Business leadership: How to be a good leader?

By David KigerCourtesy of Luigi Mengato at Flickr.com

When the time comes to start a business, the eagerness to get it up and going is very high, however, many times we don't assess our growth expectancies, and we tend to believe that, since the business will be profitable, it's not important to have as much projection. In such a way we ignore many factors, such as, for instance, a good leadership.

What can we expect from a company without a good leader? Will it be the beginning of a great success or a complete failure? Let's start by asking: what exactly is leadership?

Leadership is a process in which a person can have an influence in others for a series of goals to be met, a leader is the one who directs the organization in a way that makes it more coherent and cohesive. But what exactly is a good business leader? A good business leader is the one who is able to carry the company towards where he or the company wishes to get, in a cooperative, intelligent, authoritarian voice, but never aggressively, with threats or ironies caused by his superiority.

Characteristics of a good leader

When we are part of an organization without a doubt we want to be leaders, but most times we are not, perhaps because we don't have the capacity or the attitude to face this challenge. This is why we will take a look at 10 essential characteristics that you should have if you want to be a good leader.

1. Capacity to communicate: all of a leader’s communications should be in two ways, in order to listen and be heard. You should know how to express your ideas clearly as well as your opinions and instructions. Communication will make you a person able to change thoughts, feelings and actions, but changing thoughts is not the same as saying a couple of words once a day, week or month. It's doing it everyday and at every moment, and it is necessary to manifest it through setting an example. A leader who doesn't listen is not a leader but a dictator.

2. Emotional intelligence. Feelings move people. If your heart does not have emotions, you will hardly be able to guide a group. Empathy is vital, this is, taking other people's place. That way you will find a way to motivate, stimulate and encourage your people. Remember that without emotional intelligence, you cannot be a leader.

3. Ability to set goals. In order to lead a group, you have to know where to take it or channel it, if your goals and objectives are not clear or concrete you will be deceiving and disorienting your group. Sooner or later you will realize that no effort will be enough. It's important to understand that goals should be consequent with the capacity of the group, you cannot demand impossible things, since they won't be easily met.

4. Ability to plan. A good leader thinks and ideates plans to reach the goal, a leader cannot do things just for the sake of doing them. They should have a concrete plan and objectives based upon consensus, studies and research. In a plan the actions should be defined, the moments, the people in charge, the necessary resources, and so on. It is also important to get your group up to date with the new decisions, plans or goals to follow.

5. A leader knows his strengths and weaknesses. A good leader knows what they have and what they don't, which is why they clearly accept what their weaknesses and strengths are, that is, their limitations, which is why they will always look to minimize or heal the former and maximize or boost the latter.

6. A leader grows and makes their people grow. A leader is not selfish, egocentric, cheap, or ambitious, a good leader teaches, shows, delegates functions and set an example for their people. Leaders should not show themselves down, choleric, or disoriented, this gets into the minds of their followers and is a clear display of misdirection.

7. The power of charisma. Charisma is the gift of attracting and being liked, drawing attention and being nice to the eyes of others. A good leader displays charisma just by being interested in people and demonstrating a true interest in them, in charisma is excellence. Leaders should have the capacity of getting their people to be enthusiastic, a good leader gets followers, gets them to be enthusiastic and envisions them correctly. A leader should not feel that they are doing everything or that they are everything, a leader knows how to delegate tasks accordingly.

8. The importance of innovation. A good leader will always look for newer and better alternatives to do things. If someone goes wrong they will think in one and other ways to solve the problem, an innovative leader is creative and imaginative.

9. A leader is responsible. A good leader knows that their leadership gives them a degree of power over their group, which is why they will always want to use it in benefit of their group. A good leader is responsible for his acts and they cannot blame others for their mistakes, or try to minimize them just because they have the power. A good leader should realize their mistakes, accept and correct them. A good leader does not hide when problems arise, they should always respond and face them.

10. A good leader is informed. A leader should know how information is processed, they should know how to interpret it correctly and intelligently and use it in the most modern and creative way. A good leader should know what should be done today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

When leaders think they're doing everything is because they're not good leaders, it's because they don't know how to delegate, inform, deal or empathize, and so on.

Recent content: Read David Kiger’s “What kind of leader are you?”