Top 15 powerful Leadership Skills
What do we mean about Leadership Skills?
Leadership skills are the tools, Behavior & capabilities that a leader possess to influence the people & provide directions to achieve their goals. It is important because it deals with both the internal and external stakeholders. It is said that the true leaders are those who drive people to achieve their own success. Some of the top powerful leadership skills we inherit from our culture we grow & many of these leading skills we learn & acquire only when we have eager to develop our leadership skill, open mind, patience & commitment to put what we learn to action.
Leaders are figureheads of an organization and for good reasons. Every leadership style has its own set of skills associated with it ; like a democratic leader is successful with his/her people skills and gets the job done. Learning and honing these skills and using them at the right time in the right place make the leader effective.
For a business to grow and remain healthy, we must master certain basic skills in leadership that will help organization to avoid the crisis situations. The basic skills include problem solving, Creativity, communications etc. Those basics are also the foundation from which to develop more advanced practices in management and leadership. Some of the topmost leadership skills that a leader must demonstrate are explained below.
1.Communication
“Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people.” – William Butler Yeats
An effective Communication is the way of communicating others in a simple & concise way so that even a lay man can understand. Effective communication and effective leadership are closely intertwined. One of the most important skills of a leader is the ability to communicate effectively. While communication skills are important for everyone, leaders perhaps need them even more. Good communication skills is a fundamental requirement & backbone for a successful leader.
Have we ever seen an effective leaders who are poor communicator? Answer is of course not. Why?
Because this is one of the ways & means to connect people & builds a rapport quickly & effectively to develop strong relationship with them. Leaders need to think with clarity, express ideas, and share information with a multitude of followers. Successful leaders tend to be a good listener & show high level of assertiveness when communicating to their followers.
We can take an example of business leader Steve Jobs (former CEO of Apple INC.) who was very much instrumental in communicating to all their stakeholders. Similarly if we talk about political leaders in recent time, former US president Barak Obama & Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi are the most effective communicator. People listen them passionately & follow what they say. Passionate communication & appeal build a trustworthiness among the followers.
Communication is also set in a number of other leadership skills and competencies. As you move up the career ladder, it expands to behaviors such as building trust, conveying vision and strategic intent, and pulling people along with you.
2.Creativity
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”– — Mary Lou Cook
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”— Erich Fromm
In today’s fast-paced & uncertain World, creative vision and outside-the-box thinking is what leads businesses to success. To survive in such competitive environment, organizations need to be continuously creative and innovative. A leader must be creative and innovative which make the team stand out from the crowd & inspire team members to think differently to set a new benchmark for the organization.
A recent survey reports concludes that creativity is the single most important leadership skill in the world that is more volatile, more uncertain, and more complex than at any time before.
To cultivate a culture of creativity leaders should address feeling of queries of their team members by asking them questions. This will not only encourage team members to solve problems but also create a new work culture of innovation in organization. Every individual has a potential to be an innovator only thing that he/she has to change their way of thinking.
3.Transparency
“A lack of transparency results in distrust & a deep sense of insecurity”-Dalai Lama
“Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times”-John Gerzema
What does Transparency mean & why organization need a Transparent Leader?
Transparency in a simple terms is about wining trust of followers. It establishes trust, expand relationship & increase productivity of employee that is why organizations need a transparent leader. For a successful organization trust, respect, integrity & service have been a key values & behaviour to a Leader & team members.
A Leader should openly share information to its team members without being biased. Hiding or manipulating information by a leader in workplace can be detrimental for an organization & such leaders can’t win the trust of their team members. By giving visibility & transparency to followers, leader can buy in wholehearted support of their team which eventually result in achieving the goal. Above all, it gives followers clarity, autonomy and make them feel more empowered. & keep them engaged
4.Listening
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.”— Woodrow Wilson
“Listen twice as much as you talk and others will hear twice as much of what you say.” ― Nido R. Qubein
Listening skill of a leader is the ability to exactly receive and interpret messages in the communication process. To be an effective communicator, a leader must have active listening skill which establishes them to be understood properly by their followers & avoid any communication breakdown between them. Active listening shows how you care your people & engage them that builds a rapport &empathy between them.
Empathy & listening are entwined. It requires a leader to be more present, attentive, engaged, open and flexible. A successful leader is who first understand another person’s point of view before jumping into any conclusion.To be an active listener ,we must follow following steps
- Step1: Pay your attention
- Step2: show that you are listening
- Step3: Give feedback
- Step4: Defer Judgement
- Step5: Respond Properly
5. Problem Solving
“Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.”—Henri Kaiser
“Until we have real conflict, we don’t fully understand the problem.”— Alfred Sloan
Problem is nothing but a gap between what we desire & result we get. Can we ever imaged a world where there is no problem? Of course not. It is all because everyone wants to grow, make progress & doesn’t want to be in same state & hence make changes. As a result of which they encounter problems then they resolve it to get into a new world. Once the new system establishes, as a human being we make our efforts to progress further which is never ending till we get setback. This cycle keeps on happening.
Similarly in business, problem occurs & we resolve it. This skill is known as problem solving skill. It is a key leadership skills that a leader must demonstrate. Being a successful leader doesn’t mean that you don’t have any problems. Rather, it means that you know how to solve problems effectively as & when they crop up. Those who encounters more problem gets is resolved are more confident & dynamic leader who can take organization to a new height. Organization likes those leaders who have solution with him not a problem creator. Top business leaders are able to quickly detect potential problems, carry out the necessary research and analysis, and then come to a decision. Following are steps to resolve the problem.
- Step 1: Identify the Problem
- Step 2:Define the problem
- Step 3: Collect data.
- Step 4: Analyse the data
- Step 5: Determine root cause.
- Step 6: Develop probable Solutions
- Step 7: Take trial.
- Step 8: Monitor & measure results
- Step 9: Resolve probable resistance for change
- Step 10: Implement changed system
- Step 11: Keep follow up & review new system
- Step 12: Standardize new change system
6.Patience
“Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”–Napoleon Hill
“To lose patience is to lose the battle.” — Mahatma Gandhi
To be stayed ahead of competition, leaders have to be quick decision maker, who can get things done fast and get them done right. Else organization will fail to progress. This is very true. However, there are certain situation particularly when negotiation process is going on. It takes time to reach at a win- win situation otherwise it fails or might be disastrous for the organization in a long run if they want immediate result.
A leader must have the ability to be patient when the situation demands. As a leader, there is the need to briefly stop, pause, and think – especially in turbulent times. Additionally, because people in the team are not having same level of understanding .Some members are neither easily get along with the team nor they have same level of maturity.
When we talk about patience, it does not mean no action. It means proactive thinking, be focused, keep a glance on surrounding environment for strategic decision. Patience gives leader the permission and wisdom to take a slight necessary pause to think and reflect. A leader must imbibe patience as a first and foremost discipline to lead the team.
7.Resilience
“In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life.” —Albert Bandura
“I’m inspired by people that are marginal. I’m excited by their resilience. ” – Mira Nair
In this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous) world, it is very much require for an organization to be resilient for its survival. Whatsoever challenging situation may be ,a resilient leader not only overcome obstacles and challenges but also bouncing back – even thriving and getting ahead in such situation. Despite all adversity resilient leader find a way to remain positive & managing their stress & daily operations.
While most people are busy in complaining about the problems, great leaders always focus on solutions, not the problems. They also carry the responsibility for helping to protect the energy of the people in their teams. Leader who have faced all such odds & overcome become more confident & more popular in their respective areas whether it is society or organization.
Leader like Nelson Mandela is the best example of resilient leader. Who had spent more than 27 year of his young age in Jail & lead people against anti-apartheid revolution in South Africa & became resident of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
8. Passion
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious”–Albert Einstein
“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.” —Jon Bon Jovi
Passion is a key driver for a successful leader. A leader who has passion is driven forward from the energy & gets succeed. People who are successful and achieve great things have passion. It is important to find the areas you are passionate about then stay focused on them. Passion enables leader to focus their energies on the causes that resonate with the core of who they are. Also understand the passion of their team members so that task can be allocated to them which motivates them.
A passionate leaders have confidence in the work that they are doing and has an entrusted interest in how successful their business is.They understand how their contributions can help their business succeed and often work relentlessly to achieve their goals. Passion drives vision, raise influence &ignite team members to achieve their goal. Passionate leaders possess perseverance, eagerness & dedication to accomplish.
9.Vision
Vision without a task is only a dream. A task without a vision is but drudgery. But vision with a task is a dream fulfilled.
– Anonymous
“Vision is the art of seeing the invisible”
– Jonathan Swift
Vision is a mental imagination of future to see the invisible. This vision attracts and affects every employee who is engaged in living this set of actions, beliefs, values, and goals. It is within us & generates sense of purpose & future glimpses to improve. Vision must inspire enthusiasm, belief, commitment and excitement to members & change their belief that they are here for a bigger purpose. It provide us focus & inspire us to keep moving & overcome obstacle to achieve goals.
When leaders believe in vision & mission, team members follow this blindly because they have trust. Typically, when a visionary leader is sought out for their leadership and guidance, the company is either experiencing a transition or is set to move through challenging times. To create a vision for an organization, first we should develop vision statement, seek improvement & share vision across to each & every member of the team.
Visionary leaders like: Abraham Lincoln envisioned a united America, Martin Luther King, Jr., had a dream about equality & Steve Jobs imagined the iPod and iPhone.
10.Empathy
“Leaders with empathy do more than sympathize with people around them: they use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle, but important ways.”
― Daniel Goleman
“Rather than seeing dreams as containing hidden messages, see dreams as experiences of empathy. Then use empathy with the dream to reconnect with the experience of dreaming itself”. ― Henry Reed
Understanding the problems of your followers and feeling their pain is the first step to become an empathetic leader. Emotional connect with the teams is very much needed whether you are a political or corporate leaders. If you emotionally connect with your team, you will be in their heart& mind & eventually build rapport & relationship & become an empathetic leader.
Empathy is the ability to experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions, or experience of other people. It enables leaders to understand and support others with compassion or sensitivity & encourages leaders to understand the root cause behind poor performance & help them to improve it. Top develop an empathy, a leader should pay attention be a good listener, non-judgemental.
11.Emotional Intelligence
“It is very important to understand that Emotional Intelligence,is not the opposite of Intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head. It is the unique intersection of both”— David Caruso
“As much as 80% of adult “success” comes from Emotional Intelligence”.— Daniel Goleman
Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, identify, evaluate and control emotions. Leaders who lack emotional intelligence are unable to gauge the expectation of their team members. Contrary to that a emotionally intelligent leader connect emotionally to their followers & influence them to accept what they say. It is used to examine behavior, interpersonal skills & style of working of the people. Emotional intelligence for leadership can consist of these five attributes: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, relationship management, and effective communication.
Goleman wrote on this personal website that the biggest surprise to him surrounding emotional intelligence is its impact in the business world. Emotional intelligence can control business success. Similarly if the leader doesn’t show this skill it will lead to failure. A leader must be emotionally intelligent because it helps in conflict resolution & ensure seamless communication to followers.
12. Integrity
“Integrity lies in, doing what one speaks; speaking what one does.”M. K. Soni
“Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails.”Earl Nightingale
Integrity in leadership is a skill of having strong ethical value followed by a leader. It refers to being honest, trustworthy, and reliable. The leader who possess these traits are most trusted leader, People rely on such leader & follow their instructions without any doubt. Leaders with integrity practice what they preach to people, respect their word, take accountability of their failures, never blame others & doesn’t hide anything from their team members. Ideally, a strong leader should also possess the ability to deliver harder truths diplomatically so as not to estrange employees.
It has been observed that an organization which are having high integrity has increased workplace performance & can strengthen relationships with vendors and customers. One can develop or improve this skill by honouring their words, hold oneself to a high moral standard & take accountability for one’s own actions. Such leaders believes in lead by example principle.
13.Trust
“Trust your intuition, and let it lead you to new opportunities, while steering you away from time wasters and scams.” –Cathy Stucker
“Trust is a very important thing to grow in life. Be it in personal or professional life, you cannot live without trust.”— Nicole Smith
Successful organization builds trust & engage its employees to get outstanding performance at workplace. If an employee doesn’t trust a leader, there is less chance that they would like to work under such leader. Even if they work under such leader, they wouldn’t deliver their 100% or beyond to such organization. When leaders are seen as untrustworthy, employees are more likely to misinterpret the intent of their actions, most employees feel disengaged and show unproductive behavior. Eventually it becomes harder for a leader to get buy-in for your ideas, perform effectively and make progress of organization.Trust has three components:
- Trust of character
- Trust of communication
- Trust of Capability
In a nutshell, we can say that trust building takes time to understand each other. The trust that leaders place in allows both the leader and her/his followers to perform to achieve the goal.
14.Motivation
“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
Motivation is a mental process initiated by certain needs & wants & drives employee to enhance productivity, quality and speed of work. It impels an action by providing incentives to individual.
Why individual needs this incentive?
The reason behind is that at some point of time in organization employees become reluctant because of monotony in job & lack of challenging new task. That is why organization engage such employees in various motivational programme by providing higher education from reputed institute, launching voluntary health and wellness programs, special achievement award & recognition, mentoring new personnel in an engaging and supportive approach &family engagement programme.
The leader who inspires & motivate their employee most always demonstrate integrity, develop harmonious relation with their team members, treat them with respect & help them to achieve challenging task. All such programmes are nothing but to motivate employees to deliver more by taking extra efforts or do innovating thing to add value to systems. Ultimately organization gets benefited in terms of improved performance, low attrition & change in employees’ behavior.
15.Influencing
“Leadership calls for changing people’s behavior. Influencers are those leaders who understand how to create rapid, profound, and sustainable behavior change”— Joseph Grenny
“Influence and persuasion are two of the most powerful traits that can help you achieve your desired level of success”— Ian Berry
Influencing skill is nothing but an ability to bring others to your way of thinking without force or coercion .It is more than communication or negotiation. Sometime we misunderstand by having good communication or negotiation skill is all about influencing skill but it not. In real sense influencing is taking buy-in or winning heart & soul of others whether it is your employee, customers or any other stakeholders in business without any fear or force.
It is transferable skill & helps leader to communicate his/her vision or goals, align the efforts of others, and build commitment from people at all levels & gets things done and achieve desirable results. Influencing leadership requires being able to present logical and convincing arguments & focused more on achieving long-range objectives, inspiration, and motivation of employees.
Leaders who are most influential are those that, inspire confidence in others, professionally credible and are trustworthy. Strongest influencers are flexible enough to switch between appealing to the head and to the heart as the situation demands. Some of the following practices can improve your influencing skill
- Solving others problem
- Finding common ground for interaction
- Mirroring the person
- Use person’s name
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