Follow The Leader : The Skills And Qualities Of A Good Boss

– Contributed content –

22 March 2018. Strong leadership is essential if your business is going to survive in today market. However, not everyone that is in a positive of power or ownership know how to be the best boss possible. With that in mind check out our short guide below that includes skills and qualities that can be learned and developed to turn mediocre bosses into the best leaders they can be.

To be strong-willed.

One thing that a good leader need is a strong will. This is essential in enabling them to establish their company and vision in the first place. In fact, if they are too dependent on ‘group think’ their original ideas can get lost in the mix, and the result can be watered down.

A good example of this is Steve Jobs who went by the principle that Apple should first design cool things and then convince that they want them, rather than working solely from customers feedback. I’m sure he got quite a bit of resistance when doing this from others around him, but ultimately he was able to stick to his guns, and it paid off. Something you can do by learning to say no, and sticking to it a bit more often.

To be able to listen.

(Robin Higgins, Pixabay)

Strong willed, however, don’t mean ignorant or a leader that refuses to listen to anyone else’s input or opinions. In fact, successful leaders are mostly not bombastic in the way that they go about things. Instead, they are willing to integrate useful changes into the original plan without compromising the whole vision.

Luckily, even if you’re not the best at listening at the moment, it is a skill that you can learn and develop. See this post and the video on active listening below for some help.

To be able to take responsibility.

The most effective leaders are one that can take personal responsibility for what happens in their business. This is something that can be tough to get people to do, especially if they have spent a lifetime blaming problems on underlings and taking credit solely for success.

However, you will be pleased to know that it is possible, there are even leadership training courses designed with this in mind. In fact, by sending your key leaders on a course like this, you can help to kick-start a culture of accountability your company that is way more egalitarian and productive, and usually less hostile to boot.

To be able to be impersonal.

Lastly, a good leader will also have the ability to be able to be impersonal and detached from some things. This includes situations where they have to make redundancies and layoffs and the decision need to based on the advantages to the business and not their subjective option.

Also, leaders are quite frequently under fire from those that they are accountable to be it the board or shareholders, as well as those working under them. That is why being able to separate the valid criticism from the sounding off and more personal jibes can be a real boon in business, making them a much more effective leader and a good role model for everyone else in the company to follow as well.

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