Leadership is a skill that takes command, tact, and vision. As the great entrepreneur Jim Rohn once said, “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
Leadership is not only one skill, but the culmination of many which help to craft them into someone who can be approached for advice, guide a business through a strenuous time, and have compassion towards those who work for them among other things. No matter the size of their business, a great leader can make a significant impact in their field, whether you’re a Fortune-500 CEO of a global MNC or just the guy who runs a small massage business in Toronto.
If you’re curious what forms someone who has this skill set, here are a number of habits of the highly successful leader:
They Keep a Routine.
A successful leader knows that keeping a routine is how one can create a lifestyle that is driven to succeed. When one has a daily routine that they follow, they can gear every activity in their life to make sure that it’s positive and will garner results in some form that can benefit not only them, but the people around them.
Delegate Tasks Based Off Ability.
Many people in business often struggle with task delegation because they want to do everything themselves. While this seems to be admirable and is often a good “weakness” to give while at an interview, it’s not a positive trait among people who leader. Delegation can make or break a team.
A strong leader is able to delegate tasks based on team ability, not seniority or due to a popularity contest. A good leader has the ability to discover people’s strengths and weaknesses and adjust to those in order to assign tasks to be done the best way possible.
Understand The Importance of Courage and Act.
Being a leader isn’t always smooth sailing. At times, it means that they’ll have to make a decision that people disagree with or that could result in some slack from others. But deep down, they understand it’s the right thing to do. A leader knows the importance of courage and is able to act on it with integrity and commitment.
Outsourcing of Weaknesses.
Knowing what your weaknesses are as a professional is a big stepping stone, and being able to react to those weaknesses is an even bigger one because it removes ego and hubris from the equation. A leader can admit what they’re strengths and weaknesses are with conviction and make educated decisions based off those. For instance, they are not great at developing presentations, they can outsource that task to another member of the team.
Dedicated & Passionate.
A leader must be dedicated and passionate about what they do. They need to live and breath what they do and make it a part of their life, not just as something that will earn them a paycheck. A leader who is passionate about what they’re doing can inspire the whole team and make them become more efficient and dedicated to the tasks at hand. A passionate leader helps employees become engaged.
Consistency is Everything.
If there’s one thing that’s true in life, it’s that consistency can get you far. If you want to learn a language, you study every day for a small amount of time, not for hours on end twice a week. A leader understands this principle and approaches tasks with this in mind. It takes a strong leader to know that consistency holds more value than spurts of work.
They Are Self-Aware.
A highly successful leader knows themselves. They are self-aware. A self-awareness allows leaders to reflect on who they are and how effective their leadership style is. A leader isn’t always going to be great at everything in their job description, but they hold a growth mindset in order to improve themselves and they are open to criticism. A self-awareness allows them to continually grow as a person, whereas other leaders remain in a ‘stuck’ position and rarely change.
Reliability & Trustworthiness.
Finally, employees need to be able to rely and trust the person they are following. If they do not have confidence in the person leading them, the effort that they put into their work will lack. A reliable leader is able to set a precedent among their employees which sets what an acceptable standard of professionalism and work is.
To be an effective leader, one needs to have a culmination of skills to create a rich and diverse skill set. A highly successful leader is able to reflect on themselves, inspire people, and create growth in not only the organization, but the people who work for them.
