Leadership Skills – An out of the box thinking that can influence.

"He was not perfect. He had his complexities. He was not the only one who suffered in a pre-civil rights America, and there were plenty of other charismatic speakers. But Martin Luther King Jr. had a gift. He knew how to inspire people. Dr. King knew that if the civil rights movement was to succeed, if there was to be a real, lasting change, it would take more than him and his closest allies. It would take more than rousing words and eloquent speeches. It would take people, tens of thousands of average citizens, united by a single vision, to change the country. At 11:00 a.m. on August 28, 1963, they would send a message to Washington that it was time for America to steer a new course. The organizers of the civil rights movement did not send out thousands of invitations, nor was there a Website to check the date. But the people came. And they kept coming and coming. All told, a quarter of a million people descended on the nation's capital in time to hear the words immortalized by history, delivered by the man who would lead a movement that would change America forever: "I have a dream."

The ability to attract so many people from across the country, of all colors and races, to join together on the right day, at the right time, took something special. Though others knew what had to change in America to bring about civil rights for all, it was Martin Luther King who was able to inspire a country to change not just for the good of a minority, but for the good of everyone." -- (taken from 'Start With Why' by Simon Sinek)

Above story is all about leadership. A true leader knows how to attract people, how to inspire people and how to manage people. They don't need any special invitation card or any tools to inspire people. They have that attitude to make followers and thinking to influence them.

There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it. A great leader has the ability to do both, inspire people and manipulate people.

Lion is the king of the jungle. He is neither as tall as giraffe nor as heavy as elephant and even not clever as a fox. Still, he is the king. Because, he has the attitude to rule the jungle. So it is not necessary to be the best quality or best knowledgeable person to become a true leader. Leadership is way of thinking that can influence your followers.

In an organization, leadership skill is very much important to lead any organization to the next level of success. So, to become a true leader to manage the team as well as tasks, leaders have to hold some special qualities.

5 Significant Qualities of a Great Leader:

A great Attitude:

A great attitude is always important to become a great leader for any organization. An attitude means a set of beliefs and emotions. A true leader always protects and manages his/her team with a positive attitude. A positive attitude is very important because it will determine your actions. There is a say that Attitude Reflects Leadership. A positive attitude in the workplace helps employees to accomplish tasks faster and in a better manner.

Communication skills:

Communication skill is significant for the leaders in any organization. A leader with great communication can clearly and succinctly explain to the employees everything from organizational goals to specific tasks. A leader should be master for all form of communication in the organization like one-to-one, within different dept. with clients and all stuff conversation.

A great leader should also be a good listener. They can listen to the employees for any issues and concern. Also, a true leader learns from every part of the organization for their personal growth which makes a big impact for organizational success.

Motivation:

Paying a fair salary is not enough for the employees to deliver quality output all the time. They required proper motivation from the leaders. A leader should know how to motivate his team members. A great leader can motivate employees by giving new responsibility, sometimes rewards or even proper guidance for the future. Motivated employees always deliver more outputs than normal employees.

Creativity:

To be a good leader you have to be creative by your thinking, your decision making ability and by your problem-solving techniques. Employees expect their leader to be an out of box thinker. A great leader can take a great decision at the right time. Great problem-solving skill is very much essential for the leaders to manage issue and conflicts within the organization. Most employees will also be impressed and inspired by a leader who doesn't always choose the safe, conventional path.

Responsibility:

A great leader is responsible for both the success and failure of the team and the organization as well. They accept the blame for any negative thing occurs within the organization.

Along with this, a leader is responsible for guiding the employees as they complete any projects. They are responsible for developing and implementing a timeline to reach the organizational end goal. Some of the ways the leaders ensure they reach their goals are by delegating tasks to their members, including themselves.

 The most important thing to become a great leader is to grow the people skill over the technical skill. There are normal employees who hold 90% of technical skill and 10% of people skill where great leaders hold 90% of the people skill and only 10% of technical skill.

It is sometimes said that great leaders are born, not made. While some people do undoubtedly contain a certain ability to connect with and inspire others, leadership skills can also be nurtured and developed.

By learning to listen, to take initiative, to understand when your instincts should be trusted and to discipline yourself, you stand to improve your role as a leader.