Five Must-Have Qualities for Effective Leadership

Different leaders have different leadership styles, and to some extent, this difference in leadership styles exists on an individual level. However, when it comes to being effective as a leader, there are certain characteristics that are common for each of them. Here, we discuss five essential qualities of a good leader.

Emotional Connect and Agility

Very often, there is a misconception that strong leaders are emotionally detached, that they get work done purely by being driven by results. That however is not true. In fact, the most effective leaders are those who are able to connect with their team members on an emotional level. This allows them to understand what guides the intrinsic motivation of their team and accordingly, mold their messaging so as to generate a mental incentive to execute necessary tasks. However, not every individual has the same emotional make-up. And therefore, leaders need to be able to show some extent of agility in the way they interact with individual team members to ensure that they develop a connection irrespective of the mindset of the individual member.

Outlining SMART Vision and Goals

The ability to give a clear direction, meaning and purpose to team members separates leaders from managers. Managers ‘manage’ to get the necessary work done; however, their team may perform their tasks without having a sense of purpose behind working. Leaders on the other hand are able to connect every member within the team to the purpose behind a collective goal that has been set out. Thus, every member imbibes the purpose and shares a common ambition toward achieving the team goal. By doing this, a leader guides individual team members to take ownership of their individual responsibilities and feel motivated to execute the same. Once this happens, the leader need not supervise or micro-manage every team activity – the team members would be driven to accomplish their goal regardless of whether they are being watched.

Systems Thinking and Innovation

‘Winners don’t do different things; they do things differently’ goes a famous saying. It is easy to substitute winners with leaders, for a good leader is expected to be a winner for the most part. And to do things differently, leaders need to be able to innovate upon the existing systems and processes. To be able to do so, they need to be able to practice systems thinking, through which they can enable their team members to comprehend the interconnection between different functions and activities. There are three benefits that accrue to the entity that the leader is ‘leading’ through this – one is there is a continuous improvement in the way various tasks and activities are conducted leading to higher efficiency and precision. Also, the organization is set up to adapt and respond to any changes in the operating environment without facing adverse disruptions. Thirdly, the team members can see a positive evolution of their own work, and as a current set of tasks become easier to perform over time through an increase in collective team efficiency, they can take on more responsibilities and realize their own evolution within the team.

Transparency and Fairness

Team members will naturally trust a leader who conducts himself or herself in a fair and open manner. This also allows them to open their thoughts, concerns, and criticism without feeling the need to hold back. Such open communication prevents the setting up of organizational grapevines and the consequent intra-team politics and distraction. Impact leaders do not withhold information to wield power and control over their team; rather they freely disseminate the same and empower their team members to use the information and deliver the results that they seek. Good leaders also do not show a proclivity towards biasedness or favoritism. They evaluate every member’s contribution and conduct objectively, and are just in their feedback, rewards, or when needed, punitive action.

Genuine Care for Team

Every day is different for every individual. There will be highs and lows, different team members will have days of good and bad productivity. A leader recognizes this human tendency and deals with such performance vagaries with equanimity. By showing understanding toward team members’ concerns and vulnerabilities, and actively attempting to resolve them, a good leader is able to maximize the times of good productivity and work output for his or her team. At the same time, being the first person to own up and take responsibility for the team’s occasional failures and not letting them lose morale is also something that earns trust in a leader in the eyes of his or her team.

The five points mentioned above highlight various key characteristics of a good leader. With a growing list of challenges in today’s world, leaders have to deal with amplified organizational complexity. However, the basics of leadership remain the same, and working on the above five points will ensure that one can possess all the qualities of an effective leader who is capable of leading an organization to new highs.