Being a leader goes beyond the fancy title that goes with it. Leadership involves leading, influencing, or guiding a group of people towards achieving a common objective. We’ve seen people naturally endowed with specific leadership traits. However, you can hone leadership skills without having any previous experience.
History is full of many notable keynote speakers like Eric Thomas and Tony Robbins. Robbins distinguished himself as a successful speaker in leadership topics which impressed his audience members. Many more like him possessed specific characteristics and different ways of delivering the message that set them apart. If you’re after credibility in your profession and want to be a successful leader you’ll learn the top five characteristics of a leader in this article.
1. Motivates Others
Leaders must know how to make an impact on their followers through their life experiences and powerful messages. That way, they can appeal to team members and keep engagement high. You don’t necessarily have to be a motivational speaker, inspirational speaker, or professional speaker to inspire and motivate your subordinates to perform optimally. Leaders must be good role models for young people. Your employees can derive motivation listening to you talk about your achievements.
Feel free to attends a public speaking group to acquire new techniques and improve your speaking skills and body language. However, remember that a transformational leader isn’t necessarily always the best motivational speaker. Instead, they provide inspirational motivation to spur their followers to greatness.
2. Prioritizes Personal Development.
Your followers will respect you more if they know you have vast knowledge in your chosen field. That’s why every leader should prioritize personal development. It’ll help you keep up with changing market trends and consumer behavior. One good characteristic of a leader is the need to improve their skills continually. Enrolling in a leadership training program or seminar can help you develop critical thinking and decision-making skills.
Consider sitting for a project management professional (PMP) exam. Keep in mind that the PMP credential is globally accepted as a standard of professional excellence for leaders. There are many physical and online courses available in most states in the United States. For example, if you’re based in Houston, you can enroll in PMP exam prep in Houston to prepare adequately for the exam. Furthermore, make a habit of learning from other notable leaders. Take your pick of leadership traits you admire and want to develop.
3. Exudes Confidence
Entrepreneurship is all about confidence. A business leader is confident at all times, even when they don’t have all the answers. Aim to project confidence anywhere you go and have faith in your ability to deliver positive business outcomes.
Bear in mind that being confident also involves standing by your decisions and reflecting your message in how you live your own life. No doubt, second-guessing yourself during a gig or podcast conveys that you’re indecisive or unsure. Keep in mind that there will be times when it becomes expedient to seek the input of your team members before making a decision.
4. Manages Conflict Promptly
One essential characteristic of a leader is an inherent ability to manage conflicts. Every leader should know how to get the emotions of their followers in check whenever things get heated. That entails knowing how to find the root cause of the conflict to devise viable strategies to curb it.
5. Delegates Tasks Well
A good leader doesn’t run the show themselves or micromanage their team. Besides, doing everything yourself can leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Learn to delegate tasks to your team members. Keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to improve productivity and the business’s bottom line. When delegating tasks, start small with simple tasks. That way, you can quickly learn their strengths and weaknesses. As they grow, you can always increase their workload to stretch them further.