Qualities of a good leader

A vital aspect of leadership is the ability of a leader to make sure that they lead well. As a True great leader, who exhibits leadership qualities (qualities of a good leader), it is essential that the Leader demonstrates key leadership skills and one of them is that he or she must be able to lead people well, and ‘walk the talk’, and manage one’s own state as a leader.  Generally, people do not like to follow set rules and orders, and an important distinction which separates true leaders from others is to understand True Leadership required for the environment, and provide that flexibility to the people involved in the environment, to help them thrive and chalk a unique path for themselves.

A leader who walks the talk is not just simply managing the crowd to achieve an outcome/goal, but a true leader will demonstrate better leadership qualities and most importantly will act on the aspects which are being shared with others.

There are various leadership qualities that a leader demonstrates in different environments; however, a key factor that is unique and separates a True Leader from the others is – the one who demonstrates taking actions rather than just talking or being there without taking actions, and creating a change.  The below mentioned qualities of a good leader are indicative, as a starting point in terms of a person being aware of some of the essential leadership qualities that can be demonstrated.

First, and foremost ‘Be present’.  From a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Leadership perspective in NLP terms that will be Sensory Acuity.  A leader must be fully present at all times, even though it seems that nobody is around, and observing.  Even though there might be situations when a leader wants to behave in ways which are not appropriate as per the normal norms, in which a Leader is supposed to behave in a situation; a single incident can be harmful for the reputation, and hence makes it very important for a leader to be aware and ‘Be present’ all the time.  Remember all great leaders, they were great, because they demonstrated behavior which others did not demonstrate all the time. There is a tendency for people to say that some Leaders got lucky, because they were at the right place at the right time. The point is that a person must be able to spot an opportunity first to act on, and then take some action.

Second, ‘Respect for Excellence’ – even the competitors, because there is something to learn from everybody.  Great leaders have a habit of spending time to study what is happening around in their field of business, they are open to ideas which are being implemented to get better results faster.  They focus on excellence and make sure that they improve on those.  Leaders who are operating from blame frame and are spending time to look for weaknesses of others to exploit and win are eventually going to lose, because they spend the most amount of time trying to find things which are not working (blame frame).  Great leaders always respect the excellence in their competitors and are open to learn from them as well.

Third, ‘Continuous learning’. Tony Robbins and many others leadership gurus promote this in every program that they facilitate.  Tony Robbins promotes this as Continuous and Never Ending Improvements (CANI), in all his leadership trainings, motivational speeches etc.  Each leader must learn continuously, as leadership requires a leader to be dynamic and learn and evolve seeking new ways to do things, and improve every single day.

Fourth, ‘Challenge yourself’.  Look reasons to go beyond and demonstrate being extraordinary in each situation.  Be the leader who is known to show leadership in every situation, and accepts challenge.   Robin Sharma says all the time in his seminars and in his books as well, “Lead without the title”.  Take challenging opportunities to do extraordinary work, and contribute more, even though you are not expected to do that.  Leaders are not born, leaders are made by having powerful beliefs.

Fifth, ‘Be Spontaneous’.  Be a leader who is known for his/her spontaneity during testing times, where leader is supposed to lead and deliver.  If there are no pre-defined solutions for a given situation, be an innovative leader who chooses to be spontaneous, and focuses on innovative solutions rather than the pre-existing solutions.  True leaders always found better, unique and new ways to resolve situations.

Sixth, ‘Be in Control of Emotions’.  No matter what the situation, a good leader will demonstrate state management, where they are in absolute control of their emotions and handle themselves well.  They will ‘respond’ to situations rather than ‘react’.  They will ensure that their approach is forward looking and that they are looking for solutions rather than being in ‘Blame frame’ and blaming people for situations or doing root cause analysis.

Seventh, ‘Powerful Beliefs’.  No matter what the situation is a great leader will have a solid Belief System which will propel him/her towards the outcome/goals.  They are absolutely sure and clear about what they are working towards, and no matter how bad the situation looks at times, they are focusing on the silver lining.  ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ is something that they go by, and encourage and motivate others as well to focus on things when others would call things off.

Eighth, ‘Others first’.  A great leader will always take care of the ecology (impact on others, stakeholders, and on the entire environment) of the decisions, and will make sure that decisions are taken into consideration that they have a positive intentions for others.

Finally, ‘Hope’.  Leaders always hope for the best no matter what the situation is, they always hope for the best by giving out their best.

These are some of the indicative qualities of a True Leader, if a person follows these they will become better leaders, and also create a better life for themselves and for others around them.