Leadership: The qualities a good leader should possess

Why are you a leader? The primary reason for being a leader is for your followers and not you. You are in that position to serve them then lead them. Being a dictatorial leader would rob you of your followers trust. They begin to displace you as priority in their lives.

It is easier to be a bad leader than a good one. That’s because being a good leader takes learning, practice, intentionality, and effort. It is easier to turn a blind eye to your followers’ needs and impose rash ideologies on them.

In summary, be the leader that they can trust to make logical and objective decisions. Don’t risk losing your followers. You are there because of them.

A good leader should not be dictatorial in nature.

Your team should be able to vouch for you and rest assured that their rights, well-being and opinion will not be sidelined. You should be able to serve them first and lead them. That is why you’re there in the first place.

A good leader is normally passionate and enthusiastic about learning because he or she understands how important growth is. As a leader, learning for you is a lifelong thing. There is no end to it. John C. Maxwell once said, “If you want to lead you need to grow. Good leaders are always good learners”.

You learn by reading, you learn from your mentor or leader, you leverage on your network by learning from your friends. In a nutshell, don’t stop learning. What learning does to you as a leader is that it helps you learn new concepts, unlearn concepts that you used to hold on to before that are now redundant, and relearn things that you’ve always known and probably forgotten about.

When you stop learning, you stop growing and start dying.

It was mentioned earlier that you are a leader to serve people and lead them. You are not to lord it over them. Instead, you are meant to intentionally walk in their shoes, identify where it pinches and work your way through making things easier for them.

People respect leaders that can understand their plight and resonate with their struggles not one who is selfish and dictatorial.

A good leader is one who knows how to actively listen, knows how to speak clearly, often asks open-ended questions, and is open to being questioned.  He or she should be able to persuade, motivate, inspire, and clearly give out information using words.

To communicate effectively with your followers, avoid ambiguity of words, avoid speaking a language they do not understand. Also, it’s important to keep your tone in check while speaking or interacting with them.

A good leader is one who is focused on what is important and is not given to distractions easily. Your main focus should be the people under you. You should never forget that you are here to serve and lead them. Service comes first. Being their leader is not an opportunity to infringe on their rights and be dictatorial. You are here, primarily for them and not for yourself. Don’t lose guard. Don’t be frivolous. No one wants a leader who is not sensible.

Major on the important things and CHANNEL your energy and attention to them. You can’t do everything at once that is why it is important to set your priorities right and leave out the irrelevant details.

 

You listen more than you talk and you give your team room to express their opinions, in a bid to allow them air their great ideas. You probably know what to do regarding a matter but you patiently wait to hear the opinion of others on that topic before you say a word.

People love it when their leader gives them the impression that their opinions matter too.

 

A good leader is one who would give his or hero followers feathers to fly and teach them how to properly use it. You don’t try to hide them in order to be the only one in the limelight. You desire to help them rise, and it shows in your interaction with them.

You are not manipulative and deceptive, and genuinely want to see them become better.

Finally, being a good leader is not such an easy task, but it is quite achievable. Put in the work of learning and modelling what you learn, and you’ll see results. Keep growing. Don’t stop!

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