The Top 5 Qualities People Look For In Leaders

My favourite one liner about leadership is from my favourite author, John Maxwell, who says:        Leadership is Influence; Nothing more, nothing less. That being the case, and if the research that even the most introverted person influences at least 10 thousand people in a normal life span, it is definitely something that every person needs to be aware of.

So…What is Influence?Simply put, influence is inspiring someone to be like you. That sounds like a tall order, true, but it is also a challenging reminder that I am being watched all the time, on the job and off it. Therefore this one word inspires me to walk the talk, and ask myself daily: How am I being an influence today? Through my day, I regularly do a self check: Am I influencing those around me to be better people? This question then brings up several others, based on Achieve Global research that lists the five top qualities people look for in leaders. These qualities prompt the questions at help me stay on track in my daily dealings as a leader. Do my words and actions help me come across as a Mindful leader with my hand also on people's pulse instead of focusing only on the task at hand? Do I demonstrate teachablility by continually developing Skilfulness in various areas, just for the joy of learning, or have I reached that place where I think that my years of experience and past education have made me an expert know-it-all? How Collaborative am I when I am assigned responsibility, knowing that genuine leaders work with the awareness that the task is too big to accomplish alone. Do I prefer to be a one man band and take all the glory, or do I share the responsibility and the recognition that comes with a task well done. Am I a Visionary, looking to the horizon and daring to dream and go for it, or do I hesitate each step of the way, and prevent those under my leadership from reaching the potential that they are capable of?  Am I being courageous enough to be Inventive and risk voicing or implementing a new idea without being daunted by the fear of failure, or the opinions that stop creativity and progress?  As a leader, I inspire my team to be who I am, So if I have a team that is effective and productive, I have myself to thank. On the other hand, if my team drags its feet and is unproductive, I need to ask myself what I need to do to inspire change. The best way to lead is to walk the talk, and that simply means being who I want my followers to be. An inspiring one liner keeps me going: Aspire to Inspire before you Expire. Funny and yet so true! Let’s do it! 

Watch Anne's video for more insight!

Be sure to set the video to 1080p for a better viewing experience:

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