Key Points:
- All characteristic traits that it takes to become a leader can be developed.
- It takes more than technical skills to become a leader but various soft skills to lead.
Being a leader in your industry and at your place of work is more than managing people. Being a leader requires various character traits and helping those around you grow. The former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch, once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” So, below we share ten traits you need to become a leader.
1. Communication Skills: To be a leader, you must be a well-spoken motivator to your team that can fully communicate the goals, visions, and direction for projects. Sharing critical details with your team allows you to be an essential resource to your team and employer.
2. Trust: Instead of micromanaging, leaders provide their team with the information they need to work autonomously and trust them. By creating that trust, their team can come to them if support is necessary.
3. High Emotional Intelligence: To connect with others, a leader must manage one’s emotions effectively to make decisions logically. Connecting with others allows a leader to guide their team instead of directing. Understanding one’s feelings also help you connect with your team with empathy rather than a hierarchical mindset in the workplace.
4. Decisive: A leader should not only be able to make hard decisions but stand by their choices for their team. Of course, if there is a significant decision to be made, consult stakeholders before acting upon your decision.
5. Adaptable: New challenges often arise in the workplace, and a leader takes each challenge as an opportunity by using a positive mindset.
6. Passionate: If you want your team to be passionate about a project, they need to be led by example. So, bring your passion to the table every day.
7. Self-Awareness: Effective leaders are humble because they understand their strengths and weaknesses. Always work on yourself and surround yourself with others that can help with your weaknesses.
8. Passion: If you’ve ever heard a passionate TED talk, you left feeling motivated. The same goes for leaders. Fuel your work with passion, and your team will see it and feel motivated.
9. Accountability: While it’s essential to help your team understand they should be accountable for their actions, a leader should also be responsible for contributing to a mistake. Keep in mind that sometimes things won’t go as planned, so expect opportunities for growth for both you and your team.
10. Innovative: Being visionary and innovative is an apparent characteristic of being a leader as you have to think of the over goal in mind and be creative with problem-solving.
All ten characteristic traits are not something someone is born with but more developed over time. Of course, the above skills are soft skills, and one must obtain technical skills to have a great understanding of their industry, but overall using the people skills above will allow you to lead rather than manage.
If you’re looking for more articles like this one, check out How To Be A Great Leader: 8 Actions To Start Now.
