Imagine that you are being honored as the Leader of the Year. What would you want people to say about you? Some questions to ask are:
- What do I believe in?
- What makes me jump for joy?
- What keeps me awake at night?
- What do I want in life?
- What do I really care about?
When you understand these qualities about yourself, you can then live those qualities in your business and personal life. That’s when others will view you as a leader.
Aside from the image you project, you also need to exude key qualities that outsiders perceive as traits of a leader. Over a twenty-year time span, Kouzes and Posner surveyed 75,000 professionals. They asked participants one key question: “What are the qualities required to successfully lead?” The answers the surveyed professionals gave revealed the top ten traits of successful leaders. Following are the top four:
1. Honesty (88%): Honesty means telling people what you know and not keeping key information to yourself. People can tell if you’re withholding something from them, no matter how small or trivial you may think the information is. As you reveal information, you need to be open and let people respond. Therefore, ask open-ended questions to facilitate discussion and let people air their feelings about the topic.
2. Forward-Thinking (71%): People within the organization view true leaders as those who encourage others to go to their own next level. When you’re forward-thinking, you foster an environment of creativity. In order to instill such a culture in your company, have everyone participate in monthly brainstorming sessions regarding the organization’s future. Keep these sessions fun so that people can be open and playful about potential new ideas.
3. Competence (66%): People view you as a competent leader when you’re willing and able to seek out experts on various topics.
