7 Key Traits of an Aspiring Leader.

by | Mar 11, 2012 | Employers Tips

Strong leaders tend to comprise of certain personality traits which allow them to rise through challenges, bring back a drowning company, or instil a sense of confidence  and energy among employees. There seem to be seven personality traits are most leaders have and make them to be the type of leaders that their industry, and the world respect.

Ambition: It is a drive for an individual to achieve something visible and noteworthy. Ambition is something that is almost a requirement for any strong leader but it needs to be a good balance of ambition combined with reality and integrity so that it doesn’t lead to over-ambition and the leaders inability to see the truth.

Drive and Tenacity:  Leaders that are well respected have something inside of them that pushes them to continue working on an idea or to come up with solutions to problems. They have high energy and will not give up until they have reached a solution. It is also this high level of drive and tenacity which can cause a leader to refuse to admit something isn’t working or to stay connected to outdated assumption. Therefore again, a strong leader has the balance to remain focused and enthusiastic, but also to see when a plan has to be altered or updated.

Self-Confidence: A confident leader is able to listen to their inner voice, and rely on themselves when making an important decision. They must be able to speak their mind, act decisively, defend their actions or take on the consequences of making the decision.

Psychological Openness: A great leader is someone who is open to diverse opinions in order to have more information at their disposal when making decisions. When the leader of the organisation is open, this openness then spreads throughout the organisation’s culture and benefiting employees. Leaders that are not open to ideas instead have no one to bounce ideas off to or have information that counters their ideas and thereby creates the organisational culture which is closed off and distant.

Realism: As mentioned before, a strong leader will be someone who is able to handle whatever reality throws at him or her. A realist wants to have unfiltered information, no matter how positive or negative, so that it can be evaluated and tested to determine the next steps. A strong leader wants to hear both the good and the ugly about their company, as this is how they can make it better.

Appetite for Learning: A strong leader only gets better with time due to exposure to diverse situations with increasing levels of complexity, and related to that understands the importance of staying current with the latest knowledge and ideas. These types of leaders are constantly learning from other great leaders, taking the ideas that work in other organisations and applying it to their own company. Leaders who seek out new experiences and learn from them will build their know-how’s faster than those who don’t.

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