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Leadership Skills: Definitions and Examples

Jun 23

People with leadership skills are most likely to succeed in their careers. Employers value employees who possess good leadership skills that can bring the organization to the next level. 

Good leadership incorporates various traits and communication skills that are useful in dealing with people. Understanding what these traits and skills are can be useful for anyone who wants to be a great leader. 

Top 6 Must-Have Leadership Essentials

To become a great leader, you must possess these leadership essentials. These qualities can take time and a lot of training to develop.

  1. Problem-solving skills

One of the top qualities of a good leader is the ability to solve problems no matter how small or big they are. If any problem arises at work, a good leader stays calm and composed and is able to plan a good approach to solve the problem.

Problem-solving skills allow you to make good decisions despite the pressure and stress around you. It also enables you to know which team to work with and how to work with them to ensure that certain goals are achieved on time.

A leader who is a problem-solver generally also possesses the following qualities:

  • Analytical skills
  • Decisiveness
  • Critical thinking
  • Good in researching

  1. With integrity

The integrity of a person is often seen as one's honesty and truthfulness, but in reality, it's more than that. A person with integrity follows a set of strong values and is consistent in following them. Leaders who are able to understand and align their behaviors with their core values are considered authentic leaders. At Change Works Ltd, we offer a leadership training program called Leading with Authenticity, designed for this purpose.

A leader with integrity does not only work truthfully but he or she can also become a good example for others. Generally, he also possesses the following qualities:

  • Diplomatic
  • Reliable
  • Exercises professionalism
  • Maintains confidentiality
  • Exercises honesty

  1. Decisive

A good leader should be able to make decisions quickly with the available resources they have, and this is called decisiveness. Effective decision-making skills do not happen overnight but they come with time and experience. As you face various challenges, you also learn from them and apply those lessons in the future. Furthermore, as you become more familiar with your field or industry, it would be easier for you to make a decision even with limited information. 

Decisiveness makes leadership more efficient and effective. Good leaders are able to evaluate certain situations, apply their own experience, and make a decision that might work best. 

A decisive leader generally also possesses the following skills:

  • Problem-solving skill
  • With great initiative
  • Skilled in research and evaluation

  1. Dependable

A dependable person is someone you can trust and rely on, and this should also be one of your qualities to become a good leader. A dependable leader follows through on promises and action plans which then promotes strong relationships that are able to withstand and overcome various obstacles and challenges in the workplace. 

A dependable leader has the following qualities:

  • Sets realistic goals
  • With initiative to find solutions
  • Detail-oriented
  • Truthful
  • Loyal

  1. Builds and maintains good relationships with others

Leadership requires an ability to build and maintain a collaborative team of people who work toward common goals. Relationship building is perhaps one of the high-impacting skills because your ability to work with others make tasks even easier to accomplish. 

To be great at building relationships, a leader should also possess these traits:

  • Collaboration
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Social skills
  • Active listening skills
  • Communication skills
  • Teamwork

  1. Ability to coach others

This skill is what differentiates leadership from other competencies. The ability to coach requires leaders to think less of themselves and more on how they can help the team as a whole.

A leader who is great at coaching and mentoring others generally possesses these skills:

  • Understands differences
  • Helpful
  • Works with positive reinforcement
  • Able to recognize future leaders

Here at Change Works Ltd, we offer leadership development solutions from the team leader to the executive leader. Contact us anytime to discuss your leadership needs.