10 Characteristics Of A Good Leader

We have like a million definitions of who a leader is and trust me leading isn’t a child’s play, it’s one hell of an assignment, it’s a huge task. Accepting to be a leader means you are ready to serve because a leader is first and foremost, a servant.

As a leader, you get to see people exhibit jaw-dropping (negatively now) behaviors, and sometimes you’ll have to abandon your weaknesses to attend to another’s. You know, like a mother having to clean up the baby’s mess, feed and babysit the child, being a leader is something like that, only you get to clean up the mess of a bunch of adults and it isn’t always fun.

This article highlights ten attributes of a good leader so if you’re about to become one, you need to look out for these characteristics in yourself and if you realize you do not have them, you’ll need to try to inculcate them, it not only strengthens your bond with the team, it helps you grow as you build your followers and a lot more.

1. Inspiration

I know there are times when inspiration dies in everyone like the life in a car and you need to re-ignite the engine again. A leader isn’t immune to such situations, they must occur. However, despite the extremities, a leader always has a word for each member of his team that will inspire them again. A leader stays inspired regardless of the situation.

2. Vision

What differentiates a leader from a follower is his ability to see even in the storm. I know most people are naturally myopic, they can’t see far, and they have their vision veiled with fogs so they don’t see beyond their noses but a leader must be one who is visionary. One who can see despite the foggy climate. This attribute makes a good leader because, in times of difficulties, vision will keep the boat sailing to shore.

3. Emotional Intelligence

This is one bit that is usually lacking in most people, you could do everything but lack emotional intelligence. If you are among the category of folks who make judgments based on intuition and sentiments then I’m sorry, you may not make a good leader.

A good leader knows how to manage emotions,, he is able to relate with his teammates on a solid plane ground, as a boss and as a friend. This way, he builds an emotional bond that grants his followers assess to him, trust him, and confide in him.

A good leader should know when to say Yes and No, especially in situations where emotions come to play. It becomes difficult when you decide to judge based on the facade of who is involved.

4. Critical Thinking

One thing I admire in a person is their ability to think critically. It’s kind of rare. I’m a huge fan of Trevor Noah because he is a good critical thinker. I listen to him talk and I hear the way he squeezes and throws questions at his interviewee; it’s usually crazy but intelligent. He knows how to get the ball from your hand with your eyes wide open, watching him as he dashes it into the basket.

A good leader must know how to think critically, the world is evolving and tour company needs to the shielded. You’ll learn to appreciate the benefits of critical thinking once you discover what it can save your company from.

5. He Must Be A Seasoned Communicator

Everyone can be a leader but not everyone can be a good leader. A good leader must be a seasoned communicator, simply say if you can’t communicate effectively, think again.

Don’t get it twisted this has absolutely nothing to do with language or speech fluency, you must know your three “Ws” and “H” it’s pivotal. You must know how to communicate ideas, strategies, and common without worrying anyone emotionally.

6. Confidence

In a bit to lead the simple life, it’s easy to trail off course, to be a puppet. Look at that and deal with it. A good leader must be firm and confident: know the decisions to make at a time and stand by them. Learn to be stable don’t get tossed to and fro by people.

7. Knowledgeable

A foolish leader leads a pack of fools. If you’re a leader and your followers are always five steps ahead of you in knowledge then you need to keep updating yourself. As a leader, you are supposed to be ten miles ahead of your followers, they are meant to learn from you and not vice versa.

8. Open-Minded And Creative

You can’t know everything, in fact knowing everything would mean something is wrong somehow, technically. A good leader must be ready to keep an open mind to accept corrections, and suggestions and must be calculated and creative. You can listen to your team air out their suggestions, but be sure to sieve them before adding them to the go plan and make creativity one of your fold-away tools.

9. Flexibility

Rigidity is one of the core reasons why most employees quit their jobs, people love it when a system is flexible and can accommodate changes. As a good leader, it’s okay to brew up plans but it’ll be most beneficial to you and your company if you can make adjustments when necessary and not burn out workers because of the rigidity of your rules.

10. Patience

An old man once said, Patience is a Virtue it’s hard to give out what you do not have. Each person is stubborn in a way and it’s hard to turn a blind eye to some mistakes it is the negligence of employees but a good leader knows when to pat a worker on the head or forgive them and let the issue die and also when to pull the whip.