How Do You Know if You Can Be a Good Leader?
It’s not always easy to gauge whether or not you’re ready to lead. As the old saying goes, “leaders are made, not born.” Amidst problems and difficulties, true leaders arise with ideas that solve even the most challenging issues.
If you’re too humble to tell yourself that you have what it takes to lead people, or clueless to whether or not you have the skills and mindset to be an effective leader, here are some signs that can help you determine your potential.
You bring positivity to your peers
Business Insider believes that good leaders are generally happy people who brighten up the day of others. Good leaders like to emit transformational leadership, through inspiring and motivating people who lack self-confidence and skills.
Research presented on the site concluded that positivity was an indicator of leadership rather than extroversion neuroticism (emotional instability) — which is a trait that people usually associate with successful entrepreneurs. The research stated that positivity accounted for about 20% of the variance in transformational leadership among successful bosses.
You are professionally competent
People who are organized and hardworking — individuals who are competent in their respected fields — are major personality traits that yield success. People who are confident with the responsibilities of their job are usually the best candidates for leadership.
A 2002 study presented by Medium, backs this claim saying that conscientiousness was a good predictor of leadership. People who show positive dominance over their work tend to be more successful than others in becoming managers, and potentially do better at their job once they get there.
You emit integrity
Integrity is one of the key components of an effective leadership. Unethical practices and empty promises ultimately destroy a leader and their company.
Entrepreneur states that business leaders who were rated as “high integrity” by their employees enjoyed multi-year returns of about 10%, while entrepreneurs who received low ratings only collected a return rate of 2% for their business.
Honesty is gauged early when potential leaders apply to leadership positions. Menlo Coaching suggests that the more authentic your answers are in the application process, the more you will be differentiated from the other applicants. An applicant has a better chance of becoming a great leader if they value honesty and integrity.
You respect your coworkers
Inc. states that employees who feel respected by their bosses are 55% more inspired to do their work. They also tend to stay longer with their companies rather than those who don’t feel respected at all.
The study presented on the site further claims that 54% of workers don’t feel respected at all by their bosses. As such, the author of the study recommends that leaders must always be respectful in addressing employees in order for workers to reciprocate the gesture, which in turn leads to a positive working environment.
There is much more to being a good leader than the aforementioned traits. If you believe you are ready for a leadership role consider the above four characteristics, and this should give you an idea whether you are indeed, ready to take the next step in your professional career.