One of the most important building blocks of having a successful business is learning how to be an effective leader. While some may insist business strategy is more important, it’s impossible to develop that strategy without the right people in place to guide it along. Effective leaders are the stepping stone that allows a business to prosper or flounder without. Here are some of the most important traits of leadership.
Temperament
An effective leader will demonstrate to their employees they have an unwavering temperament. A leader needs to instill confidence and trust in their employees through their actions and overall demeanor. Someone with poor character traits may have a more difficult time leading, or inspiring motivation in their employees. If you want your employees to respect you, you must give them a reason to, and provide them with equally mutual respect. Keeping cool, calm, and collected in difficult situations demonstrates that you are a true professional, and a good role model for the rest of your office.
Communication
Your team cannot successfully complete a task at hand if it has not been properly communicated to them to do so. You cannot expect your employees to read your mind. It’s important to communicate with them on a regular basis on what your goals are, what needs to be done to achieve those goals, and what success looks like. By being upfront with as much information as possible, you will better arm your team with the ability to defuse tricky situations along the way.
Integrity
Another trait of effective leadership has to do with a leaders integrity. Even if you have a good temperament and communication skills, you still need to consider your personal integrity, and what it means. For instance, people with integrity are often optimistic about their day-to-day duties. They are always honest when it comes to delivering constructive criticism, as that can be one of the most effective ways to learn. They also work to treat their employees as equals, or as they would want to be treated by their superiors.
While these are certainly not the only characteristics of effective leaders, they are some of the most important. These will always vary depending on the individual, but all follow the same idea of essentially being an overall good person in their daily lives.
Dr. Arnold Peter Weiss is the R. Scot Sellers Scholar of Hand Surgery; Chief of Hand Surgery; Vice Chairman & Professor, Brown University.