Bare Essentials to be Successful Leader

Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. … He or she is the person in the group that possesses the combination of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to follow his or her direction.

Ultimately, a great leader creates and nurtures other leaders.” “A great leader posses a clear vision, is courageous, has integrity, honesty, humility and clear focus. He or she is a strategic planner and believes in teamwork.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan

Bare Essentials to be Successful Leader by The Sixth Element

Let’s go through the Bare Essential Qualities of a Leader and learn more how to develop these qualities;

Action Planner– Planning is an essential attribute of leadership. Proper planning and seamless execution is what the followers expect. Detailed, practical & definite plans is what makes tasks easier and achievable. A successful leader chalks out reasonable & and achievable plans, but a plan without action is like a Rocket without fuel- it may look good but is of no use. A Good Leader plans and executes the plan first before inducing his followers to do the same.

Apolitical– A leader is looked upon by his followers as a problem solver. The leader has to unbiased and should keep away from politics amongst followers. Being just and fair is the key to win the respect of the followers. Without a sense of fairness and justice, a leader cannot command and retain the respect of his followers.

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“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch

Bare Essentials to be Successful Leader by The Sixth Element

Analyst– In a given situation, a leader needs to be a good analyzer of details. Active decision making involves a lot of responsibility as well as courage. Analysis reduces the risk of accidents. Successful leadership calls for knowing every detail that affects leader’s position.

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Charisma -A Charismatic Personality is an extremely good Value add for a Leader. No one would like to follow a sloppy leader who cannot entice his own people. A charismatic personality earns more followers than any other leader.

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 Character– Followers duplicate their leaders and learn more from action than what is spoken. A true leader has a clean character and maintains a clean image. A successful leader needs to keep himself away from all incidences and occurrences that could tarnish his image that may raise a question about his character. A clean character gives more room for the followers to trust the Leader.

Courage– Courage is an in built quality of a Good Leader. Courage to take decisions, courage to be unbiased & courage to hold on in adverse conditions define the metal of a good leader. It’s his strength and display of courage that makes followers feel strong.

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Clear Communication– Correct communication is of utmost importance for a leader. He has to master the art of communication. It’s essentially important that followers understand exactly what their leader intends to communicate and what he has communicated with them.

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Decisiveness– Decision making is an ability that involves courage, knowledge and self- confidence. It’s an outcome of instinct, knowledge, experience and self-belief. No follower would be interested to follow a leader who doesn’t have the ability to take prompt decisions.

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“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker

Bare Essentials to be Successful Leader by The Sixth Element

Empathy– One of the crucial characteristics of leadership is Empathy. Being a leader you need to have an eagle eye view of everything at the same time you need to fit yourself in your follower’s shoes to know how, what, why, when… you need to feel the feel they feel. You need to empathize with your followers rather than sympathizing with them.

Motivator– Motivation is an important aspect of leadership. The Leader should have the integral ability to motivate his people who may be low or disturbed. He has to have the strength to touch the inner being of his followers that can change their opinion, priority or thought process that may be barring from achieving success.

Outspoken– A leader has to be outspoken at the same time be sensitive enough to not be harsh and arrogant. He should have the strength to speak the truth ensuring corrective actions and not destructive ones.

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Running an Extra Mile– Every athlete puts in all the efforts he can to win the race. But it’s the winner who put just a little bit more to pull up his victory. The willingness to go on and on tirelessly makes up a Strong Leader. He should run the extra mile, go out of his way for his people. Put the extra effort that commoners don’t put to win over the situation and his followers.

Responsible– As they say, “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.” The successful leader must be willing to assume responsibility for the mistakes and the shortcomings of his followers. It’s the leader who gives the credit to his followers and keeps the debits with himself. He has to own up to his responsibility. A true leader takes the blame and gives the followers a good name.

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Team-Player– A Leader is of no consequence without a Team and a Team cannot go too far without a leader. A true leader is a part of a team and dents sit out and order. He fits in like a team mate and does his part to perfection. The successful leader must understand, and apply the principles of team work and shall also induce his followers to do the same.

Will Power & Self Belief– A strong willed person has an inbuilt core to go against all odds and do what he believes is right. It’s quintessential that a Leader trusts his own instinct and believes in himself. This attribute builds high self-confidence and high self-esteem that displays strength which in turn gives energy & confidence to followers.

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“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” – Jim Rohn