11+ Best Leadership Skills & Qualities That Make a Great Leader

Running your own business or leading teams at work requires a strong set of leadership skills and qualities to help positively interact with team members, clients, and other parties.

Behavioral psychologists have shown that good leadership skills aren’t something that one naturally has and they can be improved over time by learning these skills over time.

Popular quotes on leadership

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

—Vince Lombardi

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

—Jack Welch

“A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.”

—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

—Douglas MacArthur

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

—General Colin Powell

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”

—Colin Powell

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

—John Quincy Adams

“The greatest leaders mobilize others by coalescing people around a shared vision.”

—Ken Blanchard

Top Leadership Qualities

The most important qualities of a good leader include:

• communication
• motivation
• inspiration
• teamwork
• empathy
• humility
• integrity
• influence
• accountability
• resilience, and
• vision

Communication

Leaders must be able to effectively communicate their vision and directives to their team. This involves being a good listener as well as a good speaker.

Motivation

A leader must be able to motivate his or her team to achieve common goals. This usually involves setting a good example and providing encouragement.

Inspiration

A leader must be able to inspire others to do their best work. This might involve sharing a personal story or giving a stirring speech.

Teamwork

A leader must be able to work well with others in order to get the job done. This means being able to compromise and cooperate when necessary.

Empathy

A leader must be able to see things from other people’s perspectives and understand their needs. This helps them to be more effective in communication and motivation.

Humility

A leader must be humble enough to admit when he or she is wrong and learn from mistakes. This quality allows leaders to be more relatable and approachable.

Integrity

A leader must be honest and have strong moral character. This is essential for gaining the trust and respect of others.

Influence

A leader must be able to influence others to take action or change their opinion. This might involve persuasion or negotiation skills.

Here are some things that leaders can do to increase their influence:

• Be self-aware
• Be able to empathize with others to understand things through the eyes of someone else
• Ask for input
• Have humility and admit when you don’t know or were wrong
• Ask for input and suggestions
• Clearly state what you want
• Build relationships
• Act professionally on social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, and others
• Make others feel important
• Put people in positions to succeed based on their skills and build complementary teams

Accountability

A leader must be willing to accept responsibility for his or her actions and the actions of the team. This quality builds trust and shows that the leader is committed to the success of the team.

Resilience

A leader must be able to bounce back from setbacks and keep going despite adversity. This requires a positive attitude and a belief in oneself and one’s team.

Vision

A leader must have a clear vision for what he or she wants to achieve. This helps to provide direction and focus for the team.

These are just some of the important qualities that a leader must possess. There are many others that may be just as important in different situations.

The most important thing is to be aware of what qualities are needed and to work on developing them.

Prioritize

Leaders must know how to sift through the blizzard of circumstances and things happening to get at what’s most important. 80/20 rule.

For example, when you’re working on a project, save the limitations until the very end — don’t start with them.

Too often, great ideas die because people think “it’ll be too hard to build” or “it’s too complicated.”

As a result, great ideas don’t get generated in the first place.

Most talented creatives do the opposite. When they start a project, they dream as big as possible. Then, as they build, they accept limitations as they arrive.

For example: Let’s say you’re building a website. Instead of telling your designer to stick to the basics for the sake of the developer, let your designer run wild.

Let them create the best thing they can think of.

Then, pass it to your developer and see how far they can take it.

Why this works: It helps you overcome any preconceived worries about a project.

Because if you let those worries squash your creativity to begin with, you’ll never give yourself the freedom to create the big ideas you have in your head.

Try it sometime and see how it goes!

Leadership FAQ

These are some of the most frequently asked questions about leadership:

What are the qualities of a good leader?

Some of the most important qualities of a good leader include: communication, motivation, inspiration, teamwork, empathy, humility, integrity, influence, accountability, resilience, and vision.

How can I improve my leadership skills?

There are many ways to improve leadership skills.

Some suggestions include: reading books on leadership, taking classes on leadership, attending workshops or seminars on leadership, and spending time with other leaders.

What is the best way to learn leadership?

The best way to learn leadership is through experience.

This can be gained by leading projects, teams, or organizations. Another way to learn leadership is through formal education, such as taking classes or earning a degree in leadership.

What are some leadership theories?

There are many leadership theories. Some of the most popular include: trait theory, behavioral theory, contingency theory, transformational theory, and transactional theory.

What is the difference between leadership and management?

The main difference between leadership and management is that leaders set the direction for an organization while managers plan and organize the resources to achieve that direction.

Both leadership and management are important for the success of an organization. Oftentimes, people will use the terms interchangeably, but there are subtle differences between the two.

Leadership is about setting the direction and inspiring others to achieve a common goal. Management is about planning and organizing the resources to achieve that goal.

Both leadership and management require different skills and knowledge. Leaders need to be able to think creatively, while managers need to be able to pay attention to detail. Leaders also need to be good at problem-solving, while managers need to be good at decision-making.

Both leadership and management are important for the success of an organization. The most successful organizations have both effective leaders and managers.

Conclusion

Leadership is a vital quality that all successful organizations need. There are many different leadership qualities and skills that can make a good leader. The most important thing is to be aware of what qualities are needed and to work on developing them.

What makes a great leader? This is a question that has been asked throughout history, and there are many different answers to it.

Some say that a great leader must be born with certain qualities, while others believe that anyone can learn to lead if they have the right skills.

There are many different leadership qualities and skills that can make a good leader. Some of the most important ones include communication, motivation, inspiration, teamwork, empathy, humility, integrity, influence, accountability, resilience, and vision.

The most important thing is to be aware of what qualities are needed and to work on developing them. There are many different ways to improve leadership skills. Some suggestions include: reading books on leadership, taking classes on leadership, attending workshops or seminars on leadership, and spending time with other leaders.

The best way to learn leadership is through experience. This can be gained by leading projects, teams, or organizations. Another way to learn leadership is through formal education, such as taking classes or earning a degree in leadership.

Both leadership and management are important for the success of an organization. The most successful organizations have both effective leaders and managers.

Leadership is a vital quality that all successful organizations need. There are many different leadership qualities and skills that can make a good leader. The most important thing is to be aware of what qualities are needed and to work on developing them.