Leadership Fundamentals: Essential Traits to Embrace and Steps to Implement
In today's dynamic business landscape, effective leadership is more important than ever. Shawn Breyer, owner of Breyer Home Buyers, suggests treating your team as if they're customers and aligning resources and people to help them succeed. This approach is echoed by top companies, who prioritize cultivating trust in leadership for overall success.
Research by DDI in 2023 identifies ineffective leadership as the primary reason people consider leaving their companies within a year. Employee trust is vital, boosting revenue, improving job satisfaction and retention, fostering creativity, enhancing mental health and performance, and helping cultivate trust in leadership.
So, what makes a real leader? Key qualities include humility, resolve, vision, emotional intelligence, empathy, integrity, confidence, communication skills, and ethical behavior.
Jim Collins' concept of "Level 5 Leadership" highlights leaders who blend extreme personal humility with fierce resolve, giving credit to others and taking personal responsibility for failures. Effective leaders have a clear, compelling vision that motivates and emotionally engages their team, helping align efforts toward shared goals. Recognized as core leadership traits, emotional intelligence and empathy enable leaders to connect with employees, understand their needs, and foster trust and commitment.
Revealing certain weaknesses builds approachability and trust without undermining authority. Great leaders sense the right timing and adapt their strategies accordingly. Leaders model values through consistent decisions and actions rather than performative displays. Essential skills noted for effective leadership include clear communication, delegation, and problem-solving. Confidence inspires trust, while gratitude helps sustain positive relationships within teams.
Leaders regulate emotions and reactions to maintain composure and project strength, especially under pressure. Characteristics of servant leadership emphasize motivating others, personal care, and fostering collaboration. Being a real leader is about communicating your vision clearly and from the start, and ensuring that you and your employees are on the same page.
Craig Murphy, managing director of ALT Agency, advises leaders to have a clear vision that can be clearly conveyed to every team member. Strong communication skills can ensure your team knows where you stand, where the company is going, and how they fit in. CEOs need to evaluate their leadership culture and focus on developing leaders who adopt a holistic, human-centered approach that considers their workforce's personal and practical needs.
A human-centered approach can help improve profit margins, job satisfaction, retention, psychological safety, and overall performance. Mentorship, leadership courses, and fostering a culture of trust and transparency can empower one to become a real leader who inspires and guides others to achieve their full potential.
In a recent study, 80% of employees said they'd work harder if they felt appreciated. Tools like Hubstaff's premier time tracking and workforce management tools can help leaders lead better. Paul A. Dillon, a consultant and Adjunct Instructor at Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, emphasized the importance of selflessness in leadership. Brett Helling, CEO of Gigworker, emphasizes the importance of open communication in developing trust and a healthy relationship with your subordinates.
Gabriel Shaoolian, founder and executive director at DesignRush, stated that being a great leader requires passion. Over 5,100 employees were surveyed by The Predictive Index about what makes a great manager. The best leaders, according to the survey, have a strong work ethic, are honest, self-aware, confident, have a sense of humor, and maintain a positive attitude.
Encouraging a culture of trust and transparency is crucial for leaders, particularly when implementing new technologies or policies. Improving leadership skills should be a top priority for leaders to inspire and guide their teams effectively. Leaders who perceive their company's leadership as lacking interpersonal skills are 3.5 times more likely to want to leave. To enhance leadership skills, one can look for "best in class" leaders and mentors, take a certified leadership course, read a book, or find a podcast.
A certified leadership course can provide structured and comprehensive knowledge about leadership principles, effective communication, decision-making, and team management. Being a real leader is about being approachable and confident, exhibiting qualities like integrity, decisiveness, and selflessness while prioritizing the needs of others.
- Shawn Breyer, owner of Breyer Home Buyers, advocates for treating team members like customers and aligning resources to help them succeed, a strategy also adopted by top companies for overall success.
- According to a study, 80% of employees stated they would work harder if they felt appreciated, and tools like Hubstaff's premier time tracking and workforce management tools can aid leaders in leading better.
- Effective leaders, according to DDI's 2023 research, possess key qualities such as emotional intelligence, empathy, humility, and integrity, and they prioritize cultivating trust in leadership to boost revenue, improve job satisfaction and retention, foster creativity, enhance mental health and performance, and help cultivate trust in leadership.
- Craig Murphy, managing director of ALT Agency, advises leaders to cultivate a human-centered approach, regarding their workforce's personal and practical needs, to improve profit margins, job satisfaction, retention, psychological safety, and overall performance.
- Gabriel Shaoolian, founder and executive director at DesignRush, affirmed that being a great leader requires passion, and according to a survey by The Predictive Index, the best leaders have a strong work ethic, are honest, self-aware, confident, have a sense of humor, and maintain a positive attitude.
