FAQs: What qualities are necessary for effective leadership?

Inspiring leadership can bring about great changes. To become a great leader, you must bear in mind that communication is of paramount importance, with a strong emphasis on being able to both listen and talk well. A good leader will be able to convey effectively information about what they require from a team as well as to discern the needs of the team by understanding, and taking on board, their comments.

The ability to motivate other members of the team is a key function of leadership. Allocating tasks that build on team members’ strengths will raise morale and feedback needs to be given constructively. Gaining the trust and confidence of co-workers will help the leader win respect.

As well as direction and persuasion, leadership should involve trusting team members and encouraging their ideas. A leader should be able to utilise the team’s skills and experience and recognise the expertise each member of the team brings.

An effective leader needs to know each individual member of a team. The leader needs to be aware of their roles and understand them as people and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Leaders should also be prepared to admit their own weaknesses, as this will build better relationships than believing you are infallible.

A good leader will then combine these skills of being open and receptive with decisiveness and the ability to tackle difficult issues assertively.

Being a leader is not necessarily suited to every one, some people prefer to work in more creative or production orientated role.

You may be interested in doing some psychometric/aptitude tests and personality inventories which provides information about the different types of tests that you may encounter in an interview situation. These tests will provide an indication of how you can develop your skills to match the type of qualities employers are looking for when searching for the leaders of tomorrow.