It is true that a lot of us have occupied or occupying some leadership positions in various capacities. However, one has to understand is that there are qualities that are expected that a good leader should have to make for good leadership. One thing to note is that what distinguishes leadership from rulership is your attitude towards the position and to your followers. Obviously, being a good leader is not by birth but by consciously building up yourself and building capacity for it.. Here, we will consider some of the qualities that a good leader should have at hand.
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1. Motivation
A true leader should be able to influence their followers or subordinates to get a job done willingly without employing coercion or putting it against their will. I remember the organisation where I did my internship program, the new Head of Department (H.O.D) of my program shortly before I finished my intensive program was a very good leader and has this quality. The former H.O.D would just apply force and coerce you to do certain jobs and you will end up doing it with fear and outside your own will. At the end, the result will not be up to per because it was not done from a willing mind.
When the new H.O.D came in, he had the exceptional ability to motivate and influence people. Instead of putting punishment for not completing a task, he put incentives for completing it and even additional incentives for completing it on time and going beyond it, and he would constantly remind you that "you can do it." With this, everyone would give their best because they would want additional benefits at the end of the month. Not just that the results were amazing, but everyone was happy to put in their best and even willingly go beyond expectations because of the motivation from the H.O.D. before then, I did not like going for weekend duties, but when the new H.O.D added weekend incentives to weekend duties, it became my favourite duty. All these were as results of the motivation from the leader. Motivation may not just be material, it can include psychological and mental.
2. Honesty and Integrity
Integrity comes with an extensive amount of self-discipline and it makes a leader exceptional. The foundation of true leadership is built on integrity. The truth is that if you lack integrity and honesty, people will know and they will have reservations while dealing with you. Imagine when your followers see you as dishonest, what other value will you possibly create in them? As a matter of fact, even when you try to be honest, they may still not believe you because of your past cases of dishonesty. This is why honesty and integrity should be upholden at all times.
Integrity and honesty help to build trust in your followers and they work hand-in-hand. It is worthy to note that trust may take time to build but it will be worth it at the end. You also have to take caution not to destroy the trust because what took your a long time to build can crash in few seconds if you take a wrong action. Honesty has a way of getting people drawn to you, while dishonesty does the opposite. So with honesty, you will naturally gain the trust of people around you and from your followers too.
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3. Be a good listener
A good leader should be able to welcome opinions from others, including their subordinates. You do not have to force down your wish on them, try to hear their own contributions too. After all, you do not possess an infinite knowledge, and it may surprise you to know that it may be the person you least expect that will have the opinion that will create a breakthrough for you. As a good leader, you do not have to knock off opinions before you hear them, try to listen critically for details, not just because you want to react or respond.
Before you can become a good communicator, you have to learn to be a good listener first. The truth is that, even if you do not agree to someone's opinion or their point of view, you can still listen and welcome their opinion. You will agree with me that if someone does not give you listening ear or if the person is quick to hush you even if you are making a point, it may make you withdrawn and you may not give your opinion even when it is needed. But for the person that gives you listening ear, an affinity is always built for the person. As a good leader, learn to listen to your followers and to your subordinates.
Thanks for reading