Vital Attributes of Leadership

Written By Chouhab on mercredi 14 janvier 2009 | 09:25

By Ethan Beh

What are the qualities of leadership? What characteristics are needed to be a good leader? It doesn't matter what your job title is or whether you are in any position of leadership, leadership skills and qualities can come in very handy during many of the challenging situations that we face in life.

What separates a good leader and a poor one is having the right characteristic of leadership and using effective leadership styles. There are plenty of attributes required to be a good leader. For this article, lets focus on the most vital ones.

1. Communication. It is very important for a leader to have good communication skills as he or she would not only be constantly communicating with the team, but also to external parties. In fact, communicating is one of the things that leaders do the most.

What does it mean to be a good communicator? It means knowing what to say, how to say it and when to say it. Effective leaders will say what is required. They don't sugarcoat their words, they don't try to be too nice and they never purposely show off their authority.

A good leader always encourages his followers. Where necessary, a good leader will criticize and reprimand. Where credit is due, he will give it. A good leader always listens to what his followers has to say and there is always two way communication.

II. Decision Making. The second vital attribute of being a good leader is to be a good decision maker. A good decision maker must;

1. BE DETERMINED - Often times decisions made takes time before the result of it can be seen. A good decision maker must be determined to stick with a decision long enough and not change route or give up halfway through. 2. HAVE FLEXIBILITY - A good decision maker is also flexible in changing decision or directions when it is known that the original decision was not the right one. 3. TIMELY - The good decision maker does not spend too much time on analysis and consideration. No matter how tough, they are able to make the decision within the required time.

There are times when there is insufficient information to make a good informed decision. During times like this, a good leader trusts his judgment and instincts when making the decision. The effective leader has courage and is never afraid of making decisions.

By becoming a great communicator and decision maker, you are well on your way towards becoming an effective leader.

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