Effective Leadership: 5 Important Qualities You Need As A Leader

Leadership is said to be effective when it achieves desired goals. And the major goal of leadership is simply rallying people towards a common goal. So effective leadership is one that first rallies people and second, achieves set goals with the people.

Some qualities make for effective leadership. These are attributes that when you possess or when you exhibit them as a leader, you can easily mobilize people towards the goals the team wish to achieve.

There are so many qualities that make for effective leadership. I cannot exhaust them in a single post. So I have put together 5 of these qualities that I believe are top on the list of what makes for effective leadership.

Effective Leaders Are Visionary

Vision could simply be said to refer to a picture of the future. A worthy vision inspires action towards its attainment. It takes an effective leader to be able to create a worthy vision that mobilizes people to take action towards its attainment.

To be able to reach a set vision requires setting out clear goals for achieving the vision. This is because a vision is simply an end goal or destination and to achieve a given vision will require the achievement of similar goals. These goals serve as the building blocks toward the attainment of the vision.

Effective leaders are those who can create a worthy vision, set goals for its attainment and rally people around the vision. Often, the vision is one that the people may not see at the time but an effective leader can inspire the people’s belief in it, mobilizing them to work towards the vision. Martin Luther King spoke greatly about his vision of a racial segregation-free America. His vision was able to rally people to themselves, who came together to work towards the set goals.

Effective Leaders Possess a Great Deal Of Discipline

Discipline is being able to do what is required when it is required. Discipline requires you to set out standards for yourself and be able to hold yourself accountable to such standards.

As a leader, you are a model to your people. And you cannot be a good model unless you are given discipline. Your leadership of others starts with your leadership of yourself.

Effective leadership requires you to set the standards for the team and be able to hold each one accountable to the standards you have set out. This becomes impossible when you are not one given discipline. It takes discipline to be an effective leader.

Effective Leaders Are Courageous

Being courageous does not mean being not afraid rather being courageous is simply not giving in to fear. A popular quote on courage has it that

courage is not the absence of fear but acting despite fear.

Being able to put yourself out before people, to rally them towards a vision that you have no guarantee of its success could be scary. Oftentimes, as a leader, you may come up with great opposition within your team or outside of your team that could threaten your leadership. Without courage, facing and putting down opposition to your leadership will become difficult, if not impossible. To be an effective leader you must be courageous.

Effective Leaders Are Great Connectors

Leadership is about rallying people to take action in direction of a common goal. To effectively rally people to your vision as a leader will require you to connect with them. Leaders who are effective in their leadership understand this and are continually working on improving their interpersonal relationship skills to ensure they are able to build and manage relationships with people.

Effective Leaders Are People Builders

Leadership is more than just achieving the results set out. Every true leader must also transform and empower people.

Effective Leadership builds people for the results it aims for. It also builds people for the consolidation of the results achieved.

So if you’re going to be effective in your leadership, as much as you work on rallying your team towards the goals set, you must also ensure your team are being developed along the line. Effective Leaders understand that they will not be in a place, role or position forever, so they work to ensure that they groom others to step in when the time or need arises.

Closing Thoughts

All of the qualities outlined in this post that make for effective leadership are qualities that you can develop with time. You only need to commit yourself to developing them and in no time you’d become more effective in your leadership and be seen to be so too by others.