Every business wants to hire talented leaders. Employees want to work for and with good managers. But what, exactly, is a good leader? What makes successful leaders stand apart from poor managers?
Great leaders possess certain skills, qualities, and competencies that enable them to excel. The good news is that effective leaders are made, not born. Leadership is a skill that can be developed and improved upon, just like any other. It’s a lifelong, continuous process. All you need is a commitment to self-improvement.
To get to the next leadership level, consider participating in leadership development to learn from other successful executives. Harnessing their experience and expertise will help you adopt similar qualities to become a better leader.
Let’s learn the different qualities of a good leader and manager.
Vision
A great leader is also a great visionary. They can see the past today and into the future, with its infinite possibilities for the team, the department, the business, and the industry. They have this futuristic view and know how to communicate this vision to their team so others can understand it and feel connected.
In turn, their team members can find increased meaning in their work. They understand how their day-to-day tasks contribute to this futuristic vision, motivating and inspiring them to excel. With purpose and meaning in their work, employees become more engaged and eager to drive priorities forward.
Influence
Not all leaders hold influence, but those who do rise up the ranks faster. Effective leaders influence and inspire their teams to succeed. They also use their influence to collaborate across departments, get ideas approved by executives and boards, and bring their visions to life.
Communication
Leaders cannot have influence or be visionaries without great communication skills. When sharing ideas and visions, managers must be master storytellers who can paint a picture everyone can enjoy.
In the day-to-day life of a manager, effective communication also comes in the form of being an effective presenter, writing great situational analysis reports, and verbally communicating the good work their teams are doing. It also includes active listening to team members’ concerns and issues. Leadership requires communication, so this quality is non-negotiable.
Collaboration
Regardless of your industry or specific role, you must be a skilled collaborator if you’re a leader. This can include collaborating with your direct reports, colleagues in other departments, and executives. Great leaders break down organizational silos and bring everyone together to pursue a common goal.
This collaboration often spans beyond the organization and requires connections with outside companies, partners, and vendors.
Someone who doesn’t get along with others and has difficulty collaborating with various people and roles will struggle with leadership.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence means understanding, managing, and using your emotions. Emotional intelligence is valuable in business. It reduces tension in stressful situations. It can instill trust in your team. It can improve empathy. It can enable effective conflict resolution and more.
Leaders who control their emotions and understand the power of negative and positive emotions on those around them can move up the corporate ladder more easily.
Growth Mindset
As a leader, you should always grow. You shouldn’t see new situations, people, or technology as setbacks to your career, goals, and team. You should grab every opportunity to grow personally and professionally. You should be eager to learn as much as you can, whenever you can.
A leader with a growth mindset sees their abilities and competencies as their starting point – not their full potential. They are willing and able to grow and learn. Managers with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are fixed, rigid, and unchangeable. This makes them fear failure and resist change. Having this fixed mindset typically leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. If you think you’ll fail, you likely will.
To change your mindset from fixed to growth, don’t fear failure. Take risks. Explore innovation and seek creative challenges. Don’t shy away from anything because it seems too complex, complicated, or difficult.
Adaptability
The world changes constantly. Businesses are constantly evolving when faced with a changing economic climate, financial difficulties, personnel changes, new technology, and new competition.
A good leader is adaptable and can roll with the punches. Business leaders understand change is constant. In business today, you’ll likely face ever-shifting goals and demands. Embrace new opportunities, ideas, and challenges, pivot when needed, and respond quickly.
