Being a leader is not an easy task. It’s extremely hard to lead people when you can’t even lead yourself. To be the best leader, one must have good leadership skills and know-how to handle situations under pressure.
We have compiled a list of the top 10 leadership skills that will help you become a great leader in your workplace and at home. This guide will teach you everything from teamwork, communication, conflict management, and more.
What are Leadership Skills?
The term leader is not only confined to the king or president of a country. Every person has leadership qualities inside him/her. Every individual at some level can be a good leader, but it takes effort, time, and patience to bring out those traits.
Every effective organization requires an efficient team working together towards the same goal. A good leader knows how to manage his employees in such a way that they are more productive and gainfully employed.
Leadership skills are extremely important for managers, businessmen & entrepreneurs who lead teams on a daily basis to achieve organizational goals efficiently. Moreover, leadership skills can be used appropriately in personal life as well.
A good leader knows how to handle all sorts of situations and lead his/her family with ease.
Who Needs Leadership Skills?
People working in any organization, irrespective of their job profile, need leadership skills. From a school teacher to a bank manager or a team leader at work, everyone needs effective leadership skills for the overall development and growth of an individual.
Leadership skills are needed by entrepreneurs and business professionals who want to run & manage their own companies successfully. This can be done without facing too many problems from employees when it comes to achieving organizational goals within the shortest possible time frame.
This means that everyone, whether at work or personal level needs to have good leadership skills. Every person with effective leadership qualities has the power to lead his/her life happily and smoothly.
Top 10 Leadership Skills
1. Communication Skills
A good leader speaks with a sense of what he/she wants from his followers. To become a good communicator, one must have effective communication skills which can be attained by having better listening capabilities, speaking without any hesitation, and making people feel comfortable being around you.
A good leader will always have an unbiased opinion about things going on around him/her, but will never use it as a weapon against others so that they work more efficiently for the organization/team or family.
2. Motivation Skills
Every individual wants recognition for his/her work, but it’s the leadership skills of a good leader that motivate them to lead their lives with confidence and satisfaction.
A good leader motivates his followers by making them feel comfortable around him/her, keeping them updated about what is happening at present in the organization or personal level, sharing his vision about how he thinks things should be done, and more importantly acting as an effective guide.
Also, great leaders give credit to everyone who contributes towards the success of an organization, whether it’s their team or family. This is motivating for their followers and makes them more productive.
3. Delegating
A good leader cannot do everything by himself/herself. To make the work organized and progress faster, a leader must be able to choose the right people for the right tasks and delegate his/her responsibilities effectively.
This way everyone is accountable to one another and no individual efforts go unnoticed. This all leads to a more productive workforce. Delegating entails choosing the right people for the right task which can be done only by understanding their working capabilities, intelligence level, and more importantly their interest in doing particular tasks.
4. Optimism
Good leaders are always optimistic about everything that they perform or plan to do on a daily basis. They believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today and know how to inspire others around them by their excitement & passion towards their work or personal affairs.
Being an optimist does not mean that you will not face any problems in life but knowing how to overcome those with ease is what makes you an effective leader who can handle all sorts of situations with confidence.
5. Self-Awareness
A good leader always knows his/her strengths and weaknesses which can be attained by having deep insight into one’s thoughts & emotions. To know what they are doing right or wrong, effective leaders keep an eye on how he/she behaves with people around him/her, motivate others who work under them and the way they respond to frustration and failure, etc.
By keeping track of all these things a good leader can improve their leadership skills every day. Self-awareness is a quality that makes you learn from your own mistakes and develop a better version of yourself. It helps in making yourself more comfortable at your workplace as well as in your personal life.
6. Ownership & Accountability
A good leader takes full responsibility for whatever he/she has done or planned to do. They know that even if things go wrong it’s because of their own mistake and act wisely to rectify the situation either by themselves or ask for help from their team members.
A good leader will never run away from a problem, instead of face it like a man/woman with courage and confidence. Good leaders are always accountable for their words and actions which makes them trustworthy among people who work under them.
7. Problem-Solving Skills
We all know that effective communication skills make you an effective communicator but it doesn’t mean that your job is over after making someone understand what they want through your words.
A good leader always knows how to tackle different people with different opinions and needs to know the art of resolving conflicts around them by making both parties understand their point. No matter if they are employees, customers, or owners/investors, a good leader is aware of the art of problem-solving.
8. Integrity
Integrity is one such quality that makes an individual trustworthy among other members of society as well as the workplace. It helps individuals obtain respect from others who work under him/them without any hesitation.
An effective speaker must possess this trait because it builds trust and confidence among their followers which leads everyone on the right path through their motivational words.
9. Detail Oriented
One of the most important skills that effective leaders possess is being detail-oriented. They are aware of everything that’s going around them no matter how small it is and take immediate action if something goes out of control or they find a loophole in their plan.
Good leaders understand time management as well as how to balance work with home life effectively by keeping an eye on every minor detail so nothing gets left behind.
10. Decisiveness
A good leader always makes quick decisions in critical situations to save the situation from getting worse. Even if they are not 100% sure about their decision, they will take action right away rather than thinking for a long time.
Overthinking may lead to making mistakes which can be very costly for your project or business. These are some of the important skills which make an individual a good leader. In general, these qualities can only be attained by constant practice & training.
More Essential Skills for Leaders
When it comes to business, leaders are the ones who make or break it. The success of a product or service largely depends on the skills of leaders at every level in an organization, but unfortunately, not all leaders are equipped with the right skill set.
There are also other skills that are also important when it comes to leadership skills. While not as high priority as the above, they are also worth mentioning and can be skills that a leader works on developing to become a better version of himself/herself every single day.
1. Always focusing on improving work-related skills
This is one of the most important skills to be a good leader and one that is often overlooked. In addition, other life skills should also be considered. Just because a leader is at work, it doesn’t mean that leaders should not focus on improving other skills as well.
Sharing ideas is always a great way to improve skills. It has been seen that people prefer open discussions when it comes to sharing ideas because by presenting their views they also get to know new things which may prove beneficial for them in the future.
Having an open discussion or debate can help you gain knowledge by understanding different kinds of perspectives regarding a single topic.
2. Flexibility
Being flexible is a leadership skill that is associated with being adaptable or versatile to face any situation. It is very important for leaders because they have to be one step ahead of their followers and adopt new ideas.
This may seem silly initially but could prove beneficial later on. Moreover, flexibility also increases an individual’s capability to lead people from different cultures because it enables them to understand things from different perspectives.
3. Analysing the root cause of an issue
While many leaders are aware of how to resolve issues that occur around them, what makes them stand out among other members of the team is their ability to find out where this problem came from.
This often requires finding out details like time, place, and people who were present when an issue occurred. This technique is so widely used because it enables a leader to connect the dots and would lead them to a solution that could have been very difficult if they were not able to trace back the root of the problem.
4. Business Acumen
Being business savvy or having business acumen is one such important skill that every leader should possess, as it helps them to understand where their company stands in relation to the competition.
Moreover, it also helps them to predict future business trends and make strategic decisions which often prove beneficial for their overall growth. Having business acumen or being business savvy is not an easy job but it can be developed over time with practice.
5. Not tolerating bad behavior
Leaders are expected to set examples of good behaviors by encouraging others to follow them as well. What makes a leader stand apart from other leaders is that they are not tolerant of any kind of bad behavior that one of their team members may have towards another colleague or even towards themselves.
This makes them more responsible in front of everyone (i.e. their followers, peers & seniors) because they only motivate people towards betterment rather than tolerating their negative behavior.
6. Handling multiple projects simultaneously
While some people may find this skill difficult or nearly impossible due to their nature of being narrowly focused on a single task at a time, having such capabilities enables you to move towards success much faster.
Moreover, people can learn this skill with practice and by taking help from others who have a knack for handling multiple things simultaneously.
Importance of Leadership Skills
Leaders need to focus on developing leadership skills because it not only helps them to understand their potential better but also helps them in motivating and gaining respect from the people they lead.
Moreover, leaders who possess good leadership skills are often preferred over those who do not possess such skills. This all comes down to having better capabilities of showing empathy towards others as well as anticipating things that can go wrong.
List with 10 Benefits of Leadership Skills
The following are 10 benefits that come with developing leadership skills:
- Ability to motivate people
- Deliver better outcomes
- Identifying and filling gaps in your team
- Acquire better decision-making capabilities
- Gain respect from people everywhere you go
- Ability to get things done without being told
- Build positive relationships with everyone around you
- Get more chances of attaining promotions faster
- A good leader can inspire others towards success
- Get better at one’s job and have more fun doing it
How to Identify Your Leadership Skills?
Step 1: Start by Observing How you Lead Others
By observing how you lead others, you’ll be able to understand what kind of leader you are. Keep in mind that this is just an initial step, which will help you narrow down your choices while identifying your style of leadership.
Step 2: Prioritize the List
After observing how you lead others, prioritize your results by marking them on a scale from one to ten according to how similar it is to your current style of leadership. Once again, remember that this is only an initial assessment, which can help you reduce the number of styles to choose from.
Step 3: Identify Different Styles of Leadership
There are many different types of leadership styles, but more often than not there are three broad categories that most people fall under autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, and laissez-faire leadership. Identifying the category you fall under will make it much easier to identify your style of leadership.
Step 4: Assess your Results Again
After having identified your style of leadership, re-assess all of the styles that you initially eliminated and ask yourself if any one of them seems more like you than the others.
This time around, however, try not to compare your results because every person’s results are different. The idea here is to figure out which style best reflects who you are as a leader. If none seem particularly familiar, move on to Step 5.
Step 5: Analyze Everyone Around You
If by this point in time none of the styles reflect you as a leader, then chances are that you possess a mixed kind of leadership style. By being observant in different situations (especially tough ones), you’ll be able to understand which style best suits you.
How You Can Build & Develop Leadership Skills
The following are some methods that can be used to develop leadership skills:
Take initiative
Employees are not paid to sit around waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Taking initiative is something that should be encouraged by all employers because it can greatly help you improve your leadership skills.
This means stepping outside of your comfort zone whenever the situation calls for it and taking charge of whatever needs to be done, instead of simply handing the task over to someone else.
Target specific skills
Different people have different strengths, which means they excel at certain things more than others. As such, it is best if you develop your leadership skills by targeting those areas in which you feel confident enough to lead others effectively.
For example, if you’re good at getting people together and encouraging them toward a common goal despite their differences, then perhaps you should consider leading a team of people who are all working toward the same objective but hold completely different opinions about how to go about achieving it.
Increase learning
As is true with most types of skills, leadership is something that you’ll find becomes sharper and easier if you practice it often. Therefore, one way for you to further improve your leadership skills is by enrolling in leadership training courses.
Not only will these courses help you learn more about various ways of influencing others, but they can also help boost your confidence as a leader by helping you discover hidden talents otherwise untapped by fear or apathy.
Build on strengths
Your job as an aspiring leader should be to focus on developing those areas where you feel confident enough to lead others effectively. This means that if you’re not great at building rapport with people or motivating them, don’t make it your main focus to try to become good at it.
Instead, focus on developing your natural strengths and using these strengths to the best of your abilities.
Avoid focusing on weak areas
Rather than spending too much time worrying about how to improve your weaknesses, focus instead on concentrating your efforts on improving your skills in the areas where you feel confident enough to lead others effectively.
Trying too hard to develop skills in areas where you are naturally lacking is only likely to make things harder for both yourself and those around you because chances are that you will end up leading them down the wrong path by mistake.
Share leadership responsibilities
The idea of one person doing all the work, while everyone else just stands back and watches in awe is something straight-up noble, but it’s also completely unrealistic.
This means that you should never try to hog all the glory because doing so will only make your team resent you in the long run. Instead of trying to be a one-man show, prioritize building relationships with others by encouraging them to take up leadership roles whenever possible.
Showing empathy
Being able to empathize with others simply means that you can imagine things from their perspective, which is one of the most effective ways of influencing them to feel positive about what they do.
When it comes to improving your leadership skills, demonstrating empathy for those working under you will help ensure that they feel appreciated and valued by you, which can inspire them to work harder toward achieving shared goals.
Be a good role model
As a leader, you should be setting the example for those who report to you by always working hard and never showing signs of complacency. To become more effective at leading others, you must start this process by demonstrating that hard work will pay off in the long run through your actions.
Work ethic is contagious, so set an example by working hard yourself, rather than trying too hard to inspire others because chances are they’ll simply lose focus when faced with someone who appears much stronger or faster than them.
Set high standards for performance
Leaders are judged by their team members not only on how well they lead them toward achieving shared goals but also on how well they help each team member improve upon their existing skills.
If you plan on improving your leadership skills, you must attempt to set a high standard for performance by constantly looking for new ways of doing old tasks or finding new tasks altogether which can help improve not only your performance as a leader but also those of those working under you.
Show confidence in your team members
When it comes to your team members’ ability to handle their responsibilities, you should be focusing on building confidence in them by reassuring them that they are capable of achieving great things if they put their minds to it.
Providing ongoing feedback is the best way for you to boost morale among your team, so ensure that everyone knows exactly what they need to do to improve. Be patient when giving feedback and avoid discouraging others because this will only make it harder for you to become better at leading people.
Ensure all team members have access to resources needed to do their jobs well
Leaders who fail to improve their leadership skills often underestimate the importance of providing all necessary resources for those working under them. The right tools can help increase productivity and reduce the amount of time needed to complete tasks.
Ensuring your team members have access to all resources required to do their jobs well will also help them feel more secure in knowing that they’ve got the skills and tools they need to get the job done successfully.
Provide regular feedback on the individual and collective performance of your team/workers
Your employees want to know that you’re always watching over them, even if this means providing feedback here and there. Make it a point to provide regular feedback on both the individual and collective performance of your workers; this way, everyone knows exactly what they’re doing right or wrong at any given time.
Feedback is important because it helps your team members improve upon existing skills while giving you insight into which skills they’d like to learn next.
Empower your team members by giving them opportunities for growth and advancement
If you want to become better at leading others, you must place employees in positions where they can excel. When given the right opportunity, not only will employees feel more empowered and motivated than ever before, but you’ll also find that their individual and collective performance improves as a result of empowerment.
The moment an employee feels entitled is typically the moment when motivation begins to crumble because everyone just expects things handed over without having done any work.
How to Highlight Leadership Skills in a Resume
Highlighting leadership skills in a resume is your secret weapon for beating out the competition and getting that dream job.
Here are some examples of how to highlight leadership skills on a resume:
Emphasizing the ability to manage and lead others
On your resume, you must focus on all of your leadership skills. One way to do this is by emphasizing your ability to manage and lead others. For example, if you are applying for a management position, create your resume with the assumption that you will be asked about any managerial experiences you have had in the past.
If so, list out some bullet points highlighting different responsibilities associated with getting people organized and keeping them motivated throughout their tasks.
Experience with coaching, training, and developing abilities of entry-level employees
If you have experience coaching, training, and developing the abilities of entry-level employees, list that experience out in your resume. When applying for a leadership position, this will be an important skill to mention.
Show off your skills by highlighting different ways in which you have learned to work with employees at all levels and get them excited about their work.
Tracking goal progress and creating action plans
When it comes down to it, effective leaders can motivate others (especially when they don’t necessarily believe in what they’re doing). One way to do this is by tracking goal progress and creating effective action plans that help employees accomplish tasks within certain deadlines.
On your resume, list out your experience with goal tracking and action plans, how you have implemented them to motivate others, and the results. For example, if you have used these tools to increase productivity or morale as a team leader, that will be something worth pointing to on your resume.
Main Difference Between Leadership Skills vs. Leadership Styles
The main difference between leadership skills vs. leadership styles is that skills are inherent, whereas styles are behavioral. Skills are the foundation of what makes a good leader, whereas different styles can be used to achieve similar results.
This means that you can act like a manager with an authoritarian leadership style, which might be effective in some cases, but you can also use more collaborative or democratic styles.
You don’t necessarily have to limit yourself to one style; rather, having many different leadership styles at your disposal gives you the ability to change depending on the situation.
Everyone has skills, but some people have a stronger natural ability to work with others. Leadership styles are more of a learned skill, but it starts with innate leadership skills.
These can be developed over time, and by studying other leaders as well as your management style, you can learn how to become more effective in managing others.
Leadership Skills for All Types Of Generations
Leadership Skills for Kids
Leadership skills for kids aren’t that different from those carried out by adults. However, there is a specific set of skills that parents should instill in their children so they can grow up to be effective leaders instead of a boss everyone hates.
The most common leadership skills for kids include:
- Positive attitude
- Be a role model
- Lead by example
- Cooperation
- Respect others
- Don’t be a bully
- Be patient and understanding
- Get involved in school activities
Identifying a wonder kid with leadership skills at such a young age might be difficult; however, you should look for the key characteristics above.
Leadership Skills for Students
Leadership skills for students can prepare them for future job opportunities and help set them apart from others who might be applying for the same position.
These skills include:
- Effective communication
- Positive attitude
- Conflict resolution skills
- Motivation and inspiration
Leadership Skills for Teachers
When it comes to teachers, there are some unique leadership skills required to be an effective teacher.
For example:
- Create a safe and welcoming environment
- Empower students to be independent learners
- Motivate and inspire
- Be patient
- Listen actively and show interest in the topic being discussed
Leadership Skills for Managers
A good manager uses these skills to motivate their team and drive them towards a common goal.
Leadership skills for managers include:
- Effective communication
- Conflict resolution skills
- Motivation and inspiration
- Motivate and inspire
- Time management
Leadership Skills FAQ
What Makes an Effective Leader?
There are many different leadership skills and techniques that can make someone an effective leader. However, there is no one trait that makes a good leader. What makes an effective leader varies based on the circumstances and what type of organization needs to be led.
How Do You Showcase Your Leadership Skills in a Job Interview?
During a job interview, an interviewer looks for specific leadership skills in the candidate. The best way to showcase these skills is by providing specific examples of where you demonstrated your abilities and how they impacted both yourself and others.
Why are Leadership Skills Important for Managers?
Leadership skills are important for managers because they allow them to lead their teams and be role models. Being a good leader gives managers a clear way to direct the team toward a common goal.
It also builds employee morale and develops stronger relationships within the team, which ultimately impacts company culture as well as overall business performance.
Overall Conclusion Of Leadership Skills
In conclusion, leadership skills are important for both leaders and managers. These skills allow a leader to lead their team effectively and efficiently while providing guidance, direction, and vision.
Likewise, these skills allow a manager to direct their team towards a common goal as well as build morale within the team. All of this impacts overall company performance for the better.
