Core Truths About the Traits of Good Leaders

 Guest Column

by

Col (Dr) Shantonu Roy

Life Skill Coach and Defence Analyst

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We have been talking about Leadership and the various traits of a good leader and the role of leadership from times immemorable. There are various qualities of leadership which hone skills of the team of the leader to achieve the target. Here are some core tenets about good leaders and effective leadership.

Good leaders are made, not born

First, we believe that leaders are trained, not born. Leadership is a skill that can be developed. Good leaders are molded through experience, continued study, intentional effort, and adaptation and professionalism. So, you can strengthen any of the characteristics of a good leader, if you are open to growth, and use your experiences to fuel development, and put in the time and effort toward self-improvement. With dedication, we can hone these top leadership qualities by ample opportunities for training, offering support for learning from challenges, and providing access to coaching and mentoring programs at regular intervals.

Leadership is a Social Process

It is also essential to recognize that leadership is less about one strong or charismatic individual, and more about a group of people working collectively to achieve results together. If you demonstrate several of these characteristics of a good leader, but fail to grasp this main point, chances are you will not get very far alone. You may be popular and held in high esteem, but it will be difficult to accomplish team or organizational goals. So, it is important to say that the results of leadership are about giving direction, alignment, and commitment to a group or teamwork is the name of the game. The talk should be about “WE” and not “ I”.

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Good Leadership never stops

Also, we believe that leadership is not a destination, it is a journey — it is something that you will have to strive regularly throughout your journey of life, regardless of the level you reach in your life or what industry you work in. Different teams, projects, and situations will provide different challenges and require different leadership qualities and competencies to succeed. So, you will need to be able to continue to apply these leadership characteristics in different ways throughout your career. Just continually keep learning and growing, and you’ll be an agile learner who is successful.

How to Develop and Nurture the Qualities of a Good Leader

Teamwork and organizational training can strengthen leadership qualities and foster deeper levels of engagement at work through providing a variety of on-the-job learning experiences, mentoring, and formal development opportunities. 

Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in them. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals. Lastly, a leader with a vision is a powerful leader as they work to achieve their vision.

Different people have different views of the key leadership skills a leader should possess and it may take forever discussing all of them. The ones highlighted above are very important and have put some of the greatest leaders in the limelight.