- December 4, 2018
- Posted by: Support Team
- Category: Blog

Essential Leadership Skills You Need to Acquire & Cultivate.
Leadership
Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to lead, influence and guide followers or other members of an organization.
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Being a leader involves making sound and sometimes difficult decisions, creating and articulating a clear vision. Establishing achievable goals and providing followers with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals.
Leader
Person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. A chief, head, principal, or boss.
What Makes a Great Leader?
Leaders need timeless competencies throughout an organization, regardless of role, industry, or location. But the way you address each skill and what you need to learn or emphasize will shift as you move to higher levels and face new challenges. These traits are crucial to carve the path of your success and earn respect as a strong leader.
Important leadership skills you need
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Effective communication
Communication is key in every organization. Effective communication involves active listening and proper questioning technique to elicit required information. It’s one of the most basic, across-the-board skills all of us need to develop and refine during our careers. As a leader ensure clarity but also for connection, inspiration, persuasion, guidance and even assurance.
2. Influence.
Developing your influencing skills helps you to communicate your vision or goals, align the efforts of others, and build commitment from people at all levels. Ultimately, influence allows you to get things done and achieve desirable outcomes. Influence can vary greatly at different levels in the organization. Knowing your stakeholders, or audience is key.
Some of influencing tactics would include; Logical appeals – tap into people’s rational and intellectual positions. Emotional appeals – connect your message, goal, or project to individual goals and values. An idea that promotes a person’s feelings of well-being, service, or sense of belonging has a good chance of gaining support. Cooperative appeals – involve togetherness, consultation,seek ideas and alliances from others. Working together to accomplish a mutually important goal extends a hand to others in the organization and is an extremely effective way of influencing
3. Self-Awareness.
To understand your strengths and weaknesses, but gaining self-awareness is anything but simple. Self-awareness is critical for ongoing and long-term effectiveness as a leader.
Some of self-awareness features that are most critical for leaders: Leadership Wisdom– insights from your experience that you can apply to the challenges you face. Leadership Identity – is who you are in your current professional and personal context. Leadership Reputation – how others perceive you as a leader based on your current and previous behavior. Leadership Brand – what you aspire to and the actions you take to support that mission.
4. Problem solving
The core responsibility of any leader is to resolve all organisational problems at every level. Whether is an internal problem i.e., within various departments, employees, teams. Can also be external one eg clients, market conditions, stiff competition. Role of the leader is to analyse the entire situation logically and with a cool head. Consequence of this would be a fast action, decision that would work in the best interest of the organisation and its employees.
Problem-solving skill that helps any leader to analyse and anticipate trends. It gives her direction and ideas for strategic planning which lists under important leadership skills as well.
5. Building Relationship
A successful leader always manages to create and foster a solid foundation of trust and relationships with both employees and clients. Investing time, effort and even emotion to strengthen relations internally as well as externally reap unparalleled success to any leader.
6. Striving for Feedback
Every leader should work hard towards giving an encouraging and constructive feedback to the team members. It defines the line between an employee’s success and failure. No matter how good you are, there is always room for improvement. Learning to accept feedback about yourself and acting positively on it will inevitably make you a better leader. A smart leader perceives it as the best way to optimize her behavior for their team and brand.
7. Trustworthiness
The critical success factor of any organization has moved from just ‘power’ to ‘power of trust.’ In the present digital age, the extent to which you appear as an honest and trustworthy leader will determine your success trail. Trustworthiness is the integrity and truthfulness. It is the foundation quality for any business success.
8. Empathy for Team
Extending beyond sympathy, the trait gives any leader, a powerful arsenal to understand, support and guide others with compassion and sensitivity. Empathy skills will translate to happier working environment, employee satisfaction and high productivity.
Easily a leader can miss on the needs and feelings of his team members while being completely focused on her goals. It grows the feeling of being neglected which in turn reduces performance and loyalty.