Leadership Qualities And Personal Development

Leadership Qualities and Personal Development

Leader Qualities And Personal Development- How do leadership qualities and personal development intertwine? updated 10-18-2023

If you want to be a leader with qualities, you may need to examine your leadership style. You may not be doing everything wrong but may need some work on your personal development. Most of us humans could all sit down to do an analysis of how we operate our daily lives and see that we need to make changes. Leadership qualities are developed, but they are not always standard personality traits.

Below are some facts that we have explored for personal development in leadership…

Leadership – Qualities equals:  standards, attributes, and/or characteristics that a leader has gained to help influence a group of individuals.  They want those they lead to achieve common goals through their learned behaviors, accountability, and professionalism.

Good leaders are not born, they are made. (Jago, 1982)  They actually make themselves by actively, pursuing to become the ideal person to work for.

Anyone can become a leader if they so desire.  It is a matter of self-study, development, education, training, and then experience. However, let us not forget the desire to have true leadership qualities, one must look to motivate and promote other people to excel.

The First Desire For Becoming a Leader

Becoming a leader and an example to others should be the first desire. Knowing it is not all about the title, it is about how one performs the role. Then be determined to be the best leader possible.

It is like any other desired role in life, it comes from education and the study of role models. An individual develops their own leadership abilities. This is by how they see other leaders perform and how they choose to act or perform either likewise or contrariwise.

We have all seen the leader which we would love to be like. But we have also seen the leader that we would not dare want to be or think about becoming.  Two very different individuals.

Leadership Qualities –  This doesn’t always mean that a person is more intelligent than anyone else. Nor, that they have more technical skills. In fact, there have been studies that indicate that sometimes it is more important to have interpersonal skills ie: and leadership qualities over higher technical experience.
 
Why you might ask? That is because someone who can lead others adequately and with expertise must also know that every team member may not perform the same.
 
Leader or Team Member-If someone has the desire to learn, and implement, and they have the aptitude, (a natural ability to do something), that may exceed their technical skills to get a job done. A leader who is dedicated to becoming a quality leader will take the necessary steps to become more technically functional if that is needed.
Different People Have Unique Needs- A person who can look beneath the surface to see the actual underlying difficulty a person might be having can help resolve team issues. Being level-headed is also a major element of being a successful leader. Good leaders know that even though they may possess a high volume of experience, they cannot get the job done by themselves.
 
They must allow others to contribute to the processor…the job will go unfinished or unresolved. Not all individuals have the same amount of technical abilities or people skills however, a greater volume of work can be done by utilizing all capabilities.
 

Technically skilled leaders who are focused on technical skills only are setting themselves up for failure. Why? It is because they are focused only on one skill where additional skills are needed; therefore the balance can be missing.

What Are The Attributes of a Conscious Leader

In thinking about a great leader, we ask ourselves what makes a good leader.  What are our perceptions of outstanding leaders?  We will probably include the following:

Someone who-

  • has a distinct ability to bring out the best in others.
  • does not emphasize they are “the boss.”
  • is understanding and receptive to the team’s abilities, contributions, strengths, and knowledge.
  • knows that without the team, their work is incomplete an individual who is very secure with whom they yet do not mind asking another opinion.
  • is an individual who knows themselves really well.
  • will always be open to the ideas of others, knowing that they do not possess all the answers
  • can acknowledge that everyone can learn something new or different that might be beneficial to the task at hand.
 

A Great Leader is Excellent at Being:

  • Always mindful of how they rose to their position.
  • Someone who can take a little criticism themselves and not be offended.
  • The leader gives credit to others and does not take responsibility just because things went well.
  • A person who will train those who might seem weaker without making them feel inadequate.
  • An individual who loves to see others grow in abilities; not just themselves
  • The person who listens but also gets the attention of others.
  • A good leader is one who can encourage yet be explicit.
  • Their actions are with a positive attitude.
  • A great leader is one who can handle a crisis and not blame another person regardless of who is to blame. Instead, they weigh the options for resolving the issue to complete the task at hand. They realize that everyone can make mistakes or inappropriate decisions at the time. True leaders remain calm and try to learn from the situation as well as teach.
  • They refuse to take all the credit for a project gone well but are willing to take responsibility for it going wrong also. No one has to tell them that they are in fact the leader, the team is their responsibility.
  • A person who is in touch with their team member’s needs and feelings.
  • Their ability to show empathy when needed.
  • The person who has a cool, collected, and calm response even on a bad day. *It is not always an easy task.
  • This person has projected knowledge, wisdom, wisdom yet kindness, kindness yet strength.
  • They have integrity in all their daily actions, which is actually the number one requirement.
  • No blame game period and teaches that blaming does not cure any situation

Manager Who Only Gives Directions or Effective Leader- What is your choice?

“Seeking to be just a manager who sits around watching or giving direct orders is not a part of effective leadership.”

A true leader will gain the respect of their team. Consciously wanting to influence others to grow into leaders themselves is also part of an effective leader. If you are out for yourself only; you are going to fail in your desire to be the leader that stands out in a crowd when in a group.

A good leader recognizes each person in their group. If a person needs more training, they find a way to help that person get the training they need. They support and give feedback, without making that person feel inferior or not intelligent.

People learn in different ways, and people progress in jobs in different time frames. Some people need more time to take it all in, one-on-one, and then there are some people who catch on with little effort.

“If as a leader you can take that person who some would say has the lesser ability, and give them a chance to succeed, you are a success yourself.  This will mean that you will have earned the name of being a conscious leader, with leadership abilities. You will not just succeed; you will soar into being the leader of choice within your company.

Is it possible for someone to be perfect, you might ask? Well, it is not about being perfect, and perfection is not what one should seek. However, if anyone desires to be a conscious leader with excellent skills, these suggestions are “some” of the traits they would hopefully learn, and then practice.

EndNote:

It is important to grow and become better at whatever you or I, are trying to accomplish. This does not mean there must be perfection. It does mean, however, that an individual is working to enhance, improve, encourage, and lead other individuals into a greater career and life.

Our actions determine how other people view us…that is why we need personal development even if we have made it to the top. One must progress personally to keep climbing.

“If your actions inspire others, to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. ”   John Quincy Adams

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