- Should leaders be team players?
- How important is courage and passion?
- Why is vision and judgment important?
Leadership is a term often misused in business, and is commonly mistaken as another word for management. Leadership is all about communication. Leaders have an ability to steer their team to achieve common goals and objectives. At the end of the day people can and will make or break your business.
Here are some of the general factors that you can keep in mind when looking for a good leader for your business.
Should they be team players?
People who manage by consensus often climb the corporate ladder quickly. Their bosses usually view them favorably because they make life easier by helping their divisions, departments, or groups run smoothly. But many seniors believe that such individuals do not make exceptional leaders. In fact, the best leaders are usually not team players; they feel little need to work in a group. They might prefer it if others work as a team, and will offer advice to teams. They are also mostly independent thinkers, and they don’t mind making decisions by themselves, decisions that set them apart from the pack.
How important is passion and courage?
Winning commitment and trust of your employees is imperative for any leadership position. Passion enables a leader to keep moving forward, even in tough times, and inspires the people around them to work harder towards their goals. At the same time, courage is necessary to make the difficult decisions when facing conflicts and mediating adversity. Courage springs from a leader’s core values and commitment to a vision, so looking for these qualities in a potential leader is important.
A clear vision and solid judgment
Without a compelling vision or destination, how can a leader effectively persuade people to embark upon a new direction? Visionary leaders inspire employees to imagine a better future and work hard to achieve it. Actually achieving this vision, however, requires judgment. Good judgment allows the leader to make solid business decisions and choices. When confronting a difficult new challenge, they must quickly zero in on the most important issues. They must be able to prioritize and make difficult trade-offs, keeping in mind the possible inadvertent consequences of their decisions.