When it comes to motivating, inspiring, and leading a workforce, managers are facing somewhat of a crisis, with almost a third of employees confessing to having no trust in management. Without trust in management, employees are less likely to reach out for help when they need it and to work effectively as a team and are more likely to look at alternative jobs elsewhere. For businesses to continue effectively, it is vital that they look at their managerial staff to ensure that they possess the right qualities to be effective leaders. It would be easy to write a list as long as an arm on the qualities of an effective leader, but in general five come out on top.
1. Integrity
Integrity is essential for effective leadership, bringing together honesty, kindness, and trust to create a person that people will want to work with. Whether they are giving feedback on a project or correcting mistakes, a manager with integrity will do it with tact and consideration. When employees suspect that a leader lacks integrity it can be very difficult for them to respect their feedback or obey their orders.
2. Personal accountability
Leaders must lead their teams by example and this includes having a strong sense of personal accountability. If something should go wrong on a project that was their idea, or they were to steer the team in the wrong direction, then it is vital that should this come up with higher management that the leader accepts their liability for the mistake and does not take the approach of taking their entire team down with them. Blame and denial have no place in leadership and can cause a team to shy away from innovation.
3. Empowerment
One of the key roles of a leader is to train and develop the skills of those that they lead. In order to do this effectively, it is important that a leader is able to empower those they work with, by making them feel as though they can do and achieve anything that they set their mind to. Without empowerment, employees will never seek to go above and beyond what they are told to do and teams will lack drive and enthusiasm for their tasks.
4. Decisiveness
Making decisions on behalf of themselves and others is a part of what leaders do, which is why it is very important that they are able to be decisive in situations where they have to account for various risks. Indecisiveness can lead to time-wasting and mistrust, and although debate and the general consensus of the team are important, if a decision can not be made then a leader must be able to make the final decision.
5. Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is contagious and so it would be hypocritical to demand enthusiasm from a team if the person leading it is not enthusiastic about it themselves. Although enthusiasm can be feigned, for leadership to be effective it is imperative that the enthusiasm portrayed by a leader is genuine and coming from a place of real interest in their job and role. If a leader has lost passion for what they are doing, then it may be time for them to find an alternative role.
So there you have it – five of the most important qualities of a good leader in the workplace. Do you have any others that you would like to add? Let me know in the comments.
