9 essential qualities of a successful leader

Leadership is not about hierarchy, it is not about ordering people around, it is not about usurping credit - it is about rallying people around a shared vision and helping them get things done together. It does not matter if it is a small team or a large organisation.

A leader is someone who creates and articulates a vision and enables those who work with him/her to accomplish that vision. A large part of a leader’s job is people leadership - motivating and developing people, and helping them achieve personal and organisational goals.

I have had occasion to experiment with different leadership styles, but regardless of the approach, there are 9 practices that have worked well:

What makes a great people leader?

• Hire well, i.e. bring in people who
• are smarter than you
• are willing to question the status quo
• are open to giving and receiving constructive criticism

Be empathetic

• Be able to step into others’ shoes, think what they are thinking, feel what they are feeling
• Empathy helps better understand people’s needs and triggers and helps the leader give them what they need to succeed personally and professionally

Be friendly

• Look for the good in people and bring out their best
• Don’t gossip behind people’s backs
• Be passionate about the success of those you work with

Be honest

• Be truthful to yourself and others
• Honesty builds trust and credibility and helps people openly communicate with and confide in you

Be humble

• Be down to earth and admit that you are not perfect
• Confess that you don’t know everything and need others’ help in getting things done
• Seek people’s critical feedback and work on it

Listen well

• Encourage others to voice their opinions and talk about themselves
• Actively listen to people without interrupting them
• Respect peoples’ opinions

Encourage others

• Motivate people to believe in their own abilities
• Egg people on to exceed the expectations of those they work with
• Give them the resources they need to achieve their aspirations and the organisation’s goals
• Remove roadblocks to progress
• Share the bigger picture with them - help them understand how what they do helps customers

Give effective feedback

• Praise in public, critique in private
• Give constructive feedback with actionable goals for improvement
• Regularly review improvement

Give people opportunities

• to do what they enjoy doing
• to develop new skills, both technical and soft competencies
• to become more visible in the organization
• to embrace new challenges

*Disclaimer: The article has been contributed by Vinod RamanChief Product & Technology Officer at Peel-Works. The opinions are the personal opinion of the author. The facts and views appearing in the article do not reflect the view of Deccan Chronicle and Deccan Chronicle does not assume any liability and responsibility for the same.