What It Is to Lead?

Leaders make organisations the powerhouses that they are. The more successful a leader, the more powerful the institution. Like a ship’s captain, they are the visionaries that steer their company towards success, seizing opportunities, avoiding pitfalls and motivating employees.

A good leader is a combination of charisma, enthusiasm and self-assurance. They transcend titles like “boss” and “manager”; rarely are they seen as the stereotypical boss. Instead, employees revere them and look up to them for guidance.

It may seem like people are born with such gifts, that these talents are inherent and cannot be acquired by hard work and perseverance. However, that is not true. The truth is that these skills can be picked up by anyone. Of course, one needs to invest time and energy, but with enough patience and practice, you can become a good leader!

  •  Integrity

One way to make a work environment productive and positive is having leaders who act with integrity. Integrity in leaders refers to being honest, trustworthy, and reliable. It is of great importance among the top-level executives who are charting the course of the company and making challenging decisions. Leaders with integrity, to put it simply, do what they say. They are not afraid to own up to their mistakes. On the other hand, a bad leader hides them, blames their team, or makes excuses. Integrity also involves adhering to company policies, using company time and resources wisely and without deceit, and cultivating an atmosphere of trust and respect in the workplace. Moreover, employees who work under leaders with integrity themselves display integrity. An important point to note is that a leader’s behaviour is a reflection on not only their own reputation, but also on the reputation of the organisation.

  • Delegation

One of the most difficult tasks that a great leader has to do is delegation of tasks. In fact, it is the transition from leading tk delegating that is hard, and only great leaders can achieve this.

It may seem counterintuitive at first. Doing everything yourself and keeping your employees relatively less overloaded may earn you their praise, but it is eventually going to burn you out. In the short term, you may have the stamina, but in the long run, you will gradually run out of fuel and you may end up with not enough energy to complete your own tasks. Moreover, having set such a high ceiling, you would effectively be dooming yourself to at least get that much work done.

Thus, delegation is crucial. The goal isn’t just to free yourself up – it is also to keep your workforce evenly loaded so that no one employee is overloaded. This also helps the growth of employees. By doing everything yourself you are taking away important experience that the employee would instead gain for his own personal growth. The best leaders delegate effectively to build trust and respect with their employees.

  •  Gratitude

Gratitude is a powerful leadership skill that has the ability to transform your organisation. It is usually underappreciated and underutilised. There have been a number of studies that directly correlate good health, higher productivity and positive work environment to gratitude. Thus, when you create a thankful atmosphere, you are creating a team that can not only survive but thrive!

Gratitude is all about appreciating the people that make up your organisation. In the midst of endless deadlines and mundane board meetings, it can be difficult to take out some extra time to acknowledge their hard work. However, it is well worth the investment and will pay dividends to recognize when a team member has completed a project, overcome a major hurdle or hit a milestone. After all, feedback is essential for growth in an organisation.

There are many traits of a successful leader. Here we have covered only a few, barely scratched the surface. Even these may seem daunting to some. However, implementing even one of these in everyday life can do wonders. The key is consistency.

TLG logo

The Leaders Globe

Welcome to The Leaders Globe. This is the largest online and print community platform to acquaint with the global Leaders from diverse industries who make the world a better place. Our aim is to divulge the secrets of the global solution and service leader providers’ success.

© 2016-2024 TLG MEDIA LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.