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Priyanka Ghosh shares an article that identifies eight essential qualities in an effective leader and how what shapes them makes them. 

The stories you tell are the stories that define you.  As you travel through you career to create the well-paved road from individual contribution to team leader and finally to the leadership role that you covet, you learn to tell stories through your actions.  Actions those are synonymous with leading by example.  But largely, it is these stories that help leaders learn lessons. Stories that can be told and learnt from.  Stories that leave a legacy.

This past week I had two very interesting conversations with a couple of my new clients – both C-Suite Leaders.  One gentleman from a major Investment services firm and the other from the retail sector.  Both have similar views in mind around the qualities that make for great Leadership and some unique experiences that shaped their journey.  In this blog, we travel with Derek and Jeremy and talk about personal experiences, viewpoints and stories that summarize in my opinion the Eight Essentials of Effective Leadership.

Leaders are shaped not only based on their personal experiences but also reflect the organizational culture.  Humility is a vital quality not only in a leader but also in an organization.  In order to continue to prosper and grow it is very important that leaders become good listeners and continue to seek and solicit ideas from others, irrespective of their level in management.  More so in a rapidly changing world environment, the need to perceive changes and react even faster to them require the ability of leaders to go beyond their thoughts and acknowledge others’ perspectives.  Displaying humility by no account means that the leader should be perceived as meek or quiet.  As Derek, the Chief Marketing Officer of a major retail brand in the region points out, “A success of a leader not just depends on his abilities but also his team.  And the earlier you realize this humbling fact, the stronger followership you create”.

A lot of leaders are often heard saying that they attribute the organization’s and their success to the culture of the enterprise.  But if one truly reflects on the statement, then it is the leaders who define this culture through their Energy.  Sometimes leaders inherit an organizational culture and it is up to them to continue with the momentum or change it.  Leadership is often about creating an environment that showcases positive energy which transcend to every level of the organization.  I have been working with a young gentleman who has started a software development firm and being a start-up with a group of ten people who are mostly virtual he stresses the need to share a common spirit of energy to keep them moving forward and towards achieving more.

Key points include:

• Respect for your teams’ knowledge and skills
• Defining the culture
• Listening and assessing leadership intuition

Read the full article, Eight Essentials of Effective Leadership, on Promelier.co.uk.