5 Insightful Leadership Qualities to Follow

Sheikhatickoo
4 min readNov 9, 2022

It is a common saying that Leaders shape nations and organizations. But, have you ever thought about who are successful leaders or what traits they carry? Are successful leaders born or developed? Answering these may turn out to be a bit difficult. But, don’t worry, you will get all the answers in this article, so keep reading.

Leadership qualities or skills are inbred, honed, and improved with time. Some traits are innate, and some are learned by seeing other great leaders or working with them. You will realize that a strategic planner and a critical thinker can take an organization to the next level.

Resilient leaders are the backbone of any successful and rising company. Similarly, every organization needs a leader with a positive attitude to implement effective decision-making. This leadership quality comprises authority and excellent communication to foster team relationships and enhance productivity.

Let’s quickly hop and uncover all the insightful qualities required to become a successful leader.

1. Frequent communication

Effective communication and leadership are knitted together because influential leaders are not decision imposers but good listeners. It is not a surprise that communication is one of the most crucial qualities of a strong leader. Communication alone can make or break a team and also imparts positivity and trust building within the organization.

Skilled communication is an art using which a leader inspires and transmits information to others. Those looking to learn leadership qualities must master skillful representations of their thoughts in front of everyone. Moreover, they never step back from encouraging a good communication culture and follow several strategies like the ones below:

● Good leaders believe in a follow-up culture.

● Connection with the team to determine clear goals, values, and mission.

● Avoid gossip and a negative environment.

2. Gratitude and Appreciation

Gratitude is not only essential at Thanksgiving. Appreciating your workplace, job, and surrounding people are also essential. Grateful leaders are always humble and possess a growth mindset. Gratitude always brings out humility and acceptance to feedback and always inspires people to do better.

In addition, a great leader inspires and instills discipline and motivation. It won’t be wrong to term a leader as a strategic player and planner. Leaders lead by appreciating the team’s efforts rather than taking all the credits.

As per OC Tanner’s research

● 79% of people quit jobs because of a lack of appreciation

● 82% of employees said their supervisors don’t recognize them.

Following are the points that good leaders take care of:

1. Appreciating and celebrating small successes.

2. Politely listening to feedback and working to resolve it.

3. Acknowledging the contributions done.

3. Strategic thinkers and innovators

Strategic and critical thinking is one standard quality in all great leaders. Even if you take the example of Mahatma Gandhi, he was an out-of-the-box thinker. He always had a game plan, and successful leaders always walk according to a well-made strategy.

Good leaders think critically and develop a clear understanding of goals, opportunities, and threats. They are always prepared to adjust their strategies according to the emerging opportunities in front of them.

Here is what’s essential to develop strategic thinking:

1. Maintaining a flexible mindset.

2. Maintaining a positive outlook.

3. Set smart goals i.e., attainable, realistic, and measurable.

4. Interested in an organization’s growth

5. Not afraid of trying new ideas and approaches.

4. Empathy and Agility

Leaders who empathize with their employees are truly great. Very few people try to perceive the thoughts of others, and the same is rarely seen in organizations. Leadership is never about being bossy. It is fundamental to a never-ending relationship between you and your team.

So, next time when anyone asks about the importance of being empathetic, tell them it is vital for establishing connections. There are various ways of showing empathy, and these visionary personalities find all the little ways to empathize with their employees. True leaders are agile and understand their employees in everyday management tasks. Great leaders who support their team are likely to witness honesty from their team members.

Want to learn how to exhibit support being a leader? Check out the points below.

● Great leaders look for work-related stress and frame strategies to mitigate employee burnout.

● Help employees in keeping their mental health the topmost priority.

● Encourage employees to take breaks, vacations, and casual leaves.

● Keep a standard working time and encourage the team for the same.

5. Responsible and Accountable

If you notice your superiors or your organization’s CEO, they have the guts to accept the mistake and find its solution. It is what great leaders do, they are never scared of their decisions and encourage the other team members to be bold. Leaders consider themselves accountable for bringing transformation and revolution to the workplace.

They consider it their responsibility to take better initiatives for the team and ensure everyone works together and remains on the same page. They are far from being partial to any employee. That is why a healthy and strengthened culture is always related to passionate leadership.

Bottom line

As it’s time to wrap up this article, you must keep these things in mind if you desire to become a great leader. You must proactively start working on the above-mentioned skills because these characteristics will help you achieve your dream of becoming an influential leader. Leadership is a long journey and each phase that leaders go through consists of unquenchable knowledge. Thus, they keep learning and improvising. So, start building these qualities in yourself to start your leadership journey.

--

--

Sheikhatickoo

Sheikha is an eloquent writer, entrepreneur, and content creator. She helps businesses and start-ups connect with their audiences via her writing services