What qualities does an organizational leader possess?

A leader has got multidimensional traits in him which makes him appealing and effective in behavior. The following are the requisites to be present in a good leader:

1. Physical appearance- A leader must have a pleasing appearance. Physique and health are very important for a good leader.
2. Vision and foresight- A leader cannot maintain influence unless he exhibits that he is forward looking. He has to visualize situations and thereby has to frame logical programmes.
3. Intelligence- A leader should be intelligent enough to examine problems and difficult situations. He should be analytical who weighs pros and cons and then summarizes the situation. Therefore, a positive bent of mind and mature outlook is very important.
4. Communicative skills- A leader must be able to communicate the policies and procedures clearly, precisely and effectively. This can be helpful in persuasion and stimulation.
5. Objective- A leader has to be having a fair outlook which is free from bias and which does not reflects his willingness towards a particular individual. He should develop his own opinion and should base his judgement on facts and logic.
6. Knowledge of work- A leader should be very precisely knowing the nature of work of his subordinates because it is then he can win the trust and confidence of his subordinates.
7. Sense of responsibility- Responsibility and accountability towards an individual’s work is very important to bring a sense of influence. A leader must have a sense of responsibility towards organizational goals because only then he can get maximum of capabilities exploited in a real sense. For this, he has to motivate himself and arouse and urge to give best of his abilities. Only then he can motivate the subordinates to the best.
8. Self-confidence and will-power- Confidence in himself is important to earn the confidence of the subordinates. He should be trustworthy and should handle the situations with full will power.
9. Humanist-This trait to be present in a leader is essential because he deals with human beings and is in personal contact with them. He has to handle the personal problems of his subordinates with great care and attention. Therefore, treating the human beings on humanitarian grounds is essential for building a congenial environment.
10. Empathy- It is an old adage “Stepping into the shoes of others”. This is very important because fair judgement and objectivity comes only then. A leader should understand the problems and complaints of employees and should also have a complete view of the needs and aspirations of the employees. This helps in improving human relations and personal contacts with the employees.

From the above qualities present in a leader, one can understand the scope of leadership and it’s importance for scope of business. A leader cannot have all traits at one time. But a few of them helps in achieving effective results.

Leadership is a vital aspect for development and success of any business organization.

Leadership is one of the most important aspects in any business organization as it determines the overall success of the particular organization in all key activities and functionalities ("The Importance of Leadership Skills to Organizational Success" 2018).

When a business fails to achieve its key objectives, leadership or senior management carries the blame and when an organization triumphs in their overall operations and functionalities, the success is attributed to the leadership. Therefore, the success or failure of any business organization, group, community, or government depends on the leadership applied in the particular organization’s functionalities. Effective leadership results to the success, sustainability, development, and growth of the groups or organizations. Onn the other hand, bad or poor leadership styles and approaches result to the failure of business organizations and groups in achieving their key objectives.

Leadership in the modern technological world is not an aspect that depend on wealth, social class, or political influence but a personal attitude and willingness to make better environment or a group from the situation or level in which they are to greater levels (Furnham and Crump 2015).

Leadership traits cannot be forced or induced in an individual base on their status quo but depend on the desire and willingness to motivate others and improve poor conditions into a modern and beneficial stage and status that will ensure that all participants benefit. The phrase that “leaders are not born but made” is a strong argument because one cannot be forced to be an effective leader without the personal willingness to make others better (Furnham and Crump 2015). It is therefore, important to understand key traits of leadership that guarantee overall organizational success alongside the success of individuals in the particular organization. 

Traits of Effective Leadership

The traits that an effective leader should possess has been an issue that has raised controversies in the recent history. According to research studies, effective leaders are supposed to be different from other people because possession of certain traits does not make one an effective leader. Therefore the overall drive, motivation aspect, alongside integrity and honesty pay a key role in determining the effectiveness of any particular leader (Patel 2018).

The following are 5 key leadership traits that any business’s organization leader should internally possess for overall organizational success. 

Self-managing Skills

Leaders act as role models to their subordinates in every aspect or activity that they take part in or perform. Therefore, being looked upon for guidance and advice, effective leaders should portray effective self-management skills. By self-management, a leader should show self-control, resilience, and self-awareness. With the traits, the leader will effectively manage their stresses to ensure their emotional feelings do not affect their decisions or the way they react or deal with others. Therefore, being disciplined alongside ensuring that one understands their strengths and weaknesses ensures that a leader acts in a constructive and appealing manner worth a follow or imitation from others ("The Importance of Leadership Skills to Organizational Success" 2018). When a leader has self-management traits the subordinates tend to follow their trends hence resulting to overall organizational success especially on performance and ethical performance aspects of business.

Effective Communication Skills

Although communication is a vital aspect in any business organization, the communication traits possessed by a leader are vital in determining the organizational success. For an effective leader, communication does not only involve sending messages and orders to the subordinates and sitting back waiting for their responses (Budish, West and Gasser 2015).

Effective leaders should ensure that the communication process is two-way whereby they find time to listen to their subordinates and consider their views, suggestions, and grievances. With the trait, leaders ensure that the entire workforce is satisfied with any decision that is made because the leader finds time to interact with them hence a sense of appreciation and involvement in any business process. Therefore, effective communication traits from a leader ensure overall success of the particular organization in all functionalities and operations.  

Team-building Skills

Leaders are tasked with creation of teams for a particular business project or activity. To ensure successful and reliable teams, leaders should portray effective team building traits that ensure application of transformational and participative leadership strategies and approaches. Selecting a team is not a hard responsibility compared to building the selected team to achieve its potential. Through transformational traits leaders should ensure that they work with the particular team to achieve both individual and organizational goals (Boga and Ensari 2009). While making individual team members better in skills and experience, leaders should participate in activities that he team is tasked with to ensure high team morale and motivation.

Teams with transformational and participative leaders have high performance levels that ensure achievement of the team’s objectives and overall success of their organization. 

Learning Agility

Effective leaders know that they have to add knowledge and experience to ensure they adapt to changes to the overall success of their organizations. Therefore, the desire to learn and grow from leaders, enhance their organization’s ability to adopt modern applications and technological innovations that result to overall development and sustainability of their business organizations.

Effective Conflict Management

Conflict and misunderstandings are inevitable in any business organization. Diversity and ideological differences within the workforce result to conflicts. Therefore, an effective leader should have skills and traits to help in handling such conflicts without destroying relationships. Through understanding and cooperative measures, an effective leader works to ensure that the best solution for both parties is obtained alongside using the conflict for the overall success of the organization. 

Conclusion

Leadership is a vital aspect for development and success of any business organization. Effective leadership skills and traits ensure organizational success while poor leadership skills and strategies lead to the overall failure of the particular business ("Top 5 Organizational Leadership Skills Leaders Need" 2018). The discussed leadership traits ensure cooperation, understanding, high performance, and quality delivery of services resulting to organizational success. 

Author: Asma Talal Hamdan

Bibliography

Boga, Ilir, and Nurcan Ensari. 2009. "The Role Of Transformational Leadership And Organizational Change On Perceived Organizational Success.". The Psychologist-Manager Journal 12 (4): 235-251. doi:10.1080/10887150903316248.

Budish, Ryan, Sarah Myers West, and Urs Gasser. 2015. "Designing Successful Governance Groups: Lessons For Leaders From Real-World Examples". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2638006.

Furnham, Adrian, and John Crump. 2015. "Personality And Management Level: Traits That Differentiate Leadership Levels". Psychology 06 (05): 549-559. doi:10.4236/psych.2015.65053.

Patel, Deep. 2018. "11 Powerful Traits Of Successful Leaders". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/deeppatel/2017/03/22/11-powerful-traits-of-successful-leaders/#11b34450469f.

"The Importance Of Leadership Skills To Organizational Success". 2018. NEJM Catalyst. https://catalyst.nejm.org/importance-leadership-skills-organizational-success/.

"Top 5 Organizational Leadership Skills Leaders Need". 2018. Lewis University Online Degrees. https://online.lewisu.edu/maol/resources/top-5-organizational-leadership-skills-leaders-need.