Important Leadership Traits
The following are a list of leadership traits you may want to examine with regard to yourself.
Perseverance
In business there are times when the only way to meet a goal is to pull an all-nighter, say, or to come up with a brilliant strategy that’s never been tried before. You keep working until the job is done. Period.
Accountability
Everyone depends on the rest of the company not to let them down. This is the very definition of accountability. If you’re the leader, you owe it to your team to give everything you do 100%. So do they.
Clear Communication
In order to complete a job, one must understand the task. That means the one giving the orders must communicate clearly and succinctly with his or her subordinates. The same is true of CEOs and managers. They must know precisely what they want to accomplish, and spell it out in no uncertain terms to their employees.
Ability To Make Quick Decisions
The ability to make quick decisions is critical. With management structures becoming leaner and flatter, more decisions are being made at lower levels than ever before. So having the confidence and insight to make good decisions-and having a company-wide common focus and alignment on which to base those decisions-is key to business leadership.
Ability To Get Along With Others
Leaders must not only get along with coworkers who are very different from themselves, but must also be able to inspire them. This ability can mean the difference between a business that fails and one that thrives.
Strong Character
Honor, ethics, integrity, loyalty . . . While character is seldom associated with business leadership, one need look no further than the headlines to see what happens when it’s not present.
Emotional stability
Good leaders must be able to tolerate frustration and stress. Overall, they must be well-adjusted and have the psychological maturity to deal with anything they are required to face.
Dominance
Leaders are often times competitive and decisive and usually enjoy overcoming obstacles. Overall, they are assertive in their thinking style as well as their attitude in dealing with others.
Enthusiasm
Leaders are usually seen as active, expressive, and energetic. They are often very optimistic and open to change. Overall, they are generally quick and alert and tend to be uninhibited.
Conscientiousness
Leaders are often dominated by a sense of duty and tend to be very exacting in character. They usually have a very high standard of excellence and an inward desire to do one’s best. They also have a need for order and tend to be very self-disciplined.
Social boldness
Leaders tend to be spontaneous risk-takers. They are usually socially aggressive and generally thick-skinned. Overall, they are responsive to others and tend to be high in emotional stamina.
Tough-mindedness
Good leaders are practical, logical, and to-the-point. They tend to be low in sentimental attachments and comfortable with criticism. They are usually insensitive to hardship and overall, are very poised.
Self-assurance
Self-confidence and resiliency are common traits among leaders. They tend to be free of guilt and have little or no need for approval. They are generally secure and free from guilt and are usually unaffected by prior mistakes or failures.
Compulsiveness
Leaders were found to be controlled and very precise in their social interactions. Overall, they were very protective of their integrity and reputation and consequently tended to be socially aware and careful, abundant in foresight, and very careful when making decisions or determining specific actions.