6 Valuable Things That Make Great Leaders

And inspire others to perform at their best.

In 2010, a collapse at the San Jose copper-gold mine in Chile trapped 33 men 700 meters underground. Foreman Louis Urzua immediately recognized the seriousness of the accident and took charge, organizing the men for a long-term survival situation and helping them cope mentally with what was happening to them.

He made detailed maps of the area to help with the rescue effort and coordinated closely with engineers on the surface.

He was the last man to be rescued and remained calm under pressure, merely remarking, “It’s been a bit of a long shift.”

The word “leader” makes you think of people in charge, high-ranking people, politicians, presidents, coaches, CEOs, your boss.

Leadership is not about holding a particular position or having a fancy title. Just because someone has seniority does not mean they have gained the qualities and skills necessary to lead a team.

Getting promoted does not magically turn you into a leader. Many CEOs and bosses don’t always have great leadership skills.

So what makes a great leader?

Great leadership is about acquiring and honing specific skills. Leadership skills enable you to inspire a team in any environment. Successful leaders can come from anywhere: in the workplace, at school, or in your own home.

The following are important characteristics that great leaders possess.

A Positive Attitude

“An attitude of positive expectations is the mark of the superior personality.” — Brian Tracy

Great leaders know that they won’t have a motivated and productive team unless they themselves display a positive attitude. This can be done by remaining positive when things go wrong and creating a relaxed and lighthearted environment at work.

Adding a perk can show team members that they are appreciated and spur them on to give a little extra effort.

Even in the worst situations such as a big mistake made by a member of the team, a great leader stays upbeat and figures out a way to keep everyone on track to solve the problem.

The key is to break down huge challenges into smaller ones and find ways to tackle them one step at a time.

Learning and adapting leads to moving forward and reaching a successful result.

Confidence

“It is confidence in our minds, bodies and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures.” — Oprah Winfrey

Great leaders show self confidence knowing that it is an important element of success. They don’t confuse self confidence with arrogance. You want people to look up to you for inspiration.

Confidence is important because people will be watching to see your reaction as different events take place. This is true especially when things aren’t going well.

If you remain calm and poised, your team will follow your lead. As a result, morale and productivity will remain high and tough problems will be solved faster.

If you panic and give up, things will fall apart and nothing will be achieved.

You can’t instantly become a confident person, but all the little things that you do everyday will gradually make you more confident.

Build up your strengths and eliminate your weaknesses.

A Sense Of Humor

“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.“— Dwight D. Eisenhower

It is important for a leader to have a sense of humor especially when things aren’t working or go wrong.

Establish this environment prior to any kind of adverse incident by encouraging humor and personal discussions with your team.

A sense of humor helps you stay grounded, realistic, and honest.

Confident people laugh at there own silly mistakes, and when you do this others will trust you more because you’re willing to share your real feelings and experiences.

Attentive Listening and Feedback

“Listening is an art that requires attention over talent, spirit over ego, others over self.” — Dean Jackson

Good communication skills are important for a great leader. The best leaders are able to communicate clearly with the people around them.

They also need to be able to interpret other peoples words and actions properly and not take what they say personally.

If you want to give good directions to others, you have to get accurate feedback from others to understand the situation properly.

Allow team members to speak without interrupting them and summarize what they say, then ask for feedback after you have talked about your ideas.

Knowing How And When To Delegate

“The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.” — Anthea Turner

No matter how you much you might try, you can’t do everything yourself. Great leaders know that delegating to others shows that you have confidence in their abilities.

This results in higher morale, as well as loyalty from your team. They want to feel that you believe in them and trust them.

To delegate effectively you have to be very familiar with your teams, strengths, weaknesses, and personalities.

This knowledge will help you put each team member in the right position to succeed at their particular assignment.

Having each team member in the right spot helps the overall team function at peak efficiency.

A Desire To Learn

“Creative people have an abiding curiosity and an insatiable desire to learn how and why things work. They take nothing for granted. They are interested in things around them and tend to stow away bits and pieces of information for future use. And, they have a great ability to mobilize their thinking and experiences for use in solving future problems.” — William Redington Hewlett

Great leaders know that there is always something to learn from every challenge that they have experienced.

They are able to connect present events with lessons learned from the past, and take prompt action together with making essential decisions.

Many times a leader faces an uncertain environment and a situation that they have never faced before. It is in these times that a leader must trust their intuition and execute decisions that have the best chance of success.

Leadership is a learnable skill.

Make small changes to your habits when you work with your team.

We all work with other people and our actions impact those around us. Great leaders give every person a chance to develop their skills and stand out from the crowd.

If you work at it consistently, you can become a great leader and an influential person that your staff has a deep admiration for.

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