Want to Be a Great Leader? These Are the Top 10 Qualities You Need

Effective leaders have the ability to communicate well, motivate their team, handle and delegate responsibilities, listen to feedback, and have the flexibility to solve problems in an ever-changing workplace.

Successful managers, team leaders and supervisors typically possess ten traits and skills that make them superior leaders.

1. Surround yourself with people smarter than you are

Good leaders achieve success when they’re surrounded by teams of people who are experts in their areas, and even who are smarter than the manager that hired them. Good leaders let their team work and innovate. In exchange, teams with a good leader make it so this leader feels comfortable and prepared for the challenge of creating good work.

2. Be transparent and involve them in your vision

A team that feels like something is being hidden from it is mistrustful. The group has to know what’s going so that everyone rows in the same direction. If you hide information, you’ll lose the trust of your team, because they’ll believe that you aren’t taking them into account and turn their backs on you. If you tell them what’s happening, you head off possible fears and at the same time inject a healthy dose of motivation.

3. Communicate well

Leaders need first-rate communication skills. Being open to discussing issues, solving problems or forming objectives with employees are all vital elements of good leadership. A leader will also have to chair team meetings, give persuasive presentations and liaise effectively with clients.

4. Earn their respect

Leaders with character have no need to pull rank to get results: they get them by generating trust and respect, that’s why they’re more effective. They don’t need to impose rules or micro-manage to get their teams to complete their tasks.

5. Show empathy

When someone brings up a problem or concern, a good leader tries to understand the problem and the point of view of the person. Showing empathy is proof that the leader has listened. Your response must address the concerns the other person has brought up, even it’s not always the response this person was hoping for.

6. Trustworthiness

If employees are uncomfortable or unwilling to approach a leader, then the trust between the leader and their team is broken. When employees believe in their leader’s integrity, it is beneficial for the honesty and accountability in the workplace as a whole. A trusted leader is a far more effective one.

7. Be Responsible

As a leader, the responsibility for both failures and successes should be on your shoulders. This means taking full ownership for the actions of yourself or your team, as well as being willing to accept blame and seek solutions when required.

8. Be optimistic and show curiosity

Optimistic leaders inspire and motivate teams. If you show curiosity, you’ll learn and collaborate with the team. This closeness avoids unnecessary conflicts that can grow out of lack of understanding and indifference. Curiosity will allow you to get closer to people and rise to the challenge of leadership in new times.

9. Influence

Whether it is encouraging an employee to ‘buy in’ to a project, step outside their comfort zone or improve productivity, a leader should have the influence to encourage that improvement. A positive influence is a vital skill that will help a leader support their co-workers, and encourage them to go further and do more.

10. Inspiring Motivation

For a leader to be successful, they must motivate those around them to achieve more, go the extra mile and do better in their work. This motivation goes beyond simply providing verbal encouragement; it can include offering team members tangible rewards for their effort through recognition, improved responsibility and even physical rewards. Providing employees with better autonomy and productive work is key to maintaining high motivation.

Becoming a great leader starts with knowing your strengths and shortfalls. Few leaders start with all ten attributes or skills. Some confident people naturally have enthusiasm and have always been courageous.

More timid, reserved individuals can still be good leaders by learning to believe in themselves, acting enthusiastically, and addressing fears. Empathy, humility, and gratitude come naturally for some because of background or culture, but leaders can learn to incorporate these characteristics into their leadership styles by developing self-awareness.