WHAT DOES OTIATO, SULULU, MIKE and DR. SLATE NEED TO KNOW?
Author
Marvin Mabonga
Otiato, Sululu, Mike and Slate are both Presidential aspirants in the coming TUMSA 2020 elections in the Technical University of Mombasa.
Sululu
Otiato
Mike
Dr. Slate
Here is what they should put into consideration as leaders,
WHAT ARE THE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES THAT MAKE A GREAT LEADER?
Irrespective of how you define the wordleadership, you can’t deny that certain individuals can greatly impact the lives of others based on their experience and insights.
While we’re all living different timelines on the journey of life, we look to leaders for guidance and advice.
While some leaders seem like they were naturally born that way, leadership skills can be learned. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t led before. There are certain characteristics, traits, and skills that ultimately build the most effective leaders.
Learn these and you can change the lives of others.
Here are the most important leadership qualities and skills to look for in a great leader.
1. COMMUNICATION.
If you’re in a leadership role, good communication skills are absolutely crucial. Using language to perform one-to-one communication is really all that we have as human beings.
Yes, there are non-verbal cues, but being able to express yourself openly and build empathy with other people is the foundation of effective leadership.
And what is the #1 most important part of communication?
Listening.
Right up there with empathy, the only way to get people to follow you is to make them feel heard.
One of my favorite quotes from Dale Carnegie from How to Win Friend and Influence People is, “talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.”
This is 100% true. The more you make real eye contact and show sincere interest in the lives of others, the more people will be magnetically drawn to you and passionately speak about their lives. They’ll become inspired, feel heard, and begin to know, like, and trust you.
Alternatively, when you show no interest, lack eye contact, and pretend not to care about personal stories that other people tell, they will automatically shut down, stop sharing as much, and feel self-conscious about their own interests.
Communication is the #1 most important quality of being a great leader.
2. INTEGRITY.
C.S. Lewis said:
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
Without integrity, no real success if possible. You can’t expect your followers to be honest when you lack integrity yourself. An honest leader succeeds when they stick to their word, live by their core values, lead by example, and follow-through.
Integrity is the cornerstone of all other leadership qualities.
There are many things to look for in people with integrity, including:
- Apologizing for mistakes
- Highlighting the work of their employees and downplaying their own contributions
- Giving the benefit of the doubt when circumstances are unclear
- Being appreciative of people’s time
3. ACCOUNTABILITY.
For accountability, an effective leader needs to follow the advice of Arnold Glasow when he said,
“A good leader takes little more than his share of the blame and little less than his share of the credit.”
A strong leader is accountable for the team’s results, good or bad. They hold themselves and their employees accountable for their actions, which creates a sense of responsibility among the team.
They give credit where credit is due, and take responsibility for blame when necessary. Being accountable and leading by example is one of the quickest ways a leader can build trust with their team.
4. EMPATHY.
A true leader has enough open-mindedness to understand their followers’ motivations, hopes, dreams, and problems so that they can forge a deep personal connection with them.
Empathy is understanding.
Empathy isn’t just being a nice person.
It’s a mindset that enables leaders to:
- Make better predictions
- Improve work strategies
- Inspire loyalty among their teams
- Better their negotiation tactics
- Increase creativity
Understanding where people are coming from helps facilitate a more human environment where team members are more productive and leaders thrive.
For example, if an employee is consistently 15 minutes late, good leaders won’t impute blame on them right away and even better leaders will solve the why questions. Why are they late?
Maybe they’re dealing with a personal struggle at home, health issues, or car troubles. Real leaders are empathetic with their teams and deeply understand their motivations.
After all, what’s more important to human communication than understanding others?
5. HUMILITY.
When it comes to leadership, it can be tempting to become enamored with a new title or status.
However, great leadership styles focus on problem-solving and team dynamics much more than self-promotion. A great leader will never be effective if they’re more concerned with themselves than with the well-being of their team. As Thomas Merton said,
“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.”
Being humble and vulnerable with their team members will make a leader much more relatable and effective.
Comments
Post a Comment