appearance is only a component of a leader's characteristics. The development of true leadership qualities is complemented by:

good manners;
clear, competent speech;
reserved gestures;
good posture and ability to move;
confidence.

Learn proper manners - a large amount of business literature of this kind is published. Observe the leaders and their behavior. You also need to learn to speak correctly. For this:

sign up for special courses;
read a small text and record it on a voice recorder, speech errors will be visible - incorrect inflections of words, unclear pronunciation of endings, use of filler words;
try to read more classical literature, and your vocabulary will increase;
a simple game helps develop speech, the essence of which is that players describe an object in 5 sentences that others cannot see, and then they guess the name from the description;
You should give a speech in front of a mirror for 5-10 minutes or record yourself on video. This is how you see yourself from the outside;
try to structure your speech, highlight key points with your voice and intonation, then the speech will captivate your interlocutor.

To learn how to move well, enroll in a dance school. This will help combine physical activity, emotional relaxation and learning the correct movements. Communication in a new team is the development of communication skills as leadership qualities.

There are people who are born leaders, but do not realize their potential. But there are also those who are capable of becoming one, having developed the necessary leadership qualities. Developing a leader is hard work. But without it you cannot talk about achieving success in life.

TOP 20 leadership qualities

World psychologists count about 70 qualities that a born leader possesses. But, you see, it is impossible to develop 70 different character traits. We have prepared for you a list of qualities that are considered the most necessary to become a good leader.

Self confidence

A true leader believes in his strength, in himself. He charges the team with this feeling. Ready to make decisions, act, lead to the goal.

Courage

Sometimes the situation requires risky actions. The end doesn't always justify the means, but that doesn't mean you have to give up. It's impossible to plan everything in advance, so a spontaneous decision can work to your advantage.

Charismatic

A very important quality of a successful person. After all, the ability to be charming in the eyes of others will help you lead your team.

Read the article on how to become a charismatic person.

Ability to self-motivate

Any leader must be able to set goals and go towards them. To do this, you need to be able to motivate yourself. A leader must believe in himself and his idea.

Positive attitude

Some people focus on negativity from an early age. Work on yourself, learn to see only positive aspects in any situation. This quality plays a big role in obtaining the desired result. You can succeed even if the project seems impossible.

Communication skills

Sociability plays into the hands not only of the leader, but also of the ordinary person. If you can easily find contact with people around you, conduct a conversation clearly and clearly, then you can easily achieve success in your goals.

Openness to others

The main quality of a good leader is to think not only about himself, but also about his team. The leader responds adequately to criticism addressed to him and gladly accepts advice and feedback on his activities. A leader can always admit his mistakes in order to correct them.

Ethics

A person who is not familiar with the concepts of etiquette can never become a good leader. A leader always behaves with dignity, instilling trust in others. In the team that reports to you, you should introduce certain etiquette standards that will help build relationships within the team.

Responsibility

Any task that stands in the way of a leader requires an immediate solution. However, the result may not be as expected. A worthy leader calculates his every step in advance, but this does not relieve him of force majeure. If something goes wrong, he takes full responsibility, because it was he who made the decision that led to the failure. But in the event of a positive outcome, the leader will always share the joy with his team.

Discipline

The position of a leader forces one to be ready to resolve emerging issues at any time. To do this, you should be responsible for internal discipline: never be late and establish order in your team.

Organization

The most valuable human resource is time. Every leader knows how to properly manage his time by planning things. Distribute your tasks and responsibilities in order of importance.

Self-discipline

Every person is susceptible to stressful situations. But the ability to defend one’s position in such cases is not available to everyone. The leader must be able to concentrate and find the optimal way out of the current situation.

Perseverance

A leader persistently overcomes all difficulties in his path and always achieves his goals.

Swiftness

Every field of work has competitors. If you want to maintain your leadership position, always be ready to change your behavior strategy, make quick decisions that will allow you to develop and expand your capabilities.

Ambition

A leader must strive to achieve his plans. You should be focused on a positive result.

Initiative

A leader must introduce new ideas on an ongoing basis, not only to solve problems, but also to inspire his team to achieve their goals.

Delegation

Ability to distribute responsibilities to subordinates. Don't be afraid to delegate your tasks and allow your team to make their own decisions.

Confidence

Working with a team is based on interaction. The manager must establish mutual trust for greater coherence in the work process. And, of course, form your team from people who are worthy of trust.

Clarity

The leader is able to clearly and clearly express his thoughts and ideas, and the team understands at a glance what the leader wants to convey to them. This ability is necessary to perform quality work. Constantly share your knowledge and experience with subordinates, improve their abilities.

Flexibility

A leader can adapt to any situation. He must be ready for any event. An individual approach to each team member is also important.

Key Leadership Traits

Society changes - leaders change. Each of the human groups requires special qualities from the leader. Some character traits are needed by the captain of a football team, others by the captain of a ship. But you can also find common leadership qualities. These character traits that are in demand in our society are:

honesty;
openness to new knowledge and willingness to change;
imagination;
self-confidence;
sense of humor;
enthusiasm;
rationality and rigidity;
readiness for change;
the ability to see and hold a target;
the ability to quickly find the necessary means to achieve a goal;
interesting appearance and charisma.

Developing leadership skills is a daily endeavor and will require all of your strength.

What kind of leaders exist?

In every team there is a person who somehow stands out from the rest. He has authority, his opinion is listened to, and he is able to lead. This person is a team leader. Everyone is individual by nature. Not everyone has leadership abilities. Here are the most current types of leaders:

formal: a person has been appointed to a position that reflects his leadership qualities;
informal: the leader does not hold a high position, but can lead a group of employees;
inspiring: he is an initiator in the team, he is trusted. He is an inspiration for quickly achieving your goals and objectives;
business: deals with organizing the work process and distributing responsibilities among subordinates;
emotional: able to charm a team with innate charm, instill hope in subordinates;
situational: leadership abilities manifest themselves at a decisive moment, when it is urgently necessary to lead a team to solve a given task;
universal: has a combination of the above qualities and abilities.

Types of Leaders

Every leader has a different vision of how best to lead their team. There are three types in total.

Authoritarian. Characterized by tyrannical tendencies. Any management decision is made independently. The work process is under strict control. In case of mistakes, subordinates are punished. Such a leader constantly faces negativity. The team lacks the desire to work efficiently and lacks motivation.
Liberal. It is the complete opposite of the previous one. Such a manager lacks initiative, does not control the work, does not solve the issues raised and problems that arise. There is regression in the team. The climate in the team is not conducive to fruitful work. The result is similar to the authoritarian approach. The team is always dissatisfied, the team does not develop and does not grow.
Democratic. The best option. The manager takes into account the opinion of the team when resolving issues. Team members actively communicate with each other and make decisions independently. The leader rewards for positive results and punishes for failures. The team works with motivation and completes all assigned tasks.

How to develop leadership qualities in yourself

The ability to clearly set a goal for yourself and your team will allow you to gain an understanding of what result you need.
Respond quickly to problems. In order to make the right decision, you need to clearly consider the possible consequences. But sometimes there is no time to think. In this case, you need an instant reaction and the ability to make the right decision here and now. To do this, you need to analyze the situation in the shortest possible time.
Be willing to make decisions and take risks. A leader must make decisions in controversial situations. To do this, you need to be able to clearly weigh all the positive and negative aspects and think through the outcome of the decision. It happens that the result does not live up to expectations. In such cases, there is no need to be disappointed; a lesson should be learned.
Inspire your team. The manager must always pay enough attention to each employee, know his problem areas and skillfully manipulate them. At the same time, you also need to hear your subordinates and listen to their opinions. This is the only way to unite your team.
Improve yourself. Work on your mistakes every hour. A leader must be able to change, constantly develop and improve his experience and knowledge.

Advice from BBQcash. Don't try to please. This character trait will not bring anything good. Every environment presupposes the presence of a person who will not like something. It is important to learn to respond adequately to criticism and not focus on negative aspects.

Step-by-step instruction

If you want to become a real leader, be prepared for the fact that it will take a lot of time to achieve your goal. You will have to work on yourself every day.

To get started, start doing these exercises:

"Who am I". Think about who you are at this stage of your life and write down 10 examples. You can be a mother, a student or a manager at the same time. Analyze your activities. Those points that are problematic are subject to further elaboration.
"Target". Next, write down a list of goals you plan to achieve. Don't write impossible dreams. Concentrate on specific tasks that you can do. Initially, write down small ones, smoothly moving to more global ones. This plan will help you plan your next steps.
"Green marker." Summarize your day, determine what good happened. Don't think about the negative. This way you can develop positive thinking.

Recommendations for practical application

Once you have successfully completed all the exercises, you can move on to the practical tasks. Think about what doesn't suit you in life. These are the moments that need to be changed. Get out of your comfort zone and do something you've been putting off for a long time.

Don’t forget about self-development, read a lot, make like-minded friends. Train your communication skills - try to become a leader among your acquaintances or friends.

TOP 11 books that will help develop leadership skills

We've put together a list of books you should read if you want to become a leader.

Book title	Plot description
“Emotional leadership. The Art of Managing People Using Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman	The author of the book describes ways of empathy that will help you establish contact with others and become an informal leader.
"Leader Without a Title" by Robin Sharma	The Canadian-born author also gives lectures and trainings on leadership skills. In the book, he describes his experience gained over 15 years of work in large corporations. The main idea of the writer is that in order to be a leader, you need to become a good person. Both beginners and advanced businessmen can gain knowledge from this book.
"The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell	The author managed to write many scientific works on the practical application of leadership qualities. He created a system of rules that will help you become a real leader.
"How to Become a Leader" by Warren Bennis	Bennis is a renowned guru in leadership development. He writes about how subordinates suffer because of an illiterate leader. Every manager who pays enough attention to his development can become an excellent leader.
Lessons from Great Leaders, Peter Sims, Bill George	The manual book will tell you how an experienced worker can easily take the position of a manager. An excellent read for beginners.
"Leader's Workshop" by Antonio Meneghetti	A practical book for people who want to achieve their goals.
“Reaching the maximum. 12 principles, Brian Tracy	The author of the book reveals methods that will help you quickly develop your own business. The writer tried his advice on himself. The book gives a powerful energy boost to start working on yourself and further growth.
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins	Forbes rating called this book one of the best projects of the last twenty years. It has collected the working methods of global corporations. The work will be useful for those who want to become a successful leader.
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey	The book is based on the author's observations of people who managed to achieve success. He formed a number of rules that will help a novice leader become a good leader.
“Influence and Power”, Nikolai Mrochkovsky, Andrey Parabellum, Alexander Belanovsky	A practical book for creating a team from a collective. Teaches how to influence employees and manage effectively.
“Leader’s Charisma”, Radislav Gandapas	The trainer of Russian origin is now conducting many classes, recording his video lessons, and writing a series of books that will help develop charisma and better influence his subordinates.

But reading professional literature alone is not enough. You should also pay attention to the classics.

Leadership in culture

Without going into a philosophical debate regarding the influence of mass culture on the civilizational development of mankind, we note the fact that it is the leaders in this area who most often become the subject of adoration and inheritance, understandable and simple, the same as an ordinary member of society. The reason for this is the very mass nature of the concept of pop culture and its accessibility.

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) - American artist, producer, designer, writer, collector, magazine publisher, film director, cult figure in the history of the pop art movement and modern art in general. Warhol is the world's second best-selling artist after Pablo Picasso.

The influence of E. Warhol with his works as a hymn to the era of mass consumption had a huge impact on the development of culture in the 60s. and remain so to this day. Many fashion designers consider his services to the fashion world simply titanic. The artist’s name is strongly associated with such concepts as a bohemian lifestyle and outrageousness. Undoubtedly, even today, Warhol's works do not lose their popularity and remain very expensive, and many cultural figures continue to inherit his style.

“The most beautiful thing in Tokyo is McDonald's. The most beautiful thing in Stockholm is McDonald's. The most beautiful thing in Florence is McDonald's. There is nothing beautiful in Beijing and Moscow yet.”

John Winston Lennon (1940-1980) - British rock musician, singer, poet, composer, artist, writer. One of the founders and member of The Beatles. Political activist, preached the ideas of equality and brotherhood of people, peace, freedom. According to a BBC study, he ranks 8th in the ranking of the greatest Britons of all time.

J. Lennon was one of the most famous spiritual leaders and inspiration for the hippie youth movement, an active preacher of the peaceful resolution of any conflicts existing in the world. A large number of young musicians admired his talent and work. Lennon was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to world culture and social activities. The group’s work, as well as their solo career, had a huge impact on the development of the culture of the twentieth century, and the songs rightly occupy places in the list of the best works ever written.

“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.”

Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009) was an American entertainer, songwriter, dancer, composer, choreographer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. The most successful performer in the history of pop music, winner of 15 Grammy awards and hundreds of others. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records 25 times; Jackson's albums have sold about a billion copies worldwide.

M. Jackson is the man who took the music industry and choreographic performances to a whole new level. The number of fans of his talent is measured by millions of people from all over the world. Without exaggeration, this man is one of the most significant personalities of pop culture of our time, who largely determined its development with his life and work.

“You can have the greatest talent in the world, but if you don’t prepare and work according to plan, everything will go to waste.”