A leader is an individual who leads other people to the achievement of a certain goal. A leadership trait makes a leader to be trusted. Honesty is a trait that requires a leader to be sincere and have integrity. In handling mistakes, a leader should admit failure and allow corrections.
Honesty should be displayed since in most cases people assume their leaders are dishonest. A leader should be forward looking by having visions for the future. The visions should be communicated to the team members.
To have a clear vision for the future, a leader should plan and strategize on things needed so that no empty promise is given to the people. Competency doesn’t mean that a leader knows everything, but decisions made by the leaders should be satisfactory to the people. A leader should be reasonable and morally upright or emotionally stable on whatever he/she does. Intelligence helps a leader to solve challenging matters that others are not able.
Intelligence is acquired through formal and informal learning. An intelligent leader has humility and always helps people to learn without showing off how smart he/she is. Inspiration on people helps them to act beyond a certain boundary and become motivated to achieve something. A leader should show people that everything is possible with a positive attitude. A leader should be courageous in everything he undertakes (Howel and Costley, 2006, p. 104).
Leadership strategies make the leader to be thinking ahead, predictable and be able to solve any issues that arise. Time management is one of effective strategy a leader should have. Time consciousness makes a leader to focus on important things and do them on time. Ability for a leader to measure and improve productivity is important for goal success.
To improve productivity, a leader should have information on what the team members can contribute and issues preventing them from giving good results. Work and personal life balance strategy is important for a leader. Staff should get a balance between the private time and work time without being overworked because it is not healthy for goals achievement. For problem solving strategy, a leader should create a team that will solve problems.
To solve any problem in the right way, a leader should create a solution oriented question for the problem. Leaders should create a strong team to work with. Good team players give critical decision that helps in business growth (Howel and Costley, 2006, p. 107).
Leadership behavior should be good and powerful. A leader is expected to be respectful and treat other people in the right way. A leader should understand and review the needs of the team members. A leader should be persuasive in achieving visions and should always make people believe in the plans.
Some visions are hard to achieve because of challenges that may hinder success. It is important for any leader to have demonstrative character that focus on the plan accomplishment and the end results. A leader should demand for the entire truth and clarity from the team on any issue that need to be addressed.
It is impossible to have decisions on matters with little information. Leaders should not shy off or hide issues with little information because it does not benefit the people. Courage is an effective behavior on leaders. A leader should have enough courage to communicate any bad news to the people. Some leaders fear to admit to people on failed goals because they think they will be rejected. Courage makes the leaders to communicate their mind on touching issues, for example telling a person that his/her contribution in not necessary any more in the team. Courage also makes a leader to take some decisions however risky they are (Lorg, 2007, p.12).
List of References
Howel, J., and Costley, D. (2006). Understanding Behaviors for Effective Leadership.USA: Prentice hall
Lorg, G. (2007). The Character of Leadership: Nine Qualities That Define Great Leaders. USA: B&H Publishers.