5 qualities of effective leaders

There are plenty of articles and books that have been published, telling you what it takes to become a highly effective leader. Many people would say you need specific skills and abilities; some say it lies all in the personality of the individual. Despite all of the ambiguity, people know effective leadership when they see it. It is essentially a blend of personality and skills that encompasses an individual.

Good leaders are always there to motivate their team and achieve the highest levels of performance and outstanding organisation in the process. It takes more than a day to become a leader but with the five steps below, you can make a start on becoming a better one today.

1. Honesty – “Honesty is the best policy” is a quote often heard and it is true.  Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself.  One of the many missed opportunities of displaying honesty is when handling a mistake. Many leaders will avoid failure to the extent that they won’t admit when their ideas did not work. Being honest in your actions and words ensures that employees will have little doubt in your integrity as an effective leader. If you uphold honesty and sincerity, your fellow teammates will follow suit.

2. Confidence – When things are spiralling down the wrong direction or your business encounters a setback, you need stay confident and maintain the morale of the team to ensure things get back on track. Good leaders need to maintain their confidence level and assure everyone else that setbacks are natural and we can learn from our mistakes so it does not happen again. If the leader radiates confidence, his or her team is bound to be confident too. You know what they say, "confidence is contagious".

3. Communication – In team-oriented activities and games, communication is one of the main keys to success and this goes the same for business. Good leaders also ensure that information is up-to-date and complete for every employee, so that there can be no confusion.  Leaders should develop clear and concise communication between themselves and their employees - this will help in relating your vision to your team so everyone will be working towards the same goal.

4. Being decisive – Many leaders will come across situations where they have to be decisive; where making decisions in a split second is second nature to them.  Once you make a decision, stick with it unless you have a compelling reason to change it. These decisions should be firm and authoritative despite knowing not everyone will like it because a good leader acts on what is best for the organisation. When you make a mistake, go back to number 1. and be sure that the learning is known.

5. Ability to inspire – At the end of the day, many leaders are seen as truly inspiring people that communicate clearly and motivate everyone to do their best all the time. Inspirational leaders clear the organisational roadblocks that hold back the natural creativity and positive energy of their employees, building a clearer pathway to success for employees and the organisation.  A great example of inspiration is when Steve Jobs stole a CEO from Pepsi with one question, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or do you want to change the world?”  Being inspiring also means showing people the big picture and dissolving the narrow focus that limits the potential of an individual.

No matter what kind of organisation or association you are in, there will be a leader to take control and lead the team. So be sure to review on these 5 qualities whenever you're unsure or need to push your team into new challenges.