CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Feel Good Leadership
How would you describe a strong leader? In one study, leadership qualities such as assertiveness, adaptability, intelligence and conscientiousness were cited as the most important. In order to become a strong leader yourself, consider the ways that you can implement these strategies in your daily life.
Start by understanding your leadership style
Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? Once you’ve determined which areas need some work, you can begin looking for ways to improve your leadership abilities.
Encourage creativity
Intellectual stimulation is one of the leadership qualities that define strong leadership. Followers need to be encouraged to express their creativity and effective leaders offer new challenges, with ample support, to help the team achieve these goals.
One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to stretch their limits but not become discouraged by barriers to success.
Serve as a role model
Strong leaders exemplify the behaviours and characteristics that they encourage in their followers; they ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’. As a result, group members admire these leaders and work to emulate these behaviours.
Research suggests that leaders are able to foster a specific belief and then transmit that inspiration to their followers. As a result, followers are optimistic and have high standards in relation to performance and achievement. If you want to become a better leader, work on modelling the qualities that you would like to see in your team members.
Be passionate
Would you look to someone for guidance and leadership if they did not truly care about the goals of the group? Of course not! Great leaders are not just focused on getting group members to finish tasks, they have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for the projects they work on.
You can develop this leadership quality by thinking of different ways that you can express your zeal. Let people know that you care about their progress. When one person shares something with the rest of the group, be sure to tell them how much you appreciate such contributions.
Listen and communicate effectively
Another important quality of strong leadership involves a focus on providing one-to-one communication with group members. Strong leadership is effective when leaders are able to communicate their vision to followers, who then feel inspired and motivated by this vision.
Good leaders should express sincere care and concern for the members of their group, both verbally and non-verbally. By keeping the lines of communication open, leaders can ensure that group members feel able to make contributions and receive recognition for their achievements.
Have a positive attitude
Strong leaders have an upbeat, optimistic attitude that serves as a source of inspiration for followers. If leaders seem discouraged, or apathetic, members of the group are likely to also become uninspired. Even when things look bleak, and your followers start to feel disheartened, try to stay positive. This does not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses; it simply means maintaining a sense of optimism and hope in the face of challenges.
Encourage people to make contributions
Let the members of your team know that you welcome their ideas. Leaders who encourage involvement from group members are often referred to as ‘democratic’ or ‘participative’ leaders. While they retain the final say over all decisions, they encourage team members to take an active role in coming up with ideas and plans. Research has shown that using a democratic leadership style leads to greater commitment, more creative problem-solving and improved productivity.
Motivate your followers
Strong leaders also provide inspirational motivation to encourage their followers to get into action. Of course, being inspirational isn’t always easy; fortunately, you don’t need motivational speeches to rouse your group members.
Some ideas for leadership inspiration include being genuinely passionate about ideas or goals, helping followers feel included in the process and offering recognition, praise and rewards for people’s accomplishments.
Offer rewards and recognition
Another important quality of a good leader involves knowing that offering effective recognition and rewards is one of the best ways to help followers feel appreciated and happy. It may also come as no surprise that happy people tend to perform better at work.
Keep trying new things
Who says leadership is a one-way relationship? As you work towards developing some of these leadership qualities, don’t forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration. Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past, and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate and reward group members.
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