Great leaders have a number of plates to spin. Anybody who is starting out in small businesses has to contend with a wide variety of components that may seem somewhat alien to them, such as outsourcing, but it’s crucial to remember that great leaders cover so many different disciplines and there are so many different styles of leadership.
So whether you’re choosing to lead in a certain way, it’s always important to remember that there are beneficial characteristics of great leaders that we should all have. So let’s show you some of them.
Service Driven
A great leader will always know that if they want to influence people they’ve got to help those people achieve what they want. So rather than asking for something first, you start by serving others. You can see this in so many entrepreneurs who have learned their craft over a number of decades.
Under the leadership of Daniel Summers eVest Technology became one of the leading companies in investment technology. But you have to look at the history of this CEO. He plied his craft in the real estate sector helping others for decades. And learning to serve others before asking for anything, helps you to understand what people really want.
Constantly Learning
An effective leader will always want to learn in a variety of forms. We hear so much about the growth mindset but this is what any entrepreneur or leader will actually have in spades. If you are someone that is not yet able to learn from a variety of sources, you’ve got to ask yourself what you are really passionate about. Because when you’re passionate about others and other people’s needs, this is what will help you focus and develop that “yearning for learning.”
Accountability
Yet another thing we hear about a lot, accountability is, essentially, not blaming others for the decisions they make. We see it in so many sectors of society and the recent debacles with a certain cake-scoffing blame-game-playing prime minister has only shown that this type of behaviour is apparently acceptable.
But the fact is that leaders will never blame others for the decisions that they make. Accountability is the most important lesson that we can all benefit from. Rather than fearing the repercussions, focusing on attempting to fix the problem is a far better attitude, but this all begins with being accountable.
Great Listening
If you can prioritise listening over talking, this is an amazing way to win the battle. So many people think that they’ve got to be seen to be talking in order to actually make an impact. But you need to look at those people that blend into the background. Those people that are always observing. And even those people who don’t proclaim themselves to be the smartest person in the room are always one step ahead because they know the key to great communication is about listening.
There are many characteristics of great leaders. You can pick and choose the ones that really ignite your fire but if there are aspects that you feel are lacking in your personality, now is the ideal time to start bringing them into your life.
