No matter what, there will be leaders that shape your organization's future, which is why it’s so important to have good ones. Leaders come from all walks of life and are necessary for any team. But what traits make up a great leader? MobileQubes is currently gearing up to celebrate a decade of hard work next year, and there are some things we have learned about leadership in that time- specifically, the traits that make an effective leader.
Communication
To make an effective leader or team member, your organization must have clear and effective communication. This type of communication isn't just about hosting several meetings and talking to your employees; it should be about having honest conversations and sometimes just sitting back and listening to your team. Communication allows fewer things to slip through the cracks, more people willing to share ideas, and making you more approachable overall.
Delegation
Sometimes the word “delegation” can strike fear into the hearts of those who don't trust others to do their work and therefore want to do it all. It can make others jump for joy because they believe delegating means they end up doing nothing.
Delegation isn't about making yourself as free as possible or giving out busy work so that your employees fill up their hours while you do the critical tasks. Delegation should focus on facilitating teamwork and encouraging individual passions and focuses. If you pay attention to your team's interests and skills and assign them work based on this, they will naturally feel more passionate about their work (and appreciate the care taken to learn about them as people, not just workers.) Overall, delegating should lead to better decision-making.
Don’t Be Afraid of Making Hard Decisions
Eventually, something bad will happen in your business. When that bad thing happens, you may have to make a difficult decision. It can be tempting to try and push it off to someone else or shy away from being the sole decider. It is one of the hardest parts of being a leader, and you can find articles detailing how to work through it – but you can't be afraid of making those decisions that could be unpopular.
Integrity
Integrity is one of those words that get thrown around so often that it loses its meaning. But integrity is defined as someone moral, honest, trustworthy, and follows through on commitments. You want people with integrity at every level of every organization, but especially in your leaders.
Being a leader means that there must be supporters; being in a position of authority does not innately mean someone is a leader on their team. It is integrity that makes others willing to respect and follow a leader.
Good leaders are invaluable in your business as they can be a significant part of a company's success or downfall. Like any others, leadership can come naturally to many, but it can also be cultivated and supported. Having a wide variety of leaders can broaden your company's horizons beyond what you can imagine.
Guest post courtesy of Savannah Bilbo