Everyone needs leadership skills if they plan on having other people listen to them. If you don’t have leadership skills people won’t follow you or do anything you ask of them. Even if you aren’t in an authoritive position, some basic leadership skills can still be very helpful. Leadership skills will come in handy in relationships, at work, with family, in meetings, with friends, etc. Developing a good set of leadership skills takes time, but with a little patience you can unlock your hidden talent.
What Are Leadership Skills?
Leadership skills are simply a basic set of skills that most successful leaders have. By utilizing this set of skills you will have more people listen to what you ask of them to do and have a much easier time leading a group of people. This doesn’t always have to apply to a group either. It could be with your kids, wife, friends, co-workers, etc. These skills are just basic personality traits that good leaders demonstrate. I am going to give you 10 basic pointers to help you start out in the right direction.
How Do I Get Leadership Skills?
Some people are a natural born leaders and others develop the ability later on in life. There are however some really good points I want to share. I am going to break these into a list of 10 important ones for you. These 10 characteristics of a great leader have come from the many books I have read and my own personal experiences. In my career I have been over as many as 30 people at one time. Without having some great leadership characteristics you will have many more problems.
10 Characteristics of a Great Leader
- Lead By Example – If you want other people to do the right thing make sure you are doing it yourself. There is nothing people hate more than a do what I say not as I do leader. When you get stuck in the wrong mentality and expect people to listen you will find a lot of resistance. Always raise the bar and let them know you know what you are doing.
- Earn Others Respect – Respect is often overlooked as a necessity of a great leader. When you have people’s respect they will listen more and begin to follow you. If you just expect them to do what you say because of a position you hold, you might be in for a surprise before long.
- Don’t Ask Someone To Do What You Wouldn’t – A common mistake made is to ask someone to do something that you wouldn’t do. If you want someone to listen to you don’t ask them to do things that you haven’t or wouldn’t.
- Welcome Suggestions & Feedback – If someone has something to say about what you are asking them to do, then listen. Sometimes they may have some insight that you may not be aware of. You never know what you might learn when you listen to others and they will respect you more for getting them involved and listening.
- Respect Others – This one should be common sense, but in most cases it isn’t. If you want someone’s respect you are going to have to respect them as well.
- Praise Good Work – Most people like to know they have done something correctly or that you approve. A simple pat on the back or a “good job” will go a long ways.
- Be A Coach – 99% of people want to do the right thing and be successful. If you are wanting something to get done be a coach. Get in their and help them along the way. Teach them everything they need to know to be successful.
- Be Consistent – A great leader won’t always be the first one done or the fastest one at completing a task. A great leader will be consistent. They will produce the same quality results time after time.
- Stay Calm – This is one of the most important characteristics of a great leader. People want to turn to you when things are bad. If you can show them that you can handle a situation when it gets stressful, they will be more likely to follow you.
- Focus Focus Focus – Staying on track and picking a focus is critical. If you and your followers don’t know what the goal is how do you expect them to achieve it? Getting everyone lost will lose your followers fast.
I hope these 10 tips for great leadership skills can help you get started. If you found this information useful please share it helps support the site. Everyone including you has the ability to be a great leader and with a little practice and patience you will get amazing results. I have faith in you. Good Luck!