2014
TROs’ Leadership Retreat, presented by Elechi, Udochi Alegua (Director, TROs’)
Introduction:
Traits: a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one
belonging to a person.
Effective: successful in producing a desired or
intended result.
Leadership: the action of leading a group of people
or an organization, or the ability to do this.
Effective leadership
is attained through mastering of leadership qualities, skills and Traits.
Through proper education, training and discipline in learning all the qualities
of leaders, one can effectively lead any organization into success. But
developing a good leadership structure is not simple. One must be diligent in
learning all the traits of a successful leader. Also, one must be resolute in
learning all the qualities of a successful leader, no matter how hard it may
seem sometimes, so that he will yield all the benefits of being a true great
leader.
A great leader possesses
these twelve traits that make up his personality and skills. These should be
studied by an aspiring leader so that he can possess all of these naturally;
without faking and intimidation. They should be applied to the daily life of an
aspiring leader so that he or she can take it to heart and gradually apply it
to his individuality.
1. Management
A good leader knows
how to effectively manage his team to make it productive. By creating a good
management strategy, a leader can make his team dynamic, which would lead to
success. Proper management includes proper administration to issues which would
make it possible for the leader and his team to determine problems and create
solutions based in an orderly manner. This makes the whole team efficient and
accustomed on what everyone should do, without waiting for orders, which will
make the management of the whole matter much easier.
Time management is
one of the factors that an individual should also master to be able to be
efficient and productive. Creating schedules that everyone in the team could
benefit from is an effective management strategy that will enable the entire
team to be productive in a continuous manner.
2. Accomplishments:
One of the qualities
of leaders that separate them from the rest is having daily accomplishments. A
good leader doesn’t settle for anything less. He or she is always doing
innovative decisions and steps to make his day as accomplished as possible.
An individual who is
developing leadership skills should familiarize himself with creating daily
accomplishments that he should achieve before the day ends. This way, he is
able to create innovative steps, on a daily basis, that could greatly help the
team he is leading achieve something big.
3. Strategy:
One of the leadership
qualities and skills that a successful leader has is strategy – good balance of analytical point of view and
human element. Being pragmatic in creating strategies is helpful to avoid
failure and unexpected negative results. This is what good leaders are –
pragmatic.
Continuous
implementation of strategies is also one of the qualities of leaders that make
a company successful. Also, follow-through is one of the things that great
leaders execute to effectively guide their team to success.
4. Ambition:
A good leader has
ambition and he is able to extend that ambition to others. By being ambitious
in creating and implementing plans that will make his business successful, he
is making his whole team motivated as well.
A good leader is able
to extend the motivation and responsibility to others so that everyone will
feel important and appreciated in doing things for the sake of the group.
Note: Letting others share the leadership is not a bad
thing. It should only be moderated to make sure that everything is still under
control.
5. Energy:
A true leader has a
reservoir of energy that never runs out. This is one of the leadership
qualities and skills that true leaders show to their team so that everyone is
constantly motivated and influenced to be always on the move. A sense of
urgency and energy to every move of a leader sends messages that make the whole
team energized and pleased to work persistently.
6. Creativity:
Creativity is one important skill that every leader should
have. Creativity is the ability to create solutions that can effectively
resolve issues and improve the administration of the whole team. It is also
about innovating solutions for the continuous growth of the group.
A great leader can
create ideas and strategies by getting ideas from all sorts of things and from
every person in the team. There are no such things as stupid suggestions or
questions. A true leader will inspire and motivate others to speak up and voice
out their opinions and suggestions regarding all sorts of matter. He then
gathers those ideas and creates something new or better from those thoughts.
7. Decisions:
A person developing
leadership skills should learn how to think things over, then come up with a
decision that he will execute and follow-through once he sees a chance to do
so. Waiting or over thinking should be avoided to not let opportunities pass.
Even though thinking things over is important, it is also significant for a
leader to know how to be resolute in his decisions and act on those decisions
at the right time – with conviction.
8. Performance:
A true leader should
be able to improve his team’s performance – not only his own. He should learn
how to apply positive encouragement so that each and every person in the group
is encouraged to work hard and present innovative solutions to the problems
that the group faces.
A good leader should
give chances to his team to excel and perform their skills to be able to help
the group. But, a good leader should also know when to take the center stage
and take care of the group when needed.
9. Challenges:
One of the qualities
of leaders that are hard to copy is being able to face and manage challenges –
both internal and external ones. When developing leadership skills, an
individual should learn how to determine and face challenges during tough times
and occasions when something new is about to start, which could turn the group
upside-down if the strategy itself and the strategies used in implementing the
strategy fail.
10. Vision:
For a leader to have
leadership qualities and skills, he should have a vision first. Because this is
the foundation of a leader’s determination to do everything for the sake of the
group and the team, he should have a strong vision and possess the resoluteness
to follow that vision.
A good leader should
also be able to create a strategy and implement that strategy in a continuous
manner to be able to achieve his and his group’s goal.
11. Motivation:
Proper motivation to
one’s self and to the team is also an important trait of a true leader. By
being able to motivate the whole group to work hard for the group, a good
leader is guiding his team to success.
Putting people first
and encouraging their talents and skills to be exposed and appreciated is a
great way to motivate people. Acting with integrity to encourage people is also
an effective move to motivate a team. Also, showing a sense of urgency and
energy is an effective way to have people motivated and encouraged to do their
work and better it.
12. Communication:
Communication is also
important for a leader to be very effective. A good leader makes sure that he
is communicating well with his group not only to give instructions but also to
provide guidance and encouragement to everyone. Good communication among all
the members of the team should also be encouraged by the leader to promote good
relationship and proper exchange of ideas and responsibilities among all the
members of the group, including the leader himself. The leader must strive to
avoid selective communication, as such could serve as a silent killer agent
towards the success of the group.