The most sought-after leadership qualities in 2023 (Part 2)
The world economy is getting more complex and unpredictable. Companies are constantly searching for top talent with the best leadership qualities to be part of their organization to deal with this challenge. The best business schools are going beyond the traditional classroom education for their leadership development programs in order to maximize the learning experience for executives and ensure effective leadership.
Industry experts teach both the academic and practical side of running a business, even providing continuous consultations when leaders have returned to work. This is because business management schools acknowledge that organizations continue to demand better leadership traits and qualities from their personnel across all levels. Organizations want their leaders to not only be experts in their fields, but also to have the right mix of leadership styles that fit their organizational culture and lead their business to success.
The bar of job qualifications is constantly being raised higher. As an executive, you want to enhance your leadership traits and industry know-how to continue to shine above all others in your field. This article will show you what leadership qualities are the most sought-after by businesses in today’s volatile and multifaceted business environment.
Part 1 of the top 21 leadership qualities can be found here
Part 3 of the top 21 leadership qualities can be found here
Top 21 Leadership qualities in 2023 (Part 2):
1. Innovation & Creativity (Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing)
Elon Musk is probably one of the most famous innovators and inventors of our time. He has been part of start-up companies that grew to multi-million dollar organizations. He is even listed by Forbes as one of the most powerful people in 2016. From PayPal to Tesla to the Hyperloop, his innovations span a multitude of genres.
He continues to innovate and create amazing products that are geared towards the future. Effective leaders need to think like innovators and keep their creative juices flowing to keep up with all the business transformations prevalent in the world today.
Tip 1. Create Brainstorming Groups
Get individuals together to brainstorm and come up with creative ideas. You can even try to create this group outside the workplace to encourage like-minded individuals from other organizations and industries to share and come up with better ideas.
Tip 2. Attend Training And Seminars
Travel to other places to attend training and seminars, you will not only learn academically, but also widen your cultural and sociological horizons as you interact with other attendees.
2. Patience (Required in Complex Business Dynamics)
A good measurement of effective leadership is patience. When you are the most powerful person in your team, organization or the government, it is hard to imagine that you need to be patient. Everyone is supposed to follow your lead, give you what you need, when you need it done. Why does a good leader need to be patient?
Not all things are smooth-sailing in uncertain situations and in dealing with complex business dynamics. Leaders who are not patient will feel the pressure and stress of their job and consequently will not be effective. Without patience, it’s easy to lose control of your emotions, the situation and eventually your team. Patience is a virtue: especially for leaders.
Practical Tip: Practice Patience
You need to make a conscious effort to be patient at all times, whether it be small or bigger inconveniences that would normally frustrate you. At the end of the day, observe your progress and adapt accordingly.
3. Open-Mindedness (Accept Team Member Creativity)
You will often find that various leadership qualities interconnect or co-exist. Open-mindedness, for example, has to exist with humility and being a team player is crucial for a leader to accept ideas and creative innovation from their team members.
Open-mindedness must also exist with honesty when you are giving and receiving feedback from a team member or a colleague. When a leader has an open mind, he is willing to explore and accept changes. There will be more opportunities gained than missed. Employees will also recognize this trait, and will be more willing to approach you for ideas and with their concerns, resulting in a more engaged team. This will be positive for the organization in the long run.
Practical Tip: Respond, Don’t React
You will need to assess all aspects of a situation regardless of how frustrating it may be. If you assess the situation properly, you will be able to respond wisely. If you react immediately, you may make rash actions that were not thoughtfully considered, which can result in destructive outcomes.
4. Decisiveness (Make Decisions And Stand By Them)
Returning to the crucial point that leadership qualities need to exist with each other; a leader needs to be confident and open-minded in order to be decisive. Being decisive doesn’t mean you close your mind off to other’s suggestions. It means you are confident that you can come up with the best decision if you listen to other people’s perspectives.
Furthermore, when there are too many ideas and opinions thrown at you and too much pressure on you to come up with a decision, a decisive leader remains calm and collected. They can be composed under stress because they are confident that they can make a good decision and stand by it. That is the decisiveness of effective leadership.
Practical Tip: It’s OK To Say “Yes”
In the workplace, you need to learn to say “No” or things can pile up and you will be overwhelmed. However, it is also OK to say “Yes” and take an intelligent risk if you’re faced with a yes or no decision. Stand by your decision and learn new things from the experience.
5. Positivity (Become Cherished By Your Team)
Positivity is a leadership trait that should come from within. It can be enhanced by enrolling in leadership development programs that focus on self-awareness. Positivity, they say, is infectious. The Harvard Business Review said that a positive environment will benefit the organization dramatically.
A negative work environment can cause stress and disengagement. This negatively impacts the organization with higher absenteeism and lower productivity according to a study by The American Institute of Stress. It is therefore important that leaders exude a positive attitude to alleviate the stress felt by their employees. A positive environment leads to improved team performance. This is backed up by a research article “Effects of Positive Practices on Organizational Effectiveness”.
Practical Tip: Encourage Fun
Get some volunteers to lead 5 minute desk exercises in the afternoon. Give away treats to celebrate small successes or team milestones. Send out a fun trivia quiz via e-mail once in a while. Have decorating competitions to celebrate seasons or occasions. There are so many simple – yet fun – things you can add to your daily routine that will improve your team’s engagement.
6. Accountability (Strengthen The Moral Climate)
Leadership accountability means that a leader takes responsibility for the outcomes of their decisions. When things go wrong, good leaders will find solutions to the problems instead of finding who to blame. Accountability is a leadership trait that strong leaders possess. They have confidence in their team’s performance, from having mentored them to perform their duties and responsibilities well. Therefore, when something goes wrong, the leader must think about what he missed, in retrospect. And if a team member was really at fault, the leader should think of how to correct the situation, provide constructive feedback, and what the best way to mentor the team member to do things right the next time would be.
Practical Tip: Hold Regular One-On-One Sessions
It is important to discuss performance with employees regularly. If there is a performance issue, it can be addressed right away. Always document performance coaching sessions and review the agreed course of action with the employee before ending the meeting. Let the employee come up with his own action plan and have him sign your coaching document. This way, you can both check the progress of the action plan.
7. Courage (Put Yourself Out There)
Courage is important especially when dealing with difficult situations. Looking back through history you will most likely come up with more than one name of leaders who showed courage in times of turmoil and distress. To lead your people to victory and success, in spite of difficult circumstances, requires a lot of courage.
People in your organization will look up to you and when they see courage. They will stay engaged and committed even when times are tough. This is one of the leadership qualities that is in demand but may be dwindling in terms of supply. A courageous leader is confident, decisive, exercises accountability and is definitely a team player.
Practical Tip: Set The Bar High
The best way to improve is by setting a higher standard. Set the bar higher than usual to really push yourself and your team to reach a goal. The new goal should be more challenging than the one you usually set.