INTRODUCTION

LEADERSHIP

can be defined as one's ability to get

others to willingly follow. Every organization needs
leaders at every level. Leaders can be found and
nurtured if you look for the following character traits.
A leader with vision has a clear, vivid picture of where
to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks
like and how to achieve it. But its not enough to have a
vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it.

A leader must be able to communicate his or her vision in terms

that cause followers to buy into it. He or she must communicate
clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious.

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP QUALITY

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A
person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such
an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from
inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader
must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.
Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary
to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by
example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward
the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show
followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only
opportunities to achieve something great

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP QUALITY

Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions,
and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of
integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more
approachable by followers.
Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous
leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as
possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes
personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity
helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team
closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark
of effective leadership

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP QUALITY

Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse
than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing
but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also
understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma
Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a followercentric leadership role.
Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do
not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to
suspend judgment while listening to others ideas, as well as accept
new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness
builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it
also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its
vision.

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP QUALITY

Creativity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box
that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see
things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new
directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is,
What if ? Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, I know
this is a dumb question
Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A
leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing
judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to
conclusions based on incomplete evidence.
When people feel they that are being
treated fairly, they reward a leader
with loyalty and dedication.

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP QUALITY

Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. Rather, it is the
ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no
misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired
results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly
understand what followers expect from their leader.
A sense of humor is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well
as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humor to
energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some
control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters
good camaraderie.

FIVE LEADERSHIP TRAITS

The five leadership traits/leadership qualities are:

Honest.
Forward-Looking .
Competent .
Inspiring .
Intelligent .
Your skill at exhibiting these five leadership qualities is strongly
correlated with peoples desire to follow your lead. Exhibiting
these traits will inspire confidence in your leadership. Not
exhibiting these traits or exhibiting the opposite of these traits
will decrease your leadership influence with those around you.

HONESTY AS A LEADERSHIP QUALITY

People want to follow an honest leader. Years ago, many employees started out by assuming
that their leadership was honest simply because the authority of their position. With modern
scandals, this is no longer true.

When you start a leadership position, you need to assume that people will think you are a
little dishonest. In order to be seen as an honest individual, you will have to go out of your
way to display honesty. People will not assume you are honest simply because you have never
been caught lying.

One of the most frequent places where leaders miss an opportunity to display honesty is in
handling mistakes. Much of a leaders job is to try new things and refine the ideas that dont
work. However, many leaders want to avoid failure to the extent that they dont admit when
something did not work.

There was a medium size organization that was attempting to move to a less centralized
structure. Instead of one location serving an entire city, they wanted to put smaller offices
throughout the entire metro area. At the same time, they were planning an expansion for
headquarters to accommodate more customers at the main site. The smaller remote offices
was heralded as a way to reach more customers at a lower cost and cover more demographic
areas.

TRAIT

FORWARD-LOOKING AS A LEADERSHIP

The whole point of leadership is figuring out where to go from where you are now. While you may
know where you want to go, people wont see that unless you actively communicate it with them.
Remember, these traits arent just things you need to have, they are things you need to actively
display to those around you.

When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, that leader is usually suffering from one
of two possible problems:

The leader doesnt have a forward-looking vision.

The leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with others.

When a leader doesnt have a vision for the future, it usually because they are spending so much
time on today, that they havent really thought about tomorrow. On a very simplistic level this can
be solved simply by setting aside some time for planning, strategizing and thinking about the
future.

Many times when a leader has no time to think and plan for the future, it is because they are doing
a poor job of leading in the present. They have created an organization and systems that rely too
much on the leader for input at every stage.

COMPENTENCY AS A LEADERSHIP QUALITY

People want to follow someone who is competent. This doesnt mean

a leader needs to be the foremost expert on every area of the entire
organization, but they need to be able to demonstrate competency.

For a leader to demonstrate that they are competent, it isnt enough

to just avoid displaying incompetency. Some people will assume you
are competent because of your leadership position, but most will
have to see demonstrations before deciding that you are competent.

When people under your leadership look at some action you have
taken and think, that just goes to show why he is the one in charge,
you are demonstrating competency. If these moments are infrequent,
it is likely that some demonstrations of competency will help boost
your leadership influence.

INSPIRATION AS A LEADESHIP QUALITY

People want to be inspired. In fact, there is a whole class of

people who will follow an inspiring leadereven when the leader
has no other qualities. If you have developed the other traits in
this article, being inspiring is usually just a matter of
communicating clearly and with passion. Being inspiring means
telling people how your organization is going to change the
world.

A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs stole the CEO

from Pepsi by asking him, Do you want to sell sugar water for
the rest of your life, or do you want to change the world?
Being inspiring means showing people the big picture and
helping them see beyond a narrow focus and understand how
their part fits into the big picture.

INTELLIGENCE AS A LEADERSHIP TRAIT

Intelligence is something that can be difficult to develop. The

road toward becoming more intelligent is difficult, long and
cant be completed without investing considerable time.
Developing intelligence is a lifestyle choice. Your college
graduation was the beginning of your education, not the end.
In fact, much of what is taught in college functions merely as
a foundational language for lifelong educational experiences.

To develop intelligence you need to commit to continual

learningboth formally and informally. With modern advances
in distance, education it is easy to take a class or two each
year from well respected professors in the evening at your
computer.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER?

The leadership qualities that are required to make a good

leader can vary in different companies, teams and situations.
They are context-dependent.

This can be illustrated in both modern leadership models and

art. For example, the fact that leadership qualities are
dependent on context is demonstrated in the play The
Admirable Crichton and the film Twelve O'Clock High - the latter
having been used on leadership training courses for more than
half a century.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

Autocratic Leadership: Autocratic leadership is an extreme form

of transactional leadership, where leaders have absolute power
over their workers or team

Bureaucratic Leadership: Bureaucratic leaders work by the

book. They follow rules rigorously.

Charismatic Leadership: Charismatic leaders inspire lots of

enthusiasm in their teams.

Democratic Leadership: Democratic leaders make final

decisions. They invite other members of the team to contribute
to decision making process.

PRESPECTIVE

How you look to develop leadership qualities will depend on whether you are looking at the subject from
the perspective of an organization or an individual. The former is driven by need, the latter by talent.
Organizations need leaders who will support the organizational culture and aims. For them, therefore,
leadership development involves:
identifying the leadership characteristics
and/or profile of people who will enhance
organizational performance
selecting/recruiting individuals whose character
skills and potential closely match that profile
developing the particular skills/abilities within
those individuals so they can fulfill their leadership
potential within the organization
That is, you need to:
discover your natural leadership style and qualities
develop those qualities into tangible skills
find a role or organization that matches your
leadership talents, where what you have to offer will be
valued.

CONCLUSION

What makes a good leader depends on the organizational context.

Developing leadership potential involves matching individual talents
with organizational need, and building skills that both enhance
performance and play to individual strengths. To investigate this topic
further, here are some further readings and resources:-

The Leadership Qualities Checklist that emerged from our research,

showing the common attributes required of all leaders.

Our Leadership Questionnaire that helps you identify your natural

leadership style, and match it against the leadership demands of
various industries/disciplines.

An article on the Difference Between Leadership and Management.

THANK YOU