Leadership Characteristics

The Definition of a Good Leader

In an organization, leadership refers to the action of leading employees to achieve specific goals. This is done by influencing the behavior of the employees, a factor that impacts their performance and productivity. Today, business leaders face more problems and make more decisions than ever before. With the complex environment in which organizations operate, all executives need to possess leadership attributes that provide solutions to ever-changing challenges and foster growth.

While different people have their own definition of a good leader, a simple definition is a person who communicates appropriately and motivates others significantly. It follows that leadership can be said to be described as the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. For one to be successful in any leadership position, they should learn and adopt certain characteristics of a leader. This not only helps them influence their followers but also delivers the results expected in an organization.

Once an individual understands the effective leadership definition above, they’ll be in a better position to appreciate the role that the different characteristics of a good leader play in contributing to successful leadership.

10 Characteristics of a Good Leader

Managers who demonstrate admirable qualities can inspire their employees to do and achieve great things. There are numerous qualities that define a good leader, with each leadership trait being just as important as the other. Here are 10 characteristics of a good leader that can make a manager remarkable.

Honesty: A good leader builds and maintains an honest connection with their followers. This connection is based on reliability and trust. In the case of an organization, employees are sure that the leader is always there for them.
Delegator: An effective leader knows that every employee has something unique to offer. The leader will work with the employees, assigning duties, and responsibilities based on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual.
Communicator: Good communication skills allow leaders to describe their ideas clearly and ensure that all members understand the shared vision. This ensures that all members strive towards a common goal.
Confident: Even in the face of challenges, a leader should not only be confident but also keep inspiring their team. The leader will remain focused on the goal and remind the team that obstacles have to be overcome.
Committed: An effective leader not only drives their team to work hard but is also constantly at their side, sharing in the struggles and successes.
Positive: For a leader to keep employees motivated, they have to adopt a positive attitude. This will keep the team’s spirit up, making it easy for them to handle minor setbacks.
Creative: Some of the challenges that face organizations require leaders to think outside the box. A leader has to demonstrate creative thinking and inspire their team to do the same.
Inspirational: A competent and capable leader should inspire employees in different ways to get them to share his vision and work towards the set goals.
Empathetic: Rather than having a purely dictatorial leadership style, a manager should be empathetic towards their followers. They should understand their problems, feel their pain, and offer suitable solutions.
Accountable: It is commonly said that a good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit. This helps to ensure subordinates are accountable and work towards improving.
Enthusiastic: Any leader who wants their team to give them their all should be willing to be passionate as well. This is because subordinates look up to their leader and are likely to follow in their footsteps.
Driven: Regardless of what is going on around them, leaders should have the drive and focus on achieving excellent performance and keeping going until the set goals are achieved.
Responsible: A good leader should act in a responsible manner and be willing to own up to their mistakes as well as take the necessary corrective measures.

6 Characteristics of a Bad Leader

There are certain bad qualities that undermine the performance of any manager or executive. These ineffective leadership qualities not only kill the morale of employees but also hinder the growth of the organization. Here are 6 characteristics of a bad leader that all managers should be aware of.

Negative: Negativity makes it difficult for a leader to see the numerous positives around them. This will also affect their optimism, making it hard to inspire their team to work towards achieving the common goal. A negative attitude also makes obstacles seem insurmountable.

Closed-minded: It requires an open-mind that is accommodative of new ideas to handle challenges in today’s ever-changing world. Closed-mindedness will represent an unwillingness to try out new things that could deliver the desired growth.

Slow to adapt: Considering the stiff competition among companies today, a leader who is slow to adapt will not keep his organization ahead of the competition. They will also have a difficult time keeping up with emerging trends, a factor that could have a negative impact on the performance of both the employees and the company.

Egotistical: Ego makes it impossible for a leader to have an open-door policy, interact freely with subordinates, or accept correction from their juniors.

Values experience over potential: A manager who focuses more on experience than potential will not be able to bring the best talent to the organization. The workforce under such a manager may also not handle the challenges of the future effectively.

Forgets about training and development: In order to entrench great values among employees, training and development are important. A manager who forgets these two will bring the organization to stagnation.

Now that managers and executives know some of the adjectives to describe a bad leader, it is critical to avoid these qualities of a bad leader.

Improve Leadership Skills with Lessonly

Training and practice will go a long way in ensuring that managers acquire and strengthen authentic leadership characteristics. This is why companies should consider improving leadership skills with Lessonly by conducting ongoing training and providing learning opportunities. Such training give leaders an opportunity to learn more about leadership and strengthen their skills as well as allow them to stay updated on the latest trends. Once managers familiarize themselves with and understand the simple leadership definition, they should come up with a leadership qualities list to help them determine how well they perform against it.

In the end, managers should be able to establish how many admirable qualities they possess when checked against a leadership strengths and weaknesses list. Lessonly’s powerfully simple training software empowers managers to take their leadership skills to the next level by practicing leadership skills and receiving key coaching and feedback needed for growth. Learn more and get a demo.