Leadership is more than a set of skills to influence others. James MacGregor Burns once wrote, “Leadership is one of the most widely observed and least understood phenomena on Earth.” This statement is due to the fact that there are many studies of leadership and there are still few agreements on the role that a leader should play.
Some people are born leaders, and others learn it over time, but there is one fact that remains constant: certain traits that great leaders have in common that can be developed. Know what they are.
7 habits to be an influential leader
1. Instill confidence in your followers
For a leader, failure is not an option and for this reason his followers feel safe: they know that they will achieve whatever they set out to do.
Leadership is closely related to emotional intelligence, according to Daniel Goleman, professor of psychology at Harvard University and author of the book “Emotional Intelligence”, defines it as “the ability to recognize, accept and channel our emotions to direct our behaviors to desired goals, achieve it and share them with others ”.
A leader must have the ability to channel the situations presented by his followers, inspiring tranquility and confidence in the situation.
2. Communicate to achieve team unity
Leaders must know how to communicate ideas at all levels. The success of an organization depends on the connection that exists between all the workers. For this, the leader, through communication, must integrate all employees, making known important aspects of the company such as objectives, goals, successes and failures.
The challenge is to make workers feel part of the organization, by addressing their complaints and ideas for continuous improvement.
When a person feels heard, a relationship of empathy begins, which must develop mutual trust between the parties.
3. Have integrity to earn the trust of your followers
The employees of an organization want their leaders to be honest, fair, sincere and treat everyone in the same way. This type of integrity is more aimed at moral behavior.
Credibility is the ability of a leader to build trust; For this reason, a leader must try to be consistent and continually improve.
4. Show that there are opportunities in every situation
One of the qualities of the leader is seeing opportunities in difficulties. Having a positive and inspiring frame of mind for your peers is one of the keys to success for leaders . You don’t have to have all the answers, but you do have to have a desire to solve problems.
The energy that a leader transmits must reach the depths of the thoughts of your followers and make them feel that they are all for you.
5. Support your work team
When you support your team, they support you. Being a punishing boss who thinks you have the absolute truth is a trend that is going out of style. In fact, nowadays there is more talk about human talent and not so much about human resources.
In order to connect with your team, you must be participatory and cultivate decision-making in them, so that their ideas can be matured and urging them to assume more responsibilities to guide their own efforts. Every worker wants to have the opportunity for professional growth in their workplace, so if you provide confidence to your subordinates and integrate them into decision-making, you will be creating in them a sense of belonging for what they do.
The support you can give your team will offer you more positive than negative results, remember that, as a leader, the most important issues remain in your hands.
6. Take the initiative in each objective
In each project that is delegated to you, you must take the initiative with the help of your work team. When you want to obtain impressive results, you must stimulate the creativity of your workers , request that they present you with new ideas, and listen with due attention, which provides an amount of energy that must be harnessed, resulting in the strengthening of ties, the increased empathy and a better work environment .
7. Be decisive in making decisions
The leader must know how to make decisions, no matter how difficult they are. Every decision must be well documented, showing your team that you know what you are doing.
The worst thing that can happen to a leader is to make decisions based on hearsay, because in this way you lose the respect of your followers. Remember that trust is a very thin thread that can break easily.
Reference
- Economy, P. It Is Never Too Late to Learn These Top 7 Powerful Leadership Habits. For Inc [Revised August 2018].
