What are the Most Important Leadership Skills?

Important: GDPR Email Preferences

As you may already know, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be coming into effect on 25th May 2018. We take your privacy seriously and we are working hard to ensure we comply with the new data protection laws. You can find out more about how we're doing this in our privacy policy on our website.

We want to make sure you continue to receive the latest newsletters, blogs, special offers and more.

As someone who has opted-in to receive our emails in the past, we’d like to give you this opportunity to confirm what you wish to receive:

Just so you know, if you don’t let us know what kinds of emails you want to receive from us, we’ll stop emailing you on the 24th May 2018 - you'll be missing out!

You are of course free to change your mind at any time – just follow the link at the bottom of any of our emails.

What are the most important leadership skills?

The ten most important leadership skills are as follows:

1. Personal initiative.
2. Goal setting.
3. Effective communication.
4. Strategic planning.
5. Decision making.
6. Delegating.
7. Selecting the right people to join the team.
8. Self-belief.
9. Persistence.
10. The ability to inspire confidence and motivation in other people.

1. Personal initiative.

Personal initiative is the habit of acting, BEFORE anyone asks you to, and BEFORE action is required.

Non-leaders lack personal initiative. They act only when someone tells them, or when the situation has become so desperate, that they need to act to avoid a crisis.

On the other hand, leaders always are ready to act on their own will. They do not wait to be told.

It is the possession of a Strong Will that sets apart the leaders from the non-leaders.

Therefore, if you want to be a leader, consciously develop your sense of will.

2. Goal setting

Leaders must lead people somewhere.

Therefore, they need to decide what the goal is to be. Success means, the achievement of a valuable goal. Therefore, to be successful, the first task of a leader is to set a worthwhile and valuable goal.

If you want to develop your leadership skills, develop your goal setting skills.

3. Effective communication.

Leaders need to gain the willing cooperation of others. And in order to do that, leaders need to develop effective communication skills. It is interesting to note a list of the great communicators and a list of the great leaders, have many names in common.

If you want to be a leader, develop your communication skills. That includes the effective use of language, body language, voice tones and written communications.

4. Strategic planning.

A goal requires a plan capable of achieving it. Therefore, leaders need to develop good strategic planning skills. They need to plan and communicate the strategy to their subordinate colleagues. Leaders who make strategic errors, fail.

If you want to be a good leader, then learn to think LONG range.

5. Decision making.

Your life runs on your capacity to make the right decisions. YOU make decisions all the time, and your ultimate success is dependent on you making the right decisions.
There are many types of decision: Yes or No? Which one? What Kind? and Priority order decisions.

Leaders are willing to make a decision and willing to act on them once they are made.

NON leaders fail to make decisions, and fudge and delay the decision-making process until progress grinds to a halt.

If you want to be a good leader, practice making decisions, and have the courage to act on them once they are made.

6. Delegating.

Leaders don't try to do everything themselves. Instead they delegate the work to the right person, at the right time.

7. Selecting the right people to join the team.

In order to delegate to the right person, a leader must have selected the right people to join the team.

Leaders are good judges of ability and character. They need to be, because they need to trust their subordinates to organise the resources effectively.

If you would be a leader, study people and try to discern the good from the not so good.

8. Self-belief.

All leaders need self-belief because it takes a certain confidence to assume that other people will follow your vision and carry out your strategy. If you don't have sufficient self-belief in your abilities, then you can never act as a leader.

If you want to be a leader, consciously build up your levels of self-belief.

9. Persistence.

No great task was accomplished without many setbacks and defeats along the way. Leaders need to be persistent. They need to bounce back quickly and recover their composure after a setback or defeat. And they need to be back at their desk, the next morning ready for another crack at the goal.

10. The ability to inspire confidence and motivation in other people.

When you combine the above list of nine skills, you will be ready to do the last: inspire the others.

There are three types of people in the world.

1. Those who inspire others,
2. Those who don't.
3. Those who cause people to lose heart.

Obviously, leaders fit into the first category.

If you want to be a leader, ensure that the majority share of your spoken language presupposes a better future.

Then you will inspire others.

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years’ experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Further Reading in Leadership and Management

• Leadership qualities
  Leadership Qualities All organisations need leaders. Leaders are able to inspire others to cooperate together, to give their best performance, in order to achieve a valuable goal or objective. Obviously, successful leaders are people who other people will willingly follow. A leader with no followers is a sad sight to behold...
  Read Article >
• Leadership Styles
  Leadership styles There are many styles of leadership. But the important thing to recognise is that the concept of "leadership", itself, has its own distinctiveness and that "leadership styles" are minor variations on the major theme. It would be an error to focus too hard on the differing variations before you...
  Read Article >
• What is the Most Important Rule in People Management?
  There are many rules that managers need to follow in order to manage people effectively. Motivation is one of the most important aspects of managing people and rewarding good behaviour is one of the greatest ways of motivating people.
  Read Article >
• How can I become a Thought Leader?
  To be perceived as a Thought Leader, you must acquire the specialist skills and abilities used by all successful thought leaders to inspire and lead their teams. Find out what these key characteristics are and how to develop them.
  Read Article >
• How to be a Positive Leader
  Being a positive leader is about using positive motivators to inspire your teams. So, what motivates employees and how can you use positive motivators to incentivise them?
  Read Article >

Looking for Leadership and Management Training?

If you're looking for a practical leadership skills course, you may find this Leadership and Management Training Course beneficial:

Open Training Course Pricing and Availability

Next Open Course Starts in 6 days, London - Central, places available Book Now >