Characteristics_of_Leadership

INTRODUCTION Leadership can be defined as the process of influencing an organization or groups within an organization in its efforts towards achieving a goal, or a relationship through which one person, i.e. the leader, influences the behavior or actions of other people” Leadership is an influence process: The ability to motivate others to do something, believe something or act a certain way. Leadership style is the pattern of behaviors you use when you are trying to influence the behavior of others. A leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example, so that others are motivated to follow him. This is a basic requirement. To be a leader, a person must have a deep-rooted commitment to the goal that he will strive to achieve it. An acknowledged leader will have his own unique characteristics or behavior pattern. To define such leadership characteristics will not be simple. But there are some requirements an exemplary leader should have. A good leader is not about merely commanding people around but rather the ability to rub off or imbibe his characteristics to the team he is working with. An example of characteristics of good leadership will be discipline and self. An important component of characteristic of good leadership is hard work and intelligence. A good leader will avoid procrastination. Whenever a complex situation arises , they will make a thorough analysis and will display their abilities and intelligence to make apt and appropriate decisions. The considerations here is to knowing how to select right strategy, adapting to situations around and understanding the need to accept changes are vital to leadership success. Good Leaders will always create task excitement in their teams and this itself will serve as motivation for success. A hallmark of a characteristic of good leadership is when the subordinates can approach and discuss any issue with their leader with ease and confidence. By that it can be said the leader is one who is able to communicate and listed to his team members. This is called two way communications and is a must in any form or successful leadership. One Characteristics Of Good leadership is in identifying the different members skill and abilities and getting them to work together towards the common goal of achieving the set goals and targets As said earlier an able leader is one who will refrain from commanding but rather will coax and encourage the team members. With such an approach, the good leader has been able to provide a platform where all the team members are able to further develop and sharpen their abilities. The vision of the leader must be strong and hold true. Other characteristic of good leadership will include qualities such as strong self esteem, the desire for achievement and goal oriented. With self esteem the good leader will able to face tough challenges and complex situation. Whereas being goal oriented means the leader will not shirk from hard task but use the abilities of himself and his team members to achieve Even in tiring times or situation an important requirement in Characteristics of Good leadership is Optimism. An able leader will be brimmed with reasonable optimism. To them problems are challenges and an opportunity to make new directions and seek pasture grounds. Last but not the least, another component of Characteristics Of Good Leadership is courage. To take challenges and go where no one has gone before. OVERVIEW Characteristic 1: Self-Esteem Underlying everything is a high sense of one's own self-worth. Without that, individuals will never undertake tough challenges. If one does not have it, it's important to develop self-esteem. Characteristic 2: Need to Achieve This need has been associated with entrepreneurs and leaders who constantly seek to perform at their best. Individuals high in this need are open to feedback, are goal oriented, seek to be unique, and strive for accomplishments based on their own efforts—characteristics important to effective leadership. They also take risks, not extreme risks, but moderate ones. Moderate risk means you have the ability to influence events, but don’t have complete control. The key is that individuals believe they will be successful, but it is not a sure thing. Characteristic 3: Screening For Opportunity. Like all individuals, leaders screen incoming information to separate the useful from the useless. However, successful entrepreneurs and business leaders screen incoming information to constantly seek new growth opportunities. They act like gold miners who must shift through tons of dirt to find those a few precious golden nuggets. Characteristic 4: Locus of Control Successful leaders typically show a high internal locus of control. In many different studies done over the years, those with a high internal locus of control are more likely to experience success, than individuals who are high on the external locus of control. When someone perceives events as under the control of others, fate, luck, the system, their boss, etc. they have an external locus of control. Individuals high on the internal locus of control have a different assumption about how the world works. They assume that any success they experience is due to their personal efforts and that they have the ability to influence events. Interestingly, internal also assume failure was also their fault. Characteristic 5: Goal Orientation For many, leadership characteristic of staying focused on a goal is a very difficult thing to do since life in the world of business tends to distract us Characteristic 6: Optimism Underlying successful entrepreneurial leadership is a boundless font of optimism that never seems to end. When faced with a problem, they view it as a challenge. When faced with a setback, they view it as a new direction, when told no, they say, “Maybe not now, but I know you’ll change your mind later.” This characteristic contrasts sharply with the vast majority of people who project a more pessimistic, defeatist quality. It’s this belief in the positive that serves as the foundation for dealing with the many set-backs one will inevitably encounter in the world of business. Characteristic 7: Courage   Having courage does not mean that you have no fear. It is the ability to go forward despite the obstacles. Another aspect of courage in leadership is to stand on the truth and not waver despite the winds that whip around you.  Courage is going forward no matter what the naysayers say. A leader without courage is nothing more than a person play-acting.  They are an empty shell. Characteristic 8: Tolerance to Ambiguity This term refers to a person’s tolerance to uncertainty and risk. As we age, we have a tendency to be more comfortable repeating a relatively small set of behaviors. For example, we eat pretty much the same food, shop in the same stores, watch the same programs, have lunch with the same people, and listen to the same music. Etc. One may change jobs, but rarely does one change industries. If one’s tolerance for ambiguity is low, one will gravitate toward large, established organizations—better still, work for the government where things change little if at all. In contrast to older, established organizations, entrepreneurial start-ups exist in an environment where almost everything is new and many things have not been done before. For example, no policies exist to guide action and start-ups typically lack the old timers who serve as the voice of experience. Characteristic 9: Strong Internal Motivation— The motivation that drives our behavior comes from two sources: internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic). Intrinsic factors include constructs like needs, desires, motives, and will power. Extrinsic factors include any type of motivational influence from the environment such as rewards and punishments. For effective leadership, the most important motivational factor is the intrinsic one. Leaders keep going despite the fact that employees tell them they are foolish, friends say they are wasting their time, and family tells them to get a real job. When the intrinsic drive goes away, so does any chance of success. Characteristic 10: Be Congruent For a leader to inspire and influence his followers, he first needs to gain their trust. Nothing helps gain trust more than showing congruency. Congruency means having your thoughts, words and actions are all aligned. It means practicing what you preach. Doing so proves a person's dependability and trustworthiness. A leader who says one thing but does another will find it very hard to gain his followers trust. CONCLUSION Defining leadership characteristics is not simple. This is because each leader has his\her own characteristics. However there are some common features required for an exemplary leader. A good leader must have the following characteristics: 1. Self esteem; Self esteem is an important quality of a leader which will help to face tough challenges. 2. Need to achieve; a leader must be goal oriented and must be able to strive hard to achieve the goals. He\she should be ready to take risks. A good leader is one who takes moderate risks and not extreme risks. 3. Screening for opportunity; a leader must have the ability to screen the opportunities as useful and useless. He must also be able to grasp any small opportunity missed by the competitors. 4. Optimism; a good leader must be an optimist. He should be able to see problems as challenges. A great leader will always view an obstacle as a way to new direction. 5. Courage; an outstanding leader is one who has courage to face challenges. Risk taking is a crucial characteristic of a leader. He must be able to make changes and to accept changes. 6. Conviction: The leader who believes in the mission and works toward it will be an inspiration and a resource to their followers. 7. Fair-minded: Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. 8. Broad-minded: Seek out diversity. 9. Straightforward: Use sound judgment to make good decisions at the right time. 10. Imaginative:  Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!