11 Important Leadership Traits
Leaders are born and not made. This is an age-old debate and has taken the same structure and potency as the nature vs. nurture debate. It is a skill that even coursework writing help can’t offer you as it has to be cultivated and nourished over time. Thus, in light of the trait theory, these are the common and most important traits of a leader.
1. Intelligence and skilful judgment
Have you ever met a leader who is not smart? Don’t think of President Trump; That is a tragedy. What this means is that to be a great leader, one must have intelligence in regards to dealing with people and solving problems. In addition to this, the ability to handle hurdles and obstacles is also dependant on their level of intelligence. Another part of this trait is judgment. A good leader does not judge people but their behaviour and motives. This impacts how they objectively view a situation and find a solution for it.
2. Ease to accept responsibility
We’ve all come across leaders who have been terrible when it comes to accepting responsibility. Great leaders are not supposed to take the credit when their team does well. They need to stand by the team members even when the times are hard. Also, they should never let their team down in times of crisis as that is when they need the leader the most. Therefore, an effective leader should always accept responsibility.
3. Competent task worker
We’ve all thought of hitting our head in the wall while communicating with the administration department of a university. The main reason why this occurs is that these people are incompetent, lazy, and unprofessional with their job. Therefore, leaders need to know what they’re talking about. More importantly, when they’re bossing around and giving instructions, they must achieve the number of tasks in the given time limit before assigning them to their subordinates. It is easier to expect great things than actually meet those expectations yourself.
4. Understanding what the team needs
A great leader is intuitive and knows exactly when to jump in and save the team. Hence, the most obvious trait is that of understanding. To attain this purpose, leaders are required to build good relations with their team. If they maintain a safe distance between themselves and the team members, others would feel uncomfortable approaching them in case of an emergency. Therefore, that block should never occur.
5. Ability to talk to people
The most obvious trait of a good leader is charm and fluency. If there’s one thing that leaders are great at doing, it is; impressing people with their words. It is often not about what they’re saying but how they’re saying something. Therefore, an effective leader should be a smooth talker and must know how to please others.
6. A need for achievement
Leaders have a vision and a mission. They are highly ambitious, and they ensure that they get the target that they have set their eyes on. When leaders don’t get what they want, a natural response is of frustration and disappointment. However, they should always bounce back with more motivation and an eagerness to prove themselves. To be precise, apart from having extrinsic motivation, they should be empowered by intrinsic motivation. Hence, the most crucial need of a leader must be the need for achievement.
7. A great motivator
As already mentioned above, a great leader is intuitive, ambitious, and has a high need for achievement. Additionally, they are empowered by intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation. Leaders are supposed to not only feel motivated within themselves, but they also need to empower others with the same sense of enthusiasm and purpose. Hence, as a leader, one must have the ability to encourage people into achieving what’s best for the team and for that individual. This is the reason why leaders are always asked to give speeches and workshops as they know how to get into the head of people and make them feel empowered and motivated.
8. Courage and resolution
Being a leader is difficult. They have to cope with complex challenges and difficult feats regularly. Therefore, they need to have courage and a sense of resolution. They can’t be complacent as that will cause them to lose interest and mission. When the going gets hard, the teammates look up to the leader to give them inspiration and motivation. They are the concrete cement and the building block of the team. If the foundation loses its grip, the team will fall apart as well. Hence, courage is essential.
9. Perseverance
Perseverance is an extremely important skill to possess if you’re a leader. Leaders are constantly dealing with setbacks and problems. During such a critical period, it comes down to how firmly they possess the trait of perseverance. If they have this innate ability, they will get through any difficult time. However, if they lack it, they would never be able to finish a task or achieve their anticipated goal.
10. Decisiveness
The most important role of a leader is to make decisions. They need to be alert and attentive and must have the ability to make decisions in the heat of the moment. There will be times when they’ll be faced with difficult options and selecting one person or side will be a horrendous experience for them. However, at the end of the day, they will be compelled to make difficult decisions no matter how hard it is for them and how many egos they hurt.
11. Assertiveness
When a man is assertive, he is labelled as confident and powerful. However, when a woman is assertive, she is known to be moody and temperamental. We live in a sexist world where there are separate ways of perceiving genders and their traits. However, that’s separate debate for another day.
The reason why assertiveness is deemed as a necessary trait for leaders is that it ensures that the employee or teammate value their commands without getting offended. Therefore, a great leader should be able to dictate instructions without coming across as too aggressive.
