Leadership excellence comes from a number of elements – it ranges from emotional intelligence to leadership styles.
In sociological terms, leadership is an achieved trait that encompasses personality, the ability to lead, and merit. Some may think that leaders are born – it could not be any more different than this. Leaders are not born, leaders build themselves. It takes a lifetime to become a leader – because leadership excellence does not come from merely something that has been ascribed.
Thus if you have ever wondered ‘what makes an excellent leader’, it comes from experiences that provide learning opportunities and incidents that come with these experiences.
What Is Leadership Excellence?
Leadership excellence is working towards better conditions in a consistent manner. It is the behavior of remaining strong in the face of obstacles. A person who is out on the journey towards this achievement is aware of the existing conditions and the upcoming situation. It is a personality trait that leads to working towards improvement and development.
Simply put, it is an ever-continuing, uncompromisable allegiance to creating a positive change through values, hard work, and commitment.
There are various disciplines that create leadership excellence.
- Facilitating the direction: Leadership excellence is based primarily on the foundation of facilitating a direction to a group of people.
- Providing support: one of the main disciplines upon which a leader is recognized is his/her ability to provide support to the team.
- Challenging conversation: a leader is not expected to have all the answers. Rather, a leader engages in symbiotic, inclusive conversation.
Here are the 18 crucial signs of Leadership Excellence
One: A leader Does Not Only Lead, He/She Leads By Example.
The emphasis is not on simply moving forward, but moving forward with the team. Here, the person holds himself/herself accountable to a similar level of challenges and expectations.
Two: Embracing Opportunities, Even In Bad Times.
Another sign of leadership excellence is embracing opportunities. A capable leader always looks for an opportunity, even when problems. He/she is more likely to look at problems as a way of extracting opportunities and fixing a solution. This enables them to grow along with their team and learn newer experiences.
Three: Creating Opportunities
It is not only that leaders embrace opportunities, but they also create opportunities.
Four: Emphasizing Open Communication
Emphasizing open communication across the team/group is another crucial sign of leadership excellence. It ensures that a team, no matter at what level, has an open platform for discussion and voicing concerns.
Five: Practicing Empathy
Empathy, also one of the disciplines, leads towards building trust and respect. Empathy is one of the best human traits that are welcome anywhere and everywhere.
Six: Practicing Compassion
Compassion, as an extension of empathy, makes a leader a human. This human trait is an exceptional one, enabling a leader to lead with integrity. It not only helps with building trust in a team/group but also helps develop the ability to empower and encourage.
Seven: Expressing Expectations Beforehand
Expressing expectations beforehand is one of the most important things to do in any institutional or organizational setting. A leader is seen as a person who is responsible for articulating work expectations in a very clear manner. It not only prevents drawbacks but also improves communication and better results.
Eight: Teaching And Spreading Knowledge
Teaching and spreading knowledge is another crucial sign of leadership excellence. When people follow a leader in any organizational or institutional setting, they expect to be provided with outlines and ways to follow. Thus, a leader spreads knowledge and empowers his/her team in every aspect.
Nine: Aspiring to Inspire
A leader aspires to inspire in every way, whether it be related to achieving goals or setting targets. Some important signs of leadership excellence in this aspect are
- Giving rise to creativity
- Loyalty
- Dedication to work
Ten: Applauding Creativity
A sign of leadership excellence is to applaud the creativity and foster an environment where people feel comfortable working. It is geared towards giving birth to newer and innovative ways of going about a task. This attribute leads to the generation of better perspectives that are collected through an inclusive approach.
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Eleven: Practicing Accountability And Transparency
A sign of leadership excellence is that accountability and transparency are practiced. It means owning mistakes and accomplishments alike. Moreover, everything that is to be said and done is done so in a transparent manner. It fosters trust and respect while reducing tension within a professional setup.
Twelve: Encouraging And Taking Feedback
Encouraging feedback in any setting is one thing, but the actual results are borne when that feedback is acted upon. Thus, a leader considers feedback and acts upon it while drafting a final decision related to any organizational matter.
Thirteen: Empowering Others
One of the best ways that demonstrate as signs of leadership excellence is the will and practice of empowering others. It helps the people the overall organization grow to its full potential. One of the best advantages of empowering others is that it leads to constructive contribution and creativity.
Fourteen: Demonstrating Authenticity
When a person, especially one who is in leading positing, demonstrates authenticity it gives way towards a sense of trustworthiness. Being yourself and being genuine is one of the best traits of a leader, inspiring others to do the same in any institutional or organizational setting.
Fifteen: Recognizing Contribution
Recognition is a strong, powerful tool that implies that you are appreciating the efforts of the people around you. Thus, a leader with excellent traits ensures that every employee or team member is told that they are good at what they do. However, it also means that mistakes are provided a platform for improvement.
Also Read: The Best Practices to Improve Communication for Effective Leadership Skills
Sixteen: Loyalty Towards Work
Loyalty towards work is one of the best work ethics one can possess. A leader manifests loyalty towards work and sets it as an example for others. No matter if a task has been productive or not, a leader always owns up to it and works for improvement and development.
Seventeen: Sharing Success With Others
Another trait that demonstrates leadership excellence is the ability and will to share success with others. It means that a leader is recognizing the efforts of everyone who has a stake in that success. Whether it be a promotion, a profit, a bonus, or even just recognition – sharing success is a great way of earning trust among the people who work in your leadership.
Eighteen: Avoiding Distractions and Staying Focused
Another important one of the signs you are an excellent leader is avoiding any distractions that might be proving bad for your improvement. Moreover, it also contains staying focused on the mission, vision, and values.
Key Takeaways
Leadership excellence comes with time, consistency, and effort. Even if you possess all of the above-stated qualities, you should still work towards improvement. Here are some key takeaways that can help you improve upon your existing qualities;
- Listen to those for whom you act as a leader, after all, it is your responsibility to do so
- Make sure you recognize their work
- Observe what needs to be improved and act upon it, after considering what everyone thinks
- Apply an inclusive approach
- Share success and milestones achieved
There is no best style of authority, it all depends upon how you demonstrate and improve upon your qualities to lead.
