Characteristics of a Leader
What are the characteristics of a leader? Not everybody can be a leader. It takes more than an excellent skill set to become a leader who is able to influence others and make them participate for a cause or a movement. It takes more than intellect to become qualified to be the head of a group of people. Many who excel in a certain field think that they can just become a leader – but it just doesn’t happen that way.
One of the very important characteristics of a leader is the ability to relate to all members of his or her team. Remember that if you want to become a leader, you are going to be in front of a group of people who should be ready to follow your steps. However, if you are a person who is not willing to relate to your subordinates, know their personalities or their needs, there will be a bigger chance that leading strategies will fail. As a leader, you should know have a good strategy on how to motivate your team. If you don’t know what motivates them, the leading fails even before it starts. Many characteristics of a leader really depend on how well he or she relates to the team.
Another characteristic that a leader must possess is the consistency in practicing what he or she preaches. Again, this is a characteristic that is related to relating to people by taking care of your integrity. It would be too hypocritical if the leader won’t even follow the rules that are set. If the leader doesn’t follow, then nobody will.
Among the characteristics of a leader is initiative. The leader is the one who must keep the ball rolling. He or she must be willing to consider new undertakings and in times of need, be able to revisit failures and start making changes. More often than not, followers only do what the leader says and are not geared towards creating new possibilities for the team to take. That is the job of the leader and something that he or she must take initiative towards.
Perhaps one of the more important characteristics of a leader that many forget is the ability of the leader to produce more leaders. It may be blamed to human ego that leaders either forget or don’t want to produce more leaders simply because they are afraid of having someone better than them. Some want to be remembered as the best leader of all time that they hinder the growth of everyone on the team. A leader must be able to create better leaders who will continue doing the good. The common goal of the team must not be forgotten – everybody must be geared towards reaching the goal and not to raise the name of a single person or a selected few.
Being a leader is not easy. The number of characteristics of a leader cannot be counted on a few fingers. A leader must be exceptional in ways that can make reaching the goals in more efficient and effective ways.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article I trust that it has been useful. If you have any question or comments about anything related to the characteristics of a leader please feel free to comment below.
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