Do you want to be a leader and not just a manager?
These are 20 “must have” leadership traits you need:
1. Although managers are concerned about a result, leaders are also concerned about why a result occurred.
2. Belief and attitude modification are as much of a concern to a leader as skills modification.
3. Short-term results can be driven by a manager’s words. Long-term results are driven by a leader’s actions.
4. Leaders understand that values and ethics play a much larger role in the effectiveness of a long-term relationship than most people typically think.
5. Successful leaders realize the importance of not just the major moves they make, but also the small ones.
6. Successful leaders have teams that are unified in knowing both the goals of the organization and how each person’s actions affect the achievement of those goals.
7. Strong leaders are able to impact performance as much by what they do not say as by what they do say.
8. Leaders create both formal and informal communication networks within their organization.
9. Leaders recognize that establishing and nurturing mentoring networks is essential in high-performing organizations.
10. Leaders utilize the informal network of an organization to receive feedback and monitor the health of the team.
11. Successful leaders create organizations comprised of individuals who have a desire to continuously improve.
12. Leaders work to create an environment among the entire organization that encourages dialogue among peers in an effort to improve themselves.
13. Leaders are comfortable with communication flowing back up to them and how to deal with it once it’s received.
14. Leaders keep the focus of the organization on the true objectives and do not allow the energy of the organization to be spent elsewhere. This does not mean a leader hinders people from exploring new avenues and ideas. It means they don’t allow personal missions to impede the organization’s goals.
15. Leaders continuously review the way things are being done and work to improve them by fostering within the organization a spirit that is not threatened by change.
16. Successful leaders realize the personal impact they make on the people they come in contact with every day. By understanding the sacred role they play in the lives of people, they are more cognizant of how they choose to interact with them.
17. Successful leaders realize you cannot totally separate a person’s work life from their personal life.
18. High-performing leaders are ones who do not merely pass along information. Rather, they filter the information to ensure it’s what the organization needs to know and that it’s communicated in an appropriate manner. This does not mean leaders keep their teams in the dark. A good leader will analyze the information to determine whether or not it helps the organization achieve its goals.
19. Leaders accomplish their tasks through other people, not themselves.
20. Leaders understand how a person’s output is impacted by their attitude.
Copyright 2012, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
