Leadership Qualities

One of those intangible characteristics that people often search for in their careers is leadership qualities.  People ask of themselves: Do I have what it takes to be a leader in this organization?  On the flip side, you might think that you have what it takes to be a leader, but you are left wondering:  Does my boss see the leadership qualities that I possess?

Leadership Theory Studies

To answer either of these questions, you first need to understand what it means to be a leader.  The subject is quite intriguing, and many scholars have devoted their careers to the development of leadership theories.

History tells us of many great leaders.  These are men and women that have risen above the rest, and accomplished what seem like impossible tasks or changes to society.  There is no doubt that society will continue to be challenged in the future and, as the term goes, history tends to repeat itself.

So therein lays the reason for the study of leadership, and the qualities of those leaders. If we can recognize these characteristics, or train people to be better leaders, then solving the problems that the future holds for us should be much easier than it was the first time around.

Leadership Qualities versus Leadership Style

Some people mistakenly believe that leadership qualities are the same as leadership styles.  In fact, the basic study of leadership includes this hierarchy:

• Qualities - the characteristics that are the fundamental building blocks of a leader's persona.
• Leadership Style - the logical bundling of leadership qualities that, when assembled, help to define a style that the leader practices.
• Situational Leadership - the alignment of leadership styles to the social, political or work environment that is surrounding the leader.

Given this understanding, it is easier to visualize where the qualities themselves fit into the wide variety of modern leadership models.

Fundamental Qualities of a Leader

Figuring out if you have the right leadership qualities to be considered a leader in your particular organization then becomes one of sorting through all the leadership literature to develop the list of the most important qualities found in leaders.  Fortunately, the five components of emotional intelligence seem to cover the majority of these characteristics except one - intelligence.

If you remember the story told by Goleman in his book, he talks about the components of emotional intelligence.  Goleman argued that this theory accounts for characteristics that are beyond pure intellect.  It is therefore fitting to include intelligence as the first, and essential, quality of a leader.

Intelligence as a Leadership Quality

Business acumen, political savvy, a deep understanding of social issues, knowledge - these are all ways to describe the intelligence quality of a leader.  So intelligence becomes our first fundamental leadership quality.  Effective leaders have a good understanding of what needs to get done, and how to go about changing things.

Emotional Intelligence and Leaders

Emotional intelligence is a form of intelligence that goes a long way in describing what separates smart people from leaders.  That is to say, that there are many more smart people than there are effective leaders.  You might not agree with everything written about emotional intelligence, but it is hard to find a quality in a leader that is not described in these five components:

• Self Awareness - the ability to recognize and understand your own emotions, moods, and motivations.  Self awareness is the talent of understanding who you are, which leaders must be able to do before they can begin to understand the motivation, moods, and emotions of others.
• Self Regulation - the ability to control your own emotions, counterproductive impulses, and moods.  Self regulation is the leadership quality of remaining in control of your emotions.
• Motivation - a drive and passion that goes beyond money or status.  Motivation and leadership are often tightly coupled when an organization is realizing above-average results.
• Empathy - the ability to really understand another person's point of view.  Empathy is different than sympathy, which is the emotion of feeling sorry for someone else.
• Social Skills - the ability to manage relationships and networking.  "Social skills" is used to describe a leader's ability to get along with others in the organization.

Final Thoughts on Leadership Qualities

Keep in mind that being a leader often involves striking a balance, and the same can be said about the skills and intelligence qualities of a leader that are described above.  You can use other adjectives to describe leadership qualities, but the components described by emotional intelligence and intellect cover all the bases pretty well.

If you think you are a leader, then measure yourself against these components.  Leadership is a lifelong learning experience:  leaders are made, they're not born.  If you want others to recognize that you are a leader; then make sure you practice these leadership qualities so that others can see them in you too.