It is a little easier. Every day, it is a little easier. But you must do it everyday. This is the hard part. Anonymous
In the first two articles we began exploring 10 essential qualities to be a good leader. As you can see, it is impossible to work on all of these qualities all at once. However, knowing them allows you to pay more attention to them and know what element you need to work on to increase your leadership.
The present article aims to discuss 5 other qualities to develop to become an effective leader:
- Right attitude
- Autonomy and motivation
- Humility
- Caring for others
- Good emotional intelligence
Right attitude
People who follow you know that you are not perfect. They can accept certain decisions considered questionable (if they are explained) and the fact that you are working to develop your leadership meaning that you are not an expert in all areas of this approach. But you must be fair and equitable with your colleagues.
Feeling like or even being the victim of an injustice is a horrible feeling that, unfortunately, we have all experienced.
What is the impact on the credibility of the person making the decision?
Did you still trust him?
Were you still willing to work like crazy for this person?
Did you keep this frustration to yourself or did you share your dissatisfaction with your coworkers?
One of my weaknesses, which my wife ♥ also noticed, is that I tend to trust too easily. On the other hand, once someone betrays that trust, it becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, to regain it.
I believe that many people have this same reflex and justice and fairness being universal values, if you carry out actions or make decisions which will give the impression to your employees or collaborators that you do not offer to all and everyone equal chance to succeed, regardless of their origin, gender, religion or any other personal characteristic, what you have tried to create will collapse and people will stop following you.
Autonomy and motivation
It’s pretty obvious to expect the leader of a group to be self-reliant. If he wants to help his team develop, be leaders, secure others and achieve the team’s objectives, he must be confident.
To ensure this autonomy, I believe it is essential to clarify roles and responsibilities with your boss. You must keep the same posture when you are alone in front of your group or when your superior is present.
It’s more difficult than you think. When I was a night production supervisor, I was in complete control of the situation and knew I had to make the decisions during my shift. My boss was away, so I was the leader of the group. However, when I did rounds with him during the day shift, I validated all my decisions. From an outside perspective, I didn’t seem very independent.
When it comes to motivation, all you have to do is answer the following question:
Who will you follow between these two leaders?
-A person who always seems to be in his head, who does not look people in the eye and who speaks in a monotone separated by gestures of weariness
-A ball of energy that makes you feel like everything you will accomplish together will be extraordinary
To ask the question, is to answer it…
Humility
In my opinion, this is the most essential quality to be a good leader.
As a leader at work, your responsibility will be to make your team more efficient and give them the tools to ensure objectives are achieved. To do this, you must identify the expertise and strengths of your employees and help them deploy their full potential.
There is no way you can be an expert in everything. So, don’t try to project that you know everything and are the best. There is no shame in not knowing all the tasks that fall under the team’s responsibility.
Employees, knowing that they have knowledge that you don’t have, will feel important and valued. They will be very happy to share their knowledge with you.
It’s really important to show interest when these moments arise.
Another essential aspect of humility for a leader is recognizing their mistakes when they make a bad decision. A common but unfortunate reaction to a mistake is to try to justify yourself or blame someone else.
The error has occurred, there is nothing we can do to go back and avoid it. But, the goal is to ensure that this situation does not happen again.
- What lessons can we learn from the situation?
- Who can help you resolve or prevent the problem?
By admitting your mistake, you open the door for your colleagues to act in the same way. This will improve team cohesion and indicate to everyone that errors are part of the process and will allow you, in the long term, to improve operational efficiency.
Caring for others
This quality is quite obvious if you aspire to be a good leader. A true leader looks to others and uses their energy to make them better. To do this, he must care about others in a sincere and proactive way.
This means actively listening, understanding their needs, and providing them with the resources and support necessary so they can reach their full potential. Caring for others also involves creating a positive work environment where everyone feels valued and respected.
By investing in the well-being and development of their team, the leader cultivates a culture of trust and collaboration, essential to collective success.
Good emotional intelligence
This is a subject that deserves more than a few lines to do it justice. According to Salovey Sluyter and Mayer , emotional intelligence (EI) refers to a person’s ability to perceive, understand, and express their own emotions as well as those of others, in order to solve problems and regulate emotion-related behaviors.
This requires the following components:
- Self-awareness meaning to fully understand our thinking pattern and the emotions that appear in us when we experience various situations. This allows us to anticipate situations and avoid exposing some of our weaknesses that could negatively affect our credibility and position.
- Self-control meaning being able to use our emotion in a controlled manner to support our management or our decisions, but avoiding mood swings or impulsive reactions
- Internal motivations which means pursuing goals for internal and not external reasons
- Empathy which is the ability to identify and understand the emotions that people around you are experiencing. Be careful not to fall into sympathy to avoid becoming emotionally involved in a situation. You must be able to remain supportive of the person experiencing the emotions, but while keeping a cool head.
A leader with good emotional intelligence positively influences the work climate and allows the people around them to channel their emotions to improve their well-being and the overall performance of the team.
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The next article on the theme of the essential qualities to be a good leader will deal with the next 5 qualities which are:
- Passion
- Resilience
- Responsibility
- Support
- Rational and positive attitude towards any problem
Need help improving your leadership skills or building a culture of caring leadership? Do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to listen to you and provide you with the tools you need for the future.
Always remember: how does your mood impact your performance and overall attitude? Imagine if all your employees or collaborators were happy…
Carl-Michael Tessier
Coach in high-performance team development and tailor-made support
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