You Wont Get Far as a Leader Without These Skills and Qualities

You Wont Get Far as a Leader Without These Skills and Qualities A good leader needs to be able to clearly communicate organizational goals, whether theyre short-term goals or long-term ones. They also need to be able to motivate, delegate and so much more.When it comes to being a good leader, its not as easy as you might think. A lot of factors go into a person with great leadership skills. Some come naturally, and some are learned. But everyone has the potential to be a leader.What Are the Most Important Skills of a Leader?While a good leader will be excellent at the following skills, the qualities of a good leader tend to be more subtle and come naturally. A good leader is honest and confident. They are passionate and driven. They are ready to take the lead, and often times want to. If you feel like unterstellung qualities apply to you, youre already well on your way to letting the true leader in you shine through.If not, you can still be a great leader. You just need a little push .There is a limited amount of time you can spend honing the leadership skills that will help you succeed. If you aspire to not only lead, but to fill effective leadership roles whose vision inspires employees and managers alike, here are leadership skills to answer.1. DelegationThis is truly a gateway skill. Ive seen the inability to delegate to other employees stall more careers at the individual contributor level than just about any other skill. I had a mentor once describe delegation as the ability to score without touching the ball. Learning to accomplish things through others is an imperative part of effective leadership.Someone who can delegate canAssess employees strengths and weaknessesAssign work to match employees skills or challenge themSet expectations and prioritize2. CommunicationPeople have written entire books on effective leadership and effective communication skills, have spent their entire careers helping leaders and managers hone their communication skills.Someon e who can communicate canListen intentlyUnderstand body language and nonverbal cuesManage vocal tone and inflectionSpeak clearly3. CreativityIm not talking about having blue hair and wearing cool shoes here. Creativity in a leadership role is about seeing people and situations through multiple lenses.Someone who is creative canThink criticallySolve problemsBrainstormMake connections4. Coaching and DevelopmentThe fundamental role of a great leader is developing more leaders. When you ask people to describe the best leader theyve ever worked for, you hear a lot about how that person believed in them and made them feel valued as a team member, gave them tough and candid feedback, put them in stretch assignments. They invested in their development and coached them to the next level.Someone who can take onemployee coaching canOffer constructive feedbackListen IntentlyGive adviceChallenge5. Decision MakingOn good days the choices you make as a leader are easy. Most of the time, though? Th ere are going to be tough calls to make, data to wade through, crises that pop up and unpopular decisions that need to be made. Learning how to make decisions quickly and confidently will serve you well.Someone who can make decisions isConfidentInformed6. TeamworkIf youre rowing the boat in the same direction, youll get there a lot faster. Leadership is about bringing out the best in a group and creating an environment where each individual team member can share and create something great, together.Someone who is a team player isCollaborativeGroup-OrientedSocialReliableWhat Are the Qualities of Good Leadership?What are the traits of a good leader? There are tons of traits that good leaders possess, but the following are the most important.1. AccountabilityI coach new leaders that their goal is to be respected, not liked. Accountability comes from creating clarity about what needs to be accomplished, by whom, and measuring progress against those goals. And when someone gets off track and misses their targets (and they will), giving fair but firm feedback. If youre not taking care of underperforming team members, your high performers will start making a beeline for another opportunity.2. DriveNo matter what your leadership style is, youve got to want to succeed in a challenging role. The desire to achieve something great and the ability to sustain that desire over a long period of time is a career maker. Status quo is not for leaders the drive for excellence is.3. PatienceThings will never go as planned and will take twice as long as you expect. People will take longer to catch on to things than you anticipate. The ability to move things along when you can and understand when you cant is a much-needed leadership talent. Patience, Grasshopper.4. AuthenticityYour leadership style may differ from your bosss, but good leadership isalwaysabout authenticity. My career really took off when I stopped trying to act like a middle-aged white guy, and instead showed up as m e. People can smell a fake, can see if youre trying to be someone youre not. Do you and5. AdaptabilityThere are so many zigs and zags that happen in the course of a year that its hard to keep up. Leading change is at its heart helping people to let go of what was, adapt and keep moving forward. Good leadership entails understanding why people resist change and the predictable stages of change you and your team will be better off for it.6. MindfulnessWeve all worked with the person who flips out under pressure or cant stop whining when their work-life balance is temporarily thrown off. Thats simply not a luxury that good leaders have. Emotions are contagious and great leaders are grace under fire. Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint, so managing the ongoing demands of leadership is a must. Good leaders are able to roll with the stress and use it as a positive force instead of a source for burnout.7. Strategic ThinkingTheres lots of chatter about strategic planning, but thats just an outcome driven by strategic thinking. The ability to ask the right questions, pay attention to market forces and see the bigger picture of the strategic moves that can be made is an invaluable skill to hone. Ive had a lot of leaders tell me that one of their secret weapons is simply taking regular time to think strategically about their business.8. Motivation and InspirationWhether youre a natural at the front of the room or your strengths lie in being the person who quietly instills confidence, being able to keep your team enthusiastically pursuing long-term goals is a leadership must. Youve got to be the person who can fan the flames of your team through both the easy and hard times.9. HumorIn any leadership role, youre going to mess up. Along with your success, youll take some unfounded, harsh criticism. Leaders have to make tough calls in high-pressure situations. The power of laughter is truly phenomenal and the ability to let things roll off your back will sustain you throu gh rough times. Never take yourself or your critics too seriously.If you can master these 15 leadership skills, youll be ready to take your sekretariat by storm. New project? No problem Youll be there to save the day and lead your team to success. Is it a one-man job? That works too You know how to manage your time, think strategically, and make decisions which will lead to an assignment that will be extremely successful.Lets get leading--Mo is the Founder ofThe Moxie Exchange, a training and peer mentoring organization for companies who want to recruit, develop, promote and retain women and create inclusive workplaces. Shes an advisor to CEOs of the nations fastest growing companies and is the founder 5 successful businesses. She also been known to sing loudly, dance badly and curse like a sailor.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer