7 Signs of a Successful Leader in the Workplace - By Alma Causey

What does it mean to be a successful leader in the workplace?

No, it does not involve your ability to delegate or getting tasks done.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a leader of your own team? Looking into the definition of leadership, sometimes it is easier to learn what it is not. Being a leader is:

• Not about your position or your seniority
• Not about your personal attributes
• Not about management

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality – Warren Bennis

The students of today will become leaders of teams or organizations tomorrow. But there are certain characteristics that you will need to lead successfully. There are more than 50 qualities identified as important to being a good leader, but the following seven are essential.

The best part? Each of these leadership qualities can be learned with practice and repetition.

1. Successful leaders can look into the future

Great leaders have a clear vision of where they are going and what they are trying to accomplish. This clear vision is what separates leaders from managers. While a manager gets the job done, leaders tap into the emotions of their teammates.

Here is an example: Brilliant people—people who change the world—are said to have a reality distortion field, which is defined as “a phenomenon in which an individual’s intellectual abilities, persuasion skills and persistence make other people believe in the possibility of achieving very difficult tasks.”  Steve jobs was famous for his ability to distort and to accentuate perception in his co-workers. He inspired everyone around him to see the world in a new way, engaged their attention and presented them with an alternative universe. He made people believe in his purpose.

2. Successful leaders are courageous and bold

Being a courageous leader means that you are willing to take risks for the achievement of your goals, despite the fact there is no certainty of success in life or business. Every commitment you make and every action you take means you are entailing a risk of some kind. Among these seven leadership qualities, courage is the most outwardly identifiable of a successful leader.

3. Successful leaders always value integrity

When asked, almost all corporate executives agreed that integrity is the most precious asset of a company and the man leading it. It is important to maintain complete honesty in everything you are doing as a leader of an organization, both internally and externally. The core of integrity is truthfulness, it requires that you always portray the truth in every situation. Integrity is the foundational quality of trust which is necessary for the success of your team.

4. Successful leaders are humble

Great leaders are those who are not just strong and decisive, but also humble. Humility means that you have self-confidence and self-awareness to recognize the value of others without feeling threatened. It means that you are willing to admit that you could be wrong, that you may not have all the answers all the time. This also means that you give credit where the credit is due.

5. Successful leaders are good at strategic planning

Successful leaders have the ability to look ahead and to anticipate with some accuracy where the organization is going. For you to become a good leader you must anticipate the trends well in advance of your competitors. You have to continuously ask questions, based on what is happening, what the organization is aiming for and where it is likely to be in three months, six months or a year. Leaders who aim for organizational success along with their clients, understand the requirements of their team through thoughtful strategic planning.

6. Successful leaders never stop learning

The not-so-secret trick of “never stop learning” is applicable for anyone who wants to be successful. The word “learning” here can be taken literally and metaphorically.

Here is an example: A young man joins an organization, he is quite talented and has a potential to be a great leader someday, but lacks in qualification. This young man can gain an understanding of plenty of new things along this journey and slowly climb up the ladder of success, but perhaps some of his peers might not respect him. For this man to be a successful leader he would continue to learn in both ways, he would learn from his experiences and perhaps even continue to get his education to earn the respect of his teammates.

7. Successful leaders never lose focus

An accomplished leader always focuses on the needs of the company and the situation. They focus on the result of what must be achieved by themselves, by others and by the company. They center their attention on the strengths of themselves, their teammates and the organization.

To sum it up:

Characteristics of an unsuccessful leader

• Their attitude about themselves is arrogant
• When they need something done, they command
• They are authoritarians and oppress those around him
• Everything they do is self-serving
• They prefer to talk, rather than listen
• Always discourages their peers
• Characteristic of a successful leader
• They are always humble around others
• A true leader always inspires other to do their best
• They strive to be democratic and stimulates others
• They are intentional and serve others
• They make sure to listen to others
• They inspire their peers

About the Author

Alma Causey is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.