10 Traits of a good leader

There are some people who are natural leaders.

And there are others who should never be in a leadership role.

You’re probably thinking of someone right now, someone you’ve worked with in the past who shouldn’t have been in a position of power.

They made bad decisions, their professional relationships were soured and there was not a pleasant moment in working with them.

On the other hand, there are those people who seem to be born leaders. They form strong networks around themselves, no one has a bad word to say and they go about their days without any problems.

According to motivational speaker and author Simon Sinek, good leadership can be classified into three things: selflessness, empathy, and an ability to manage anxiety on your team. What this basically means is that people like to be around the people they trust, people enjoy being taken care of and cannot perform when they’re anxious and stressed. He says: “A leader’s job is not to do the work for others, it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.”

If you’re wondering which camp you fall into or how to spot someone who’s a good business person, here are some of the signs. They’ll help you to distinguish a good leader from a bad one.

Leadership skills

Well, this one’s fairly obvious. This is someone who can usually command a room and inspire a team of colleagues to perform at their best. It’s important, though, to remember that everyone has a different leadership style. Some people are quietly inspirational while others can stand at the front of a room and make motivational speech at the drop of a hat.

Friendly competition skills

It’s important that leaders and businesspeople have a healthy sense of competition. It encourages them to reach the top and do the best work they possibly can. An internal drive is what sets them apart from their colleagues. They aren’t content to just sit around and do the work they’ve been assigned. They find extra work as they can’t simply sit around until 5pm until it’s time for them to go home.

Judgement

A good leader is someone who approaches problems with common sense. They don’t rush to make decisions, instead they weigh up all factors and take all necessary information into account.

Decisiveness

By acting calmly and by taking all the information into account, a good leader should soon arrive at the best possible outcome. They’re sure that they’ve made the right choice and won’t change their mind. When a good leader decides it’s time to expand their business, they’ll weigh up the pros and cons, apply for plant and machinery finance, and simply expand their business. They won’t waffle for many days as they struggle to reach a decision.

Takes initiative

It’s important that a leader takes initiative. They don’t simply do what everyone else is doing. They don’t sit by and do the bare minimum. Initiative combines confidence and innovation. And it’s this that leads to success.

Solid communication skills

Not to be underestimated, good communication skills are often overlooked. But in reality, a good leader understands the importance of being able to communicate effectively with the people around them. Whether they’re co-workers, associates, partners or customers, an effective leader will know what to say, how to listen and how to ensure the conversation has been understood by all parties.

Confidence

To be a good leader, it’s important that they’re assured in their skills. They need to set the example for the rest of the team. If they don’t have natural confidence, luckily this is one trait that can be faked. When they walk into a meeting, they need to be able to convince those sitting there of the success of the idea based purely on confidence.

Tact

This is a characteristic which can be developed. Always be courteous and cheerful. Good leaders ensure they always treat others as they’d wish to be treated. By always dealing tactfully with people, good leaders avoid bad relationships and maintain a problem-free work environment.

Competency

Of course, to do that, they’ll need to have the know-how to do the job. All of the above points are necessary and useful, but if they don’t know what they’re doing, they’ll never be a strong leader. They could have this because they have loads of experience, it could be a natural talent or it could be something learned through years of study. The reality is, good business people know what they’re doing.

Drive

If they’re enthusiastic about what they do, then it’s possible to make a success of a leadership position, even if they don’t have all of the above traits. For this reason, having drive to succeed might be the most important trait of a good leader.