How To Become an Effective Leader? Know the Essential Qualities and Skills of a Good Leader

What’s common between famous leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela? They were world-famous leaders who fought for equality and freedom. Vision, honesty, empathy, and creativity were some of the good qualities of these popular leaders. Similarly, many things make an individual a great leader in the corporate world, and here we will be discussing 10 such good qualities of an effective leader.

Let’s start with precisely understanding who a leader is. Chambers English Dictionary defines a leader as “one who leads or goes first: a chief: the head of a party, expedition, etc.” Therefore, a leader is someone who has been appointed to leadership by a set of people. He/she should resonate with the thoughts and beliefs of the organization as well as the people they are leading. Let’s move to understand the qualities every good leader should have.

10 Qualities of An Effective Leader

A recent study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership revealed that 38% of new leaders fail in the first 18 months because they lack the qualities that are imperative for an effective leader to possess. We’ve put together a few of such qualities:

Honesty

The most important quality of a good and an effective leader is their ability to be honest, and transparent with their team. Additionally, a leader must create a safe space for employees to express their grievances and issues openly. Honesty should be a two-way street; leaders must be honest with their team, and the team should be honest with their leader.

By creating a safe space, a leader ensures that there is no miscommunication in the team, which helps build trust and increase the employees’ efficiency and productivity.

Challenge team members

Unlike managers, leaders don’t confide in the status quo. Instead, they push their team members to challenge the status quo and set new standards of success every time.

Great leaders put their communication skills to use and understand their colleagues’ mindsets, capabilities, and goals. Then, they use the information to challenge their team members. They motivate and push them to do the undoable. This is one of the must-needed skills every leader should have.

Delegate and prioritize tasks

Whenever leaders believe in their employees, they give them opportunities to learn and grow. They delegate work among them and see how they perform based on which they reward them. Good managers measure every performance of their employees.

Besides delegating responsibilities, the role of a leader is to ensure that the team completes all the

assigned tasks in the stipulated time. Therefore, leaders should prioritize tasks that are time-sensitive and try their best to get them completed in time.