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The people who lead successful organisations don’t necessarily do all the heavy lifting themselves.
They are more focused on motivating others to do great things.
The strongest organisations out there have inspirational role models that influence their people to be committed and productive.
However, the numbers tell us that most organisations aren’t aware of this.
A Gallup survey reports that only 1 in 10 organisations have strong, inspirational, and accountable leaders.
What happened to the rest?
The gap in these numbers points to a leader’s lack of self-awareness.
You can’t build a successful organisation if you’re pouring from an empty cup.
You can’t lead others if you can’t lead yourself first.
You can’t develop your leadership skills if you’re not aware of your strengths and weaknesses in the first place.
By becoming more aware of who you are, you start leading from your strength traits, step into your personal power and gain the trust of your organisation.
What makes up a successful leader?
“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” - John F. Kennedy
Years of working with leaders, researching about leadership and working on self-leadership myself has led me to discovering the key traits of successful leaders.
Here are the 15 traits that a leader needs to develop in order to grow and progress to greatness.
Influence. Influential leaders empower others to choose certain actions and beliefs that create energy and enthusiasm in the team.
Vision. Visionary leaders like Steve Jobs communicate their hopes and dreams to their team to have an overall sense of meaning and purpose.
Trustworthiness. Trustworthy leaders like Abraham Lincoln are reliable because they do what they promise.
Passion. Passionate leaders like Elon Musk have an infectious enthusiasm that creates a culture where team members naturally feel inspired and become more productive.
Integrity. - Honorable leaders like Gandhi have a strong sense of integrity which makes team members trust and respect what they say or do.
Dedication. Dedicated leaders keep their promises and push through challenges to achieve their goals which motivate others to show the same level of commitment.
Empathy. Empathetic leaders are emotionally intelligent people who understand their feelings and can control their own emotions. This helps them create genuine connections with the team.
Ongoing learning. Great leaders are dedicated to continued personal development because they know there is always something new they can learn or improve upon.
Respect. Respectful leaders are committed to their work and serving others. They acknowledge the qualities, abilities, achievements, rights, wishes, and feelings of others.
Servant leadership. Servant leaders like Martin Luther King create loyal teams. They encourage and motivate others to perform their best work and achieve their personal goals as well.
Resilience. Resilient leaders have the ability to keep going despite the many challenges and obstacles in achieving their vision and goals.
Flexibility. Flexible leaders thrive in frequently changing environments. They have the ability to welcome and adopt change and motivate their team members to do the same.
Authenticity. Authentic leaders are aligned with their core values and the values of their organisations on a daily basis. This makes their team members more comfortable contributing new and innovative ideas.
Vulnerability. Vulnerable leaders like Brene Brown emphatise with their team, admit when they make mistakes and are open to feedback from others.
Responsibility. Responsible leaders carefully identify and address issues. They take charge and do not shirk the hard decisions.
The 3 key questions to embodying the traits of successful leaders
Start by asking yourself these questions:
Which leadership characteristics do you demonstrate well?
Which characteristics are a stretch for you?
What are the top 3 characteristics you plan to grow amazingly in the next 3 months?
And see how your organisation becomes stronger and more resilient.