15 Tips for Developing Leadership Skills

We read a lot of information, but still did not find the answer to the question: “How to become a leader?” So, let's figure out who a leader is and what qualities he should have.

In this article we will tell you:

Who is a leader?
Types of Leaders
What qualities should a leader have?
What does a leader do?
What skills and abilities does a leader have?
How to form and develop leadership qualities?
Tips and tricks for future leaders
Leadership Development Exercises

How to identify your leadership qualities

Below are ten signs of a leader.
Rate yourself based on these characteristics. Suddenly you've always been a leader without realizing it! Bend your finger every time the description matches your character. 1) Open-minded: you are open-minded and know how to listen to other people's opinions.

2) Advisor: others often ask for help and your point of view is valuable to them.

3) Responsible: you know how to keep your word, so people trust you.

4) Decent: friends easily tell you their secrets, without fear that you will reveal them.

5) Hardworking: you show by example that you need to work tirelessly.

6) Purposeful: you prefer to act rather than promise.

7) Optimist: you know how to instill confidence in others and motivate them to action.

Respectful: You accept people for who they are. You know how to find the good sides in others and appreciate them.

9) Caring: You care not only about your own well-being, but also about helping others succeed.

10) Enthusiast: You behave confidently and are the first to propose a solution to a problem.

If at least eight points apply to you, then you can consider yourself a born leader. If it's less, don't worry. Leadership skills can be developed.

Daenerys Targaryan from Game of Thrones is an example of a strong leader who aspires to a managerial role. Jon Snow has leadership qualities, but does not want to notice them. But those around him, on the contrary, see him as a leader

Stages of development

Barriers are not all the obstacles you will encounter on your way. Do you want to be an effective leader who never knows defeat? In this case, you will have to go through 5 stages of formation. If you get stuck and stop at one thing without reaching the end, consider that the goal has not been achieved.

Zero level

For myself. Learn to trust yourself, take responsibility for what happens in your life, manage your own emotions.

I level

Micro level. Become a presenter in a group of 3-5 friends. They must recognize your opinions and trust you to have the final say in decisions. Learn to restore order in such a micro-team.

Level II

Situational leader. Learn to take responsibility in problematic situations. For example, when the boss is not there, but you need to receive high-ranking guests. Take a risk and organize their reception yourself at the proper level.

Level III

Golden mean. Gain respect in a team of at least 10 people. Become an authority so they will listen to you. At this stage, you need to become an opinion leader - generate ideas and convince others of their common benefit. They will follow you - the goal has been achieved.

IV level

Macro level, in the team. Set a goal to take a leadership position in an organization with several departments.

So, you know what leadership qualities to develop. We are psychologically prepared to overcome barriers along the way. The stages on the path of self-development have been outlined. Now is the time to move from theory to practice.

What are leadership qualities

The qualities of a leader are a set of knowledge, skills, abilities, and abilities from different spheres of life that allow a person to gather other people around him, lead them, create his own team and effectively manage it. It is impossible to unambiguously name any specific quality that immediately makes a person a leader; leadership qualities are precisely the combination of a large number of different personal, psychological and organizational aspects that coexist simultaneously.

At the same time, it is also not worth expanding the qualities of a leader too much, because, in fact, almost any quality of a person can in one way or another be subsumed under the leadership quality. Therefore, I decided to highlight the main qualities of a leader, which are worth focusing on if you strive to become a leader. They are briefly presented in the following diagram:

As you can see, all a person’s leadership qualities can be divided into 3 areas, each of which contains its own list of qualities:

Personal (personal) qualities of a leader.
Managerial and organizational qualities of a leader.
Psychological and social qualities of a leader.

Now let's look at all these areas and the leadership qualities that relate to them, in order and in more detail.

How to increase self-esteem

To believe in yourself, you must have high enough self-esteem. This will allow you to become more self-confident throughout life, quickly recover from failures, and endure life’s difficulties.

To increase self-esteem, it is recommended to correctly use self-hypnosis formulas and develop in those directions where a person has already achieved certain results.

Learn to accept compliments without forgetting that you deserve them. Be tolerant of yourself, do not criticize for every mistake.

Be sincerely convinced of your own worth

A leader must be charismatic

They talk a lot about charisma, but not everyone manages to explain what this mythical attractive force is that attracts some people to others, even if they are not at all charming and attractive, but “evil geniuses”? Charismatics become captives of their charms and begin to dominate the minds and feelings of those they captivate. They are full of energy, and people in their company begin to experience an emotional uplift.

Most modern people lack energy, they quickly get tired and irritated. They need a source of energy and find it in playing sports or watching sports programs and various TV shows, in caffeine, alcohol, etc. People are also charged with energy from leaders who are able to ignite them, inspire them and captivate them with their idea. A leader needs admirers, admirers whom he will lead.

David Eisenhower, the 34th American president, said that “leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want because they want to do it.”

Where does the leader himself get his energy from?

Modern models of leadership fundamentals

Any leadership model is based on the condition of having power

(formal or informal) and on
influence
, that is, how the leader influences the team in order to achieve the goal and increase work efficiency.

Over the last 100 years, the topic of leadership has been interesting, there are a huge number of leadership models, new concepts continue to develop, but all of them can be divided into three stages according to the chronology of development.

What qualities characterize a leader as a great person? There are many of them, you need to create your own set.

Personality theory

The theory of personality traits is the theory of great people. She argues that a person must have a set of personal qualities that will make him a leader capable of leading people.

In the earliest days, scientists said that leaders are characterized by 5 basic qualities:

Mind or intellect
Dominance or dominance over others
Self confidence
Activity and energy
Knowledge of the matter

But most people who had these qualities remained followers. Later, the theory developed and 4 groups of leadership qualities were identified:

Physiological – appearance, including height, weight, body type and face, voice, health, performance and energy.
Psychological – personality type, temperament, character. They are hereditary and depend on upbringing.
Intellectual – mental abilities, memory, logic.
Personal and business qualities - decency, communication skills, organization, responsibility.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to identify a universal set of such leadership qualities; the list turned out to be endless. The theory suffers from a number of shortcomings, but overall it served as an impetus for the development of a number of other concepts.

What skills affect salary: what is more important, hard skills or soft skills?

Leadership behavior concept

The concept of leadership behavior - states that the effectiveness of a leader is determined by his behavior, leadership style, which can psychologically influence people.

Depending on the behavioral approach, each leader has his own style. For example, Kurt Lewin identified the following leadership styles.

Authoritarian - power is in the hands of the leader; goals, the choice of means and methods to achieve and all communication comes from top to bottom and is not subject to discussion. Effective in the army, police, firefighters.
Democratic – delegation of a number of powers, decision-making is divided into levels, communication in two directions. Effective for creative people and universities.
Liberal – removal of powers from the leader, self-government and horizontal communication. Effective in groups.

D. McGregor's Theory "X" and "Y" focuses the leader on the work and on the person himself. It is good for its simplicity, logic and clarity of motivation.

The Likert system is based on the leader’s trust in his subordinates and distinguishes 4 styles.

Exploitative-authoritarian – relationship in the “Master-slave” style.
Benevolent-authoritarian - relationships in the “Boss-subordinate” style.
Consultative-democratic - relations in the style of “Elected leader - subordinate”.
Democratic - relationships in the “Leader-follower” style.

There is a theory of leader behavior based on rewards. Motivation is built not only on the “carrot and stick” principle. According to this theory, there are 4 types of leader behavior depending on the use of reward and punishment measures.

The most popular, in my opinion, is the concept of behavioral leadership styles by Blake and Mouton. They created a matrix based on two variables of leadership behavior: horizontally - interest in work, vertically - interest in people.

In general, the concept of leadership behavior attracts the attention of managers due to its simplicity; there is a connection between the leadership style and the team itself. But it does not provide flexible solutions in cases of sudden changes in the situation.

The ability to lead, have vision, fearlessness and flexibility are the main qualities of a leader.

Situational Leadership Concept

The concept of situational leadership is based on a combination of leadership qualities and behavior, depending on the situation. A leader must behave differently depending on the group, the professionalism of the employee, the situation, and even the influence of the external environment.

The founder of the approach is considered to be F. Friedler, who developed a scale of characteristics of the most preferred employee (MPE), which helps to form a team.

According to the behavioral model of leadership “continuum of leadership behavior” by R. Tannenbaum and W. Schmidt, 4 styles are distinguished:

exploitative-authoritarian,
benevolent-authoritarian,
advisory,
involved.

According to the House-Mitchell “Path-Goal” leadership model, there are the following management options:

directive,
supportive,
participating,
achievement oriented.

According to the theory of the Hersey-Blanchard Situational Model, leadership is positioned based on the social situation and the following styles are distinguished:

directive,
mentoring,
supportive,
delegating.

The adaptive approach (authors Victor Vroom and Philip Yetton, supplemented by Arthur Yago) is based on the specifics of the team and the characteristics of the tasks. The leader focuses on the problem and the team's involvement depending on its complexity:

sole choice of solution,
takes into account the opinion of staff,
detailed analysis and search for a joint way out of the situation,
dividing employees into groups to make decisions.

And a huge number of approaches. The integral model is characterized by a synthesis of team spirit and charismatic leadership. This model is only for the complete authentic personality.

The concept of transformative leadership is used by leaders-reformers and innovators to unite a team capable of innovation. There are also concepts of charismatic leadership, where the leader takes on the role of a leader. The attributional concept assumes that the manager remotely controls the work, observes and, if necessary, corrects it.

The concept that is closest to me is situational leadership, where the leader himself chooses his style based on the current situation. Whatever leadership model you use, every leader has certain qualities. But again the question arises: which ones?

Who invented coaching and why is it effective? Personal story.

What needs to be done to develop leadership qualities

What qualities should a leader have in order to lead others?
A leader is someone who can identify and keep in mind the ultimate goal, retains the ability to lead a group towards it even under the most unfavorable conditions, and infects others with his faith, energy and passion to achieve it.

Whether a person is born this way or whether the necessary leadership qualities develop throughout life is a question open to debate. But their formation with focused work and perseverance is possible. This is constant work, the work on oneself of a person who is ready to be responsible for others.

Vision of the goal

Define your goal, know clearly where to go and what you want to get at the end of the journey. Be able to build a strategy to achieve your desired goal. To develop this trait in yourself, you need to study the biographies of historical leaders and successful people of our time, get acquainted with classical literature on business building strategy, and observe those who have clearly expressed these qualities.

Plan your every day, analyze in the evening the effectiveness and correctness of your actions. Gradually lengthen the planning period.

Ability to make decisions quickly and accurately

Don't be afraid to make difficult and responsible decisions. To learn how to make decisions, start where the mistake will not be critical and will not violate your confidence in your abilities. Even if it is wrong, this is an excellent reason to learn a lesson about how not to do it. Learn to defend your point of view while being confident that your decisions are right.

Ability to take risks

Don’t be afraid to act in undefined situations; be prepared for the fact that a good result may be unattainable. Be adventurous and ready to take risks. To correctly evaluate a decision, learn to weigh the situation, clearly identifying the pros and cons of all possible scenarios on a five-point scale.

Then you should evaluate your options, recognizing that all decisions are imperfect and you can lose. But every mistake is always an opportunity to learn something new.

Ability to inspire team members

A leader is able to create a team with which it is much easier to achieve goals. It unites people to achieve it and is able to motivate them to work at a level that was previously unattainable for them.

To learn this quality, learn to manipulate people, study the motives that move them. To do this, learn to listen to a person. Listening and hearing are two different things. When talking, you need to fully concentrate on the interlocutor, let him understand that you are listening to him: with gestures, a smile, nods. If necessary, write it down. Learn to initiate discussions among team members, critically evaluate all points of view and extract common sense from them

Such attention to everyone will unite the team

Active work on yourself

Be honest with yourself and others in assessing the negative and positive aspects of yourself, be prepared to change if necessary, because there is no limit to perfection.

Learn consistency, be able to restrain fits of rage and outbursts of hysteria - by doing this, set an example for your team members. Be prepared for criticism. To do this, don’t be afraid to ask what you can improve in your leadership style, keep a diary - it helps you critically evaluate your actions. Provide feedback to team members to help correct behavior.

Don't try to please everyone

Remember that there are no ideas that suit everyone. Don't try to please. Developing leadership skills is about not being afraid of constructive criticism and being afraid of unfair praise - it slows down progress. You should learn to find the positive sides of events.

Improve your health

Working on yourself is hard work. Excellent physical fitness and health are also leadership qualities. To stand out in the crowd:

dedicate at least an hour a day to exercise and sports. Daily physical activity should become a necessity;
get enough sleep - a person who sleeps four hours a day loses clarity of thinking and speed of reaction. Following a daily routine with mandatory good sleep will help you maintain an attractive appearance;
eat regularly - haggard appearance, bags under the eyes do not decorate the leader;
consult a nutritionist and choose the right diet for you. This will ensure high performance;
a mandatory day off, at least once a week should become the norm.

Violation of the diet and diet will immediately affect your appearance and health. Constant fatigue syndrome is a daily companion for violators of these rules.

Exercises for developing leadership qualities from Natalia Fefilova, development director of 404 Group

There are special exercises for developing leadership qualities:

Exercise “My Leaders” - learning to learn from others

Name at least three leaders with whom fate has encountered you.
Rate them as leaders: good, fair or poor.
Now list three main characteristics of each.
From the resulting nine characteristics, choose three that influenced your own views.

Exercise “My Victory” - development of personal integrity and motivation

Remember and write down any of your victories. It doesn’t matter what: play, study, work. Something that happened to you and at which you were better than others. The size of this achievement is not important.

Now, try to understand what exactly you did better than others. What allowed you to be better. It could be a skill or knowledge or understanding of some principle. Write it down.

Now imagine being asked “how did you do it?” Imagine explaining to others how they could be better. Now imagine all those people in your country, on our planet, whom you could help improve their results.

All! You are a leader for a certain part of the people. It doesn't matter how many people you could help. The main thing is that you could already become a leader. And that means you can in the future.

This exercise can be performed several times for different achievements.

Exercise “Elastic band” - developing confidence

This is a fairly well-known exercise that is useful not only for leaders.

Remember the moments when you felt the most confident in yourself. Maybe it was a successful exam, the best result in a sports competition, a performance at a concert, or you simply managed to do something better than others.

Remember a moment when you felt like a hero. Once again, experience it emotionally vividly. Note the supporting symptoms of your confidence.

Put a medical rubber band on your left wrist. Now, repeating the technique described above, if you feel a surge of uncertainty, you need to pull back and sharply release the elastic band, “anchoring” the uncertainty with a painful sensation. The pain blocks her.

Having created a state of confidence in yourself, you need to reinforce them with a positive emotion, for example, drinking a cup of your favorite coffee or eating chocolate candy.

It is enough to work with an elastic band for a month or two and you will be able to give it up, having learned to build confidence in yourself.

If you decide to become a leader, no matter what it takes, don’t stop halfway. Go forward towards your dream, use the exercises we described and increase your self-confidence. I wish you success!

Learn to delegate responsibilities

A leader is not the one who takes on all the work, but the one who knows how to competently distribute responsibilities among subordinates. That is, you need to understand who can do what, who can be trusted with what, and so on. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure high-quality and timely control.

You need to develop this ability in yourself starting from the everyday level. For example, when planning housework, don't do everything yourself. Divide tasks among family members. When organizing an event (as in the previous example with a alumni meeting), shift some of the responsibility to those who most enthusiastically welcomed your idea.

Special cases

In principle, the basic psychological recommendations given above are sufficient. However, some want to achieve a leadership position at work, others want to become the leader in personal relationships, in a couple. Therefore, a few more tips are for such special cases.

At work

If you want to become a leader at work and be liked by everyone:

Perform your job duties responsibly.
Watch your appearance.
Support your colleagues in difficult times, help out, help (but don’t do their work for them).
Show yourself as an initiative person who is not afraid of serious and responsible tasks.
Start small: take charge of organizing a corporate event, collecting money, leading a trade union.
Never gossip about anyone.

It is much more difficult to take leadership positions in a new team. Such a desire may be regarded as bragging and excessive arrogance. Therefore, it is better to wait at least a little time to join the general flow. Show yourself as a confident, professionally competent person, follow the dress code, and establish good relationships with everyone. Believe me, if you have truly leadership qualities, they will definitely be noticed.

Tips and tricks for future leaders

Very often, a future leader does not know where to begin his development. This gives rise to the fear that nothing will work out, and that in general it was a bad idea.

We suggest starting your leadership journey by following these basic recommendations:

Set SMART goals.
Many people fail because they set vague goals and don’t know exactly what they want to achieve. Set yourself an exact goal. Consider the timing and methods of its implementation. Mentally imagine the result and write it down on paper.
Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.
Fear of the unknown often prevents you from taking the first step. Learn to let go of fear. Let's say you are afraid of speaking in front of an audience. Set a goal for yourself to get rid of this phobia. Determine what is difficult for you in this situation and make a plan for implementing the action. For example, give a short presentation in front of colleagues. An important attribute of a leader is the ability to overcome one’s fears. Success can only be achieved through trial and error, overcoming uncertainty, fear of change and failure.
Engage in self-development.
Do you want to become an unrivaled leader? Start attending leadership development courses, read blogs, newsletters of successful people and learn from their experiences. Learn a foreign language and train your memory. Expand your horizons.
Speak publicly more often.
Gaining trust and impressing others with the right, well-spoken language is an important leadership skill. To develop these qualities, you can attend public speaking courses.

You can, of course, not take any courses and study on your own, but by learning from the experts in your field, you can achieve success faster. Remember, nothing is impossible. The main thing is your desire and perseverance.

5 best books for leadership development:

"The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell
. The author questions the phrase “Leaders are born, not made.” In each chapter, the author reveals the essence of the laws of leadership and, using the example of others, shows how you can apply them in your life.
"Turn Your Ship Around" by David Marquet.
The book was written by a nuclear submarine captain. In it, he talks about his experience of changing the mechanism of interaction between crew members and overcoming any obstacles to the cherished goal.
"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey
. An international bestseller for people seeking to develop their potential. The author says that every person can overcome any obstacles by improving themselves and becoming the best version of themselves.
"On the limit.
A week without self-pity” Eric Bertrand. The author’s main idea is to live just 7 days at the limit of your capabilities. In the book, he talks about the intensive program you need to follow to become the best version of yourself. After completing the intensive course, many obstacles will seem like nothing to you.
“Leader’s Charisma”, Radislav Gandapas.
A well-known leadership specialist in Russia tells in his book how you can develop the ability to influence people, motivate, inspire and captivate with a common goal.

3 best motivational films for leaders:

"Wall Street". The film tells the story of a young broker and his stunning ups and downs. He is ready to do anything to achieve success in his career. The film will be useful for those who are unsure of themselves and are afraid of making a mistake. Remember, mistakes build character.
"Harvard Bum."
The film is based on real events. The heroine, who grew up in a family of drug addicts, is trying to get out from the very bottom of her life and she succeeds. She finds the strength to get up and move forward. If you feel like nothing is working out and you're on the verge of despair, watch this movie. Perhaps after watching, you will change your point of view and begin to act.
"The Pursuit of Happyness".
The main character's life is going downhill. The wife left, leaving her little son, and was evicted from the apartment. He gets his dream job - in a trading company. True, I'm still an intern. Constant malnutrition, lack of sleep, spending the night in the toilet and free hostels. He endured everything. He built a business and became a successful millionaire. This film will be useful for those who have lost faith in victory when faced with insurmountable obstacles.

The heroes of these films did not give up. They fought for their destiny, despite hunger, fatigue and failure. There is a lot to learn from them. At different times in your life, when it seems like everything is lost and you can’t achieve anything, watch these films. They will help you cope with despondency and charge you with motivation.

Advice from psychologists

To become a good leader, follow the recommendations of psychologists who specialize in this particular issue:

Set specific goals for yourself and break them down into small tasks. Methodically achieve what you want.
Be proactive, that is, subordinate every reaction to what is happening to your will. Work on your self-control. No one and nothing should piss you off.
Don't be afraid to take responsibility and make big decisions.
Take criticism appropriately.
Don't be afraid of anything new. Take risks. Be flexible, learn to adapt to situations.
Think and care about others. Volunteer. Do charity work. Become a philanthropist.
Develop your IQ. Expand your horizons. Improve yourself in the profession where you want to take a leadership position. Practice rhetoric.
Cultivate self-discipline. Learn to first organize your life, work routine, lifestyle, before commanding others.
A pessimist will never become a true leader. Believe in the best, always be in a good mood, radiate positivity.
Develop physically, take care of your appearance in order to look presentable and command respect just by your appearance.

How to develop leadership qualities in a teenager

Adolescence is one of the turning points in personality formation. It is at this moment that timidity, shyness and isolation may appear, which are not at all conducive to achieving success. To help a child become a leader, parents need to adhere to these recommendations from psychologists.

Treat your teen with respect. Parents should talk to him as equals, ask for his opinion, and ask him for advice. A teenager should feel that something and someone in life depends on him, that he can influence something.
Get him interested in something. Finding a hobby is a great way to help develop leadership skills. For girls - dancing, for boys - sports. Any hobby stimulates you to be better than others.
Involve your teenager in communication. If you are discussing something with your family, be sure to involve him in the discussion. If guests come home, do not let your teenager hole up in his room.
Give constructive criticism. Many parents sin by criticizing the character and personal qualities of their children. It is correct to criticize actions and actions (but not the personality). You should also forget about the habit of comparing your child with others. This will not add excitement and “sports anger”, but may cause the development of an inferiority complex.
Give a certain degree of freedom. Approaching adolescence, you need to gradually wean your child from the fact that you decide and do everything for him. Let him manage his life himself (within reasonable limits). Start with little things like clothing style, hobbies, and so on.
Help develop the right attitude towards defeat. Given teenage maximalism, any failure can be perceived as the end of the world. Your task is to explain to the child that this is an invaluable experience. Analyze the situation together with him in order to draw the right conclusions.

How to stop being shy

Shyness is one of the main negative qualities that prevents one from becoming a leader and preventing one from being realized in life.

In order not to be embarrassed, it is recommended to eradicate habits that interfere with a normal life. Imagine that all your shyness is a program that can easily be rewritten.

Talk to strangers, honing your communication skills on them. It's important to warm up before important conversations. Practice in front of a mirror or on others if you have an important conversation about which you are very worried.

TOP 11 best books for leaders

Reading is a way to spend time pleasantly and usefully. Below is a list of books you need to read to develop your leadership qualities.

Title Description “Emotional leadership. The Art of Managing People Using Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman The author skillfully described how you can manage other people through compassion and empathy. "The Leader Without a Title" by Robin Sharma Canadian author and leadership coach has released a series of books. This work is the result of 15 years of experience in large companies. Throughout the collection he conveys the idea that in order to become a great leader one must first become a great person. Suitable for both new recruits and experienced businessmen. “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, John Maxwell A famous American expert, author of a large number of works with practical advice and valuable knowledge in the field of leadership. He collected fundamental laws that help to become a leader. “How to Become a Leader”, Warren Bennis Another guru and coach in the leadership niche. He writes that the lack of competent leaders is the scourge of our time. Any manager who strives for new knowledge and personal development can become a leader. "Lessons from Great Leaders" by Peter Sims, Bill George The book is based on research that proves that a leader must be an experienced, mature person. Suitable for beginners. “Leader's Workshop”, Antonio Meneghetti A practical guide for leaders striving for big goals, who want to develop new young successful businessmen who find profit where there seems to be none. “Reaching the maximum. 12 principles”, Brian Tracy The author has collected effective methods for business development, which he tested himself. The book charges you with energy and desire to grow and increase your achievements. “Good to Great” by Jim Collins According to Forbes magazine, Collins's work has become one of the best business projects of the last 20 years. It contains practical methods from leading companies. It will be useful to anyone who wants to become a successful leader. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey Based on the author's observations of successful famous people. In it he forms his own commandments and says that under any circumstances it is necessary to be true to one’s principles and ideas. In 2011, the American magazine The Times recognized the book as one of the most influential modern self-development manuals. “Influence and Power”, Nikolay Mrochkovsky, Andrey Parabellum, Alexander Belanovsky A practical guide to creating an effective team, managing, influencing employees. “Charisma of a Leader”, Radislav Gandapas A popular Russian trainer and businessman not only manages to conduct trainings, perform and record video lessons, but also wrote a series of books and made films about how to become a leader

In this work, he describes an important quality - charisma, and tells how to influence people with its help.

In addition to business literature, classics are a must-read. It promotes the development of literate speech and expands vocabulary.

What does a leader look like?

A successful person consists of more than just internal qualities. Equally important is the appearance and image as a whole. Individuals who are leaders by nature tend to look well-groomed and tidy. A successful person can be distinguished by:

stylish business look;
well-groomed hairstyle;
perfectly clean shoes;
expensive accessories.

To ensure your appearance remains at its best, do not neglect these rules:

Start getting enough sleep.
Learn to eat healthy.
Pay attention to sports.

BBQcash experts recommend:
The ideal time a person should devote to sleep is 8 hours a day. If you don't get enough sleep, be prepared for your mental clarity to become clouded and your concentration to be severely impaired. A proper nutrition system has a beneficial effect on both appearance and health. Try to give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits in your food. Sports will help relieve mental stress and relax after a busy day.

A well-known example of a person with developed leadership qualities is Vladimir Putin. Already at the age of 48, he took the post of President.

Article information

This article was co-authored by. Maureen Taylor is the CEO and founder of SNP Communications, a corporate communications company in the San Francisco Bay Area. Helping leaders, business founders, and innovators in all industries improve communication and feedback for over 25 years.

Categories: Personal Development

In other languages:

English: Improve Leadership Quality, Español: mejorar la calidad del liderazgo, Italiano: Migliorare la Qualità della Leadership, Português: Melhorar a Qualidade da Liderança, العربية: تحسين مهاراتك القيادية , ไทย: พัฒนาคุณสมบัติความเป็นผู้นำ, Français: améliorer les qualités de leadeurship, Nederlands: Leiderschapskwaliteiten verbeteren, 日本語: 指導力を改善する, हिन्दी: अपनी लीडरशिप क्व ालिटी में सुधार लाएं, 中文: 提高领导力, Bahasa Indonesia: Meningkatkan Kualitas Kepemimpinan, Tiếng Việt: Cải thiện ph ẩm chất lãnh đạo

This page has been viewed 8429 times.

Was this article helpful?

Not really

How to Show Leadership Skills on a Resume and Interview

Leadership skills can be most effectively demonstrated through real-world examples— in the workplace, in personal life, or in academia.

It's important to not just list the skills you think you have; but show how you used them. From leading a group project to working on weekends.

Try to take a closer look at your past experiences and connect them to specific leadership skills, such as effective communication or creative problem solving.

It is important to be able to explain any examples from your resume. You need to be honest about the skills you have, because potential employers will tell the difference between what you say and how you act.

Professionalism, determination and good communication during the interview itself are all effective ways to demonstrate your leadership skills.

Decide what kind of leader you are.

______

In a group, the leader is a person who has authority among most of its members. In a large community, for example, in a student group or production team, there are always several leaders. Analyze what kind of leader you can be:

1) formal and informal. This is a familiar situation to everyone - the formal leader is the official head of the company, but the informal one sets the tone;

2) a leader - an inspirer who generates ideas and organizes a group around it, or a leading performer who is able to complete the task best;

3) business - the organizer and inspirer of the production process, who knows how to correctly distribute work tasks;

4) emotional – the heart of the group, evoking sympathy and trust;

5) situational - manifesting itself at a critical moment and taking leadership to solve a specific problem;

6) a universal leader who combines all these qualities.

Try to become one of these leaders, use your innate characteristics. Decide what you do best - organize work, generate ideas, or masterfully conduct business meetings. Achieve perfection in this and climb one more step up on the path to your goal.

Leadership qualities, such as the ability to motivate people, allow group members to reveal their potential and push them to do more than they could before. His energy allows you to unlock the hidden resources of others - the personal properties of a person, the hidden capabilities of a group or company. A leader is a beacon that marks the path for others and is followed voluntarily.

______

What does a leader do?

A leader always clearly sees the goal and plans the optimal stages to achieve it. He analyzes and soberly assesses the current situation. Motivates, inspires and controls the team. A leader knows how to admit his guilt for wrong actions. The leader works on mistakes and looks for ways to resolve them.

A striking example of effective leadership is Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple. He was a tough and demanding leader. Jobs was obsessed with making the best products and bringing them to perfection. He paid attention to the smallest details in everything. Steve Jobs charged those around him with enthusiasm. Created an atmosphere of cohesion in the team, where each subordinate contributed to achieving goals. He was one of the world's outstanding leaders.

Psychological and social qualities of a leader

And finally, the last group of leadership qualities, which consists in the leader’s ability to build relationships within the team, within his team, in the social function that he takes on. Let's consider these qualities of a leader.

1. Communication skills. A leader must be able to communicate. And not just communicate, but find a common language with people of different views, different ages, different social groups, different genders, different characters, etc.

This is a very important quality of a leader, which helps him build and maintain his team.

2. Justice. The most important social role of a leader is that he must be fair and provide fair decisions to his team members. People need to know that they can always turn to a leader for advice and help, and get it. A leader for a team is a fair judge who objectively and impartially resolves all controversial situations.

3. Upholding the interests of the team. A modern leader-manager must care not only about his own interests, but also about the interests of his team, and be able to defend them before some external authorities, in the presence of external danger or threat.

4. Creating conditions for self-realization of followers. And finally, the social qualities of a leader should include providing opportunities for self-realization to his followers, his team, and perhaps even “growing” new leaders from its members

This is a very important leadership quality that will always be valued and respected by his followers and successors.

These are the qualities of a modern, good leader. Develop these qualities in yourself - and you, too, will join those who are able to lead. In other posts on Financial Genius, I will go into more detail on how to develop your leadership skills, so join our regular readers and stay tuned.

Do not forget that leaders are not necessarily born (although this is possible), leaders are made, and this is quite real, the main thing is to set a goal for yourself and strive to achieve it

Thank you for your attention and see you again!

What types of leaders are there?

Social psychologists distinguish 3 main types of leadership:

The leader-organizer is an activist, organizes all events and helps resolve most of the team’s problems. Knows how to cheer up and support. Focused on solving the task at hand.
A leader-fighter is ready to defend his point of view to the last. Not afraid to take risks. Takes on complex projects that some may find insurmountable.
A tyrant leader is a powerful and authoritative person. Very often instills a sense of obedience in his subordinates. They obey him without complaint and sometimes even fear him.

Qualities a leader needs

Courage is bold decisions and actions on the way out of failures and difficulties. Controlling yourself in the face of fear, making difficult decisions, and taking actions when there is no guarantee that success will be on your side are qualities of a good leader.
Sincerity. To earn trust, you first need to be honest with yourself. Only then can we say that we are open to other people around us.
Realism. Accept the world as it really is, and not as you would like it to be. This is the golden rule of realism. It is necessary not to allow yourself to be upset because of troubles, and also you should not believe that someone will solve the painful problem for you. Being an example in everything is an essential quality of a true leader. It is common to look up to such people; they are very reliable. If a leader has made a promise, albeit perhaps very tentatively, it is worth trusting that it will be kept.
An analytical mindset is exactly what will make it possible to learn valuable experience from failure. In the future, such “full cones” will definitely come in handy and help avoid possible failures.
Ability and willingness to learn. Personal growth, self-development - all this requires conscious preparation, effort and work on oneself. A leader is one who is always ready for the new and unknown, one who wants to deeply study those nuances that will subsequently make him an even more determined person.

All of these qualities that a leader needs to achieve success must be improved daily.

Who is a leader

The word “leader” translated from English means “going ahead, leading, first.” This is a member of a group of people who is recognized by all other group members as having the right to make decisions and act on behalf of the entire group.

The phenomenon of leadership has always been of interest to psychologists and sociologists. Why do some people inspire trust and a desire to follow them, sometimes even against common sense, while others do not?

The prevailing doctrine in psychology is that a certain set of traits and characteristics makes a person a leader. In total, about a hundred of them have been identified, nine of which are fundamental - we will devote our article to them.

Additional materials for this lesson

You can also read useful materials on leadership in the special “Leadership and Relationships” section of our blog. The topic of this lesson is complemented by the following articles:

How to Arouse Empathy in Others
SMART goals
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Time management or time management for leaders

Please also note that some test questions for this lesson, as well as for the leadership exam, are based on the material in the above articles. Now that we've covered some tips for improving your leadership skills, let's move on to the next lesson.

Now that we've covered some tips for improving your leadership skills, let's move on to the next lesson.

Negative Leadership Traits

Leadership is not necessarily associated with a high position. Some people rise through the ranks and become weak leaders. They became managers having demonstrated competence in their previous position. Then they either failed to cope with the power they received, or reached a level of incompetence. And if they begin to exhibit anti-leadership patterns, then they are called “toxic leaders.”

Such teams fall apart very quickly; loyalty and respect for the leader cannot be maintained based on fear or manipulation. Negative qualities of toxic leaders:

Narcissism
– for example, when developing a personal brand, you should remember why you are developing it. Excessive self-promotion, taking into account the presence of power, can play a cruel joke. Even worse is self-promotion and appropriation of the achievements of others.
Lack of Vision
– Given an infinite number of options, a leader must be able to choose the best one. Assess it in reality and in the future. If a leader has no vision, there will be no strategy, no purpose, no motivation.
Weak system of values
- authorities without values frighten people, people follow them out of fear or in pursuit of profit. It manifests itself through disrespect for people, dishonest behavior, manipulation, inconsistency, and risk-taking.
Incompetence
both professionally and lack of leadership skills. A leader does not have to know everything, but must understand his knowledge gaps and develop them in order to speak the same language as the experts.
Lack of change management skills
– a leader must be able to respond quickly, make decisions quickly, organize and motivate. The world is changing, and with it the market.

What should a leader be like?

Basic leadership qualities are developed at an early age. But if for some reason the parents did not raise them in the child, when he becomes an adult, he can develop them in himself on his own. For example, long-term vision

Every manager must accumulate knowledge and experience in order to anticipate a critical situation and be able to make forecasts, which is very important in business. Listening is another valuable character trait.

A born leader must understand that he cannot be an expert in all areas. Finding the right employees, combining their efforts and achieving the goal is his main task.

A true leader is always self-critical. He knows how to admit his mistakes and apologize if he is wrong. Learning and learning again is the main “commandment” of a leader. The ability to be flexible, adapt, and focus on innovations in a particular area is a guarantee of the success of any enterprise. A true boss must be decisive, energetic and courageous. He is always an example for his subordinates.

Choice of profession

In dreams of leadership, many miss the moment of career guidance. But who you work for can play against you in your desire. Librarian, accountant (even the chief), archivist, forester, clerk, repairman, hairdresser... Without a doubt, these are professions worthy of respect. And yes, you can always grow your career and become a director of a library or archive. But, as psychologists say, all these specialties are too calm, with a minimal level of stress. Therefore, they are not the most suitable field for cultivating leadership qualities.

Here is a list of professions ideal for self-development and leader education:

advocate;
judge;
manager;
director;
teacher;
administrator;
creative director;
clergyman;
insurance agent;
psychologist;
military;
trainer.

All these professions provide a fairly high level of stress, which in moderate doses spurs and gives impetus to self-development. They imply career growth and, accordingly, are fertile ground for leadership.

Traits of a True Leader

The innate qualities of the owner themselves do not automatically make them a leader, but they help them become. The acquired qualities can turn you into an effective leader. But, without some individual qualities, it is difficult to become a real leader that people will voluntarily follow.

Character. Determined in relation to oneself and people, to things and activities. The character trait that immediately identifies a leader is will. The ability to consciously manage one’s behavior and emotions, formulate a goal and concentrate on it. Self-regulate your own activity to achieve results. Basic volitional qualities:

Determination. A leader sees the main thing and does not lose it in many problems and trifles. The ability to concentrate on the expected result is also the ability to plan the path to achievement, as if watching a movie from the end. John Maxwell, who has written dozens of books on motivation, calls this property long-term vision.
Self confidence.
Self-control and courage. A leader's behavior depends on his decisions, not his circumstances.
Independence, determination, perseverance. Ability to make decisions. Take full responsibility and complete what you start, regardless of failures.
Proactivity, initiative, curiosity. Be in the center of things and one step ahead of everyone else.
Performance. Oddly enough, diligence is also a trait of a true leader. After all, in order for the decisions made to lead to the achievement of the goal, it is necessary to work on them diligently and systematically.

Charisma. Exclusivity and personal appeal, inspiring unconditional faith in others in the capabilities of the owner.

The desire to manage people, expressed in organizational skills:

Ability to quickly find a solution to a problem.
Communication skills. The ability to express oneself correctly and accurately.
A true leader will easily create a team. Can select the necessary personnel, find application for their abilities in the context of the assigned tasks, understands the psychology of people. Reveals their talents.
Ability to organize. Give instructions and commands or otherwise influence others. Including manipulating them.
Able to bear responsibility for the actions of subordinates.

Emotional competence. The ability to create an emotional microclimate in a community or team that is most suitable for quickly achieving your goals. Atmosphere is achieved through persuasion, suggestion or contagion. This is helped by:

Faith and passion.
Positive attitudes.
Energy.
Politeness and tact.
Listening skills.
Fairness and rigor.
Ability to punish and reward.
Flexibility of behavior.
Generosity.
Sense of humor.
Eloquence. The gift of persuasion.
The ability to appreciate people.

Competence. It is not necessary to have the highest IQ, but to be effective and successful, you must have some experience and sufficient knowledge to troubleshoot problems and find solutions.
Willingness to take risks. Inextricably linked with intuition and the ability to think analytically.
Reliability and consistency.
Knowing yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. And the ability to work on shortcomings and organically replace them with advantages.
Ability for self-learning and self-education. The desire to develop, not to stop developing. Striving for ideal.

A leader and a manager are not the same thing. The leader is endowed with formal, official power, and the leader is endowed with the ability of psychological influence. Ideally, these two roles coincide.

You can try to cultivate real leadership traits in yourself, because it is not for nothing that the view is widespread that leaders are made, not born.

What qualities should a leader have?

The strengths of a leader are:

Confidence . A leader is always confident in his own abilities and in critical situations he acts boldly and decisively.
Charisma . A charismatic leader is able to make a strong impression on others, charm and inspire success.
Coolness . The ability to remain cool in any situation is one of the main advantages of a leader.
Self-control. A leader must be able to withstand mood swings and be able to pull himself together.
Persistence . In achieving goals, perseverance and perseverance are a plus for a leader.
Determination . A true leader must be decisive and capable of taking reasonable risks. The strong qualities of a leader help him achieve great success in life.

Every person, even a leader, has his own weaknesses. For example, excessive self-criticism or “delusions of grandeur.” The main thing is to recognize your weaknesses in time and start working on them.

Leadership Territory

If a person wants to become a leader in a team, he needs to decide on the territory in which to do this. This could be a school, a separate class, a work team, a student group. Also take into account the nuances:

What are you? If you are in school, the goal is to become class leader. If at work, you need to show your best side and achieve the authority of a team leader. This is a prerequisite for a leader to be able to influence and influence subordinate people.
How to achieve leadership authority in a team. You should take initiative and show your desire to achieve your goals and objectives. Noticing this, higher authorities will appoint such an employee as a manager at work. In an educational institution, this prerogative belongs to the student body.
The desire to become a team leader should be natural, not feigned. You can notice this by the confidence and special energy that a person emits.

By clearly fulfilling the assigned tasks, taking these points into account, you can always become a leader - number one in the team.

How to Strengthen a Leader's Power

A leader in a team always thinks about how to strengthen his authority in the team and strengthen power. There were, are and will always be competitors and envious people. They have a different position, point of view, ideology. Their main task is to discredit the team leader. Fighting such people takes a lot of effort and time, so it is better to eliminate them.

A leader in a team must respect the criticism of the people around him and clearly distinguish which of them is constructive and which is not. It is recommended to listen carefully to the first; it will help you avoid mistakes and make you look at yourself more carefully from the outside. The second type is not constructive criticism; it takes a lot of effort and time. People do not offer any new ideas and solutions, but only “suck” the energy out of you, trying to enter into an argument that is not useful. It is better not to contact them and not have common affairs.

The team leader must have his own ideology. For example, if he is the owner of a store, his main task is to ensure that his employees accurately fulfill their goals, satisfying customers as much as possible. For this purpose, a concept is developed; employees are required to adhere to certain requirements and rules, which are determined by the leader of this team. It is necessary to work out the fundamental points:

decoration of the halls;
clothing for service personnel;
buyer meeting;
customer attraction strategy, etc.

Each of the above points must be strictly followed. Employees must understand why it needs to be done this way. For his part, the leader in the team must be patient, be able to clearly explain the requirements to his subordinates, and stop people’s unseemly behavior. Psychologists advise sometimes putting the team under stress, since such situations mobilize human resources, increasing output.

Tips: how to become a real leader in a team

Not every manager is a team leader. But he will have to learn to be first. Otherwise, employees often ignore the boss’s instructions, carry them out with difficulty, and discuss him behind his back. The chance of success in such a situation is equal to zero. An ideal leader is the head of an enterprise who clearly sees the goal, competently sets tasks, and is able to lead the team. To understand how to be a leader in a team, you need to learn and improve. The path is not easy, but it will definitely lead to success.

Informed means armed

If you plan to become a team leader, you need to know as much information as possible about each employee:

education, age, marital status, professional skills, strong character traits of a person, attitude towards him in the team;
whether there are potential allies in the team;
which people can you count on, who is capable of letting you down;
Is there an informal leader in the team?

A true leader is interested in the problems of his employees, tries to help them, learn about his predecessor, how relationships in the team developed under him. Such information will help direct interaction with the team and with each person in the right direction.

Management secrets

When studying information about team members, it is recommended to simultaneously establish contact with them. Friendly relationships, politeness, and fairness will help with this. You should not immediately show who is the leader in the team. People are repulsed by rigidity, dictatorship, and manipulation. They will stop trusting, and mutual understanding will be lost forever. But it’s also not worth appearing like a kind boss. Team members are required to conscientiously perform functional duties and accurately complete assigned tasks. It is good if a manager consults with his subordinates on certain issues and is interested in the development of a certain situation.

Gaining authority

In most cases, a change in leadership is stressful for the team. Therefore, the leader needs to gain authority among employees gradually. People need time to understand what a boss is like, to understand his requirements, to feel a leader in him. There are situations when subordinates turn to higher management. You shouldn't react too negatively to this. It is necessary to skillfully show your colleagues that you are solving these issues, as you are a leader. It is recommended to introduce innovations gradually.

Leadership is hard work. And only a person who is confident in his strengths, knowledge, and skills is able to competently overcome the obstacles standing in his way.

Workflow organization

A true leader in a team is able to clearly organize the work of his subordinates. To do this, he gets to know the employees, their job responsibilities, and the area of work assigned to each person. In the process of work, the team leader clearly sees the picture. He understands how busy a particular employee is and how effective his work day is. It often happens in a team that one part of the people does the bulk of the work, while the other part is chilling. The leader’s task is to evenly distribute the workload among all team members and find out who prefers to work individually.

A leader in a team is at the same time a manager, organizer, and psychologist. Using his example, he must show his subordinates the ability to organize the work process, correct time management, punctuality, friendliness, and exactingness.

Organizational culture

The effectiveness of a team largely depends on the relationships between employees, their behavior, established rules and requirements. The leader in the team is also obliged to strictly implement them. If the current situation is not clear to him, it is recommended to talk with experienced team members who will help clarify.

If the existing organizational culture in the team is not acceptable to the new boss, it will gradually have to be changed. He may not be satisfied with the clothes that employees wear to work, frequent tea parties and smoking breaks, existing job descriptions, or failure to complete assigned tasks. Therefore, it is important to receive information about each employee and situations first-hand. It is good to time the changes to coincide with some event of the enterprise. This will provide an opportunity to show the invited guests the best sides of the team and make a positive impression on them. And this is the merit of the leader.

From the experience of psychologists

People who strive to become a leader in a team often attend psychological training. The main objective of such classes is to explain to future leaders the understanding of leadership, which consists of managing a group of people and organizing them to achieve a set goal.

Psychologists conduct various experiments in their classes. At one of them, a training participant - a future leader - was asked to write down the opinion of a loved one about his strengths and weaknesses. Over the course of a week, he compiled a list of people with whom he had close relationships. It took him the next week to gather his strength and contact the first person on this list, and then only on the recommendation of the course leader. It was a cousin.

Once the recording was made, all training participants listened to it. When the psychologist asked the cadet to talk about the conversation he heard, he could only convey the general meaning of what was said. Then the training director played the recording again. And only after listening to it again, the participant, without excitement or emotion, was able to fully understand the essence of the statements.

According to the psychologist, for a person who wants to become a team leader, this is a big step forward. He became much more confident, felt his importance, and was able to understand that he could eliminate the barrier of not accepting leadership.

Develop a relationship with your reflection in the mirror

Don't be afraid to undress in front of the mirror and study yourself patiently. This may seem stupid, but you need to be patient. Step by step you will learn to look at yourself without clothes. Ask the mirror: “Do you have the right to judge other people?” When you learn not to hide from your own negative character traits, you will begin to work with them. Over time, an understanding of your own dignity and values will come.

Once you learn to accept yourself as you really are, you will be able to accept people with all their strengths and weaknesses. It is a conscious decision by the leader to study and correct.

Take risks every day

If you want to become a leader in a team, take on everything you haven’t tried in this life:

look for a new, interesting job;
dance;
go ice skating, skiing;
go to the pool;
engage in other exciting activities: sports, creativity, handicrafts.

Public speaking is of particular importance for the development of leadership qualities in any team. Each of them will help reveal a certain side of you - experience previously unfamiliar emotions, teach you how to express yourself competently, clearly express your thoughts, and discover your talent as a speaker. It is recommended that future leaders practice public speaking regularly. But it is advisable to avoid participating in competitions where you will have to compare yourself with others. Such activities are associated with the risk of injury. And then the achieved results of the future leader will not be of paramount importance.