Becoming a leader, becoming a respected leader is a goal for many in different industries. Aside from being able to direct people, delegate tasks and complete the objective at hand; a leader must possess several critical traits to be successful. I have been around numerous individuals in high-level positions and I can assure you that not all of them were leaders! I would like to share with you the three traits you need to become a successful and influential leader in your job, organization or project team.
Focus
You would be surprised how many people want to enforce rules or give orders and have no idea what they actually want to be completed. In order to have focus, you must have a clear visual or understanding of what the final product should look like. This isn't limited to a physical final design, but an understanding of how you want your team to interact with another, the direction you want your company to take, etc. It's extremely important for you to always keep that end goal in mind when leading your team in the right direction.
Confidence
Imagine someone telling you to jump from a plane with a parachute and telling you that they "think"the parachute will work. How would you feel? Would you trust that the parachute is going to open? Now imagine someone telling you, "see you at the bottom and have fun on the way down"! How different does that make you feel? In order to convince somebody to follow you, every direction you give them must be with confidence and authority. You can't second guess your instructions unless you want to lose your credibility and influence in your team.
Inspirational
This is the hardest trait to possess as a leader. In order to tap into your team's full potential, you have to be able to inspire them. The inspiration isn't limited to the work that they will do, but to the amount they are willing to over deliver. A true leader will inspire others to seek new roles, responsibilities and perform at the highest level.
All these traits are crucial to the success of the manager and must be continuously worked on to develop into the best leader you could be. I challenge you to do a self-evaluation to understand what you need to work on. It's also very beneficial to have a conversation with the people you work with to see how they think you can grow.
Don't forget that not everyone wants to be led the same way, so take the time to learn who you are working with and understand how they best operate. Let me know what you think are the most important traits for a leader to possess to be successful.
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