Characteristics of a Prospective Leader
As a prospective leader, I have certain inherent characteristics that I feel will be instrumental in carrying out leadership duties.
Effective Communication
One such trait is the beneficial ability to communicate. A successful leader should be able to accurately and succinctly explain what he expects of the followers with respect to goals and the method of achieving the desired outcomes (Prive, 2012). Excellent leadership skills are instrumental in communicating the mission with followers so that everyone within the organization aligns their efforts with the objectives set. This would be especially important to me by improving the accessibility of the organizational objectives. Likewise, the followers will comprehend what is expected of them so that they are guided in their work.
Confidence
Another leadership attribute is confidence. Leadership is often characterized by challenging situations. In such times, it is essential to keep calm and stay focused. Through such, it will be possible to keep my team, as the leader, confident as well. Typically, the followers tend to draw inspirations from the leaders. When a leader acts unconfidently, the same is likely to be replicated to the followers which may compromise team performance.
Areas for Improvement
Despite the desirable qualities, there are areas that I need to improve on in readiness for leadership roles in the future.
Teamwork Skills
I need to improve my teamwork skills. In my life, I have reluctantly engaged in teamwork due to the view that some members of the team may take advantage of others. I see this as a significant hindrance to the delivery of leadership responsibilities. As noted by Pirouz (2017) in an article, trusting and remaining connected to a team motivates the members. Such leads to success in the accomplishment of various tasks in the organization.
Influential Approach and Listening Skills
Additionally, I need to adopt an influential rather than command and control approach in the engagement with the followers. To achieve this, I will need to improve my listening skills so that I take into account the concerns of the followers and motivate them to deliver in their respective roles.
References
Pirouz, A. (2017). 8 Characteristics of Great Leaders. HuffPost. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
Prive, T. (2012). Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader. Forbes. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
