10 Characteristics of Exceptional Leaders

10 Characteristics of Exceptional Leaders

Being in business for yourself takes leadership skills, there is no questioning that fact. You start as a leader of one, yourself, and then as your business grows you most likely will gain the responsibility of leading others. Depending on your business model that may vary from being their direct boss to a mentor and coach such as in the network marketing industry. Regardless of industry, your leadership skills will be tested.

You without question will make mistakes, we all do, but having these leadership characteristics see you through your mistakes and allow you to reach your goals. Through all the research and study of great leaders throughout mankind’s history, there is still debate as to what makes a leader and what makes a leader exceptional. Some researchers and authors claim an exceptional leader possesses certain traits or abilities; others say it’s all personality. Still, others maintain it’s the behaviors, not necessarily the intentions or thoughts, that are crucial.

Whatever your viewpoint, it boils down to this: exceptional leaders share the following characteristics or views, here are the 10 characteristics of exceptional leaders:

Mission: Leaders know what their mission is. They know why the organization exists. A superior leader has a well-thought-out (often written) mission describing the purpose of the organization. That purpose need not be esoteric or abstract, but rather descriptive, clear, and understandable. Every employee should be able to identify with the mission and strive to achieve it.

Vision: Where do you want your organization to go? A vision needs to be abstract enough to encourage people to imagine it but concrete enough for followers to see it, understand it, and be willing to climb on board to fulfill it.

Goal: How is the organization going to achieve its mission and vision and how will you measure your progress? Like a vision, goals need to be operational; that is specific and measurable. If your output and results can’t be readily measured, then it will be difficult to know if you have achieved your purpose. You may have wasted important resources (time, money, people, and equipment) pursuing a strategy or plan without knowing if it truly succeeded.

Competency: You must be seen by your advisors, stakeholders, employees/distributors, and the public as being an expert in your field or an expert in leadership. Unless your constituents see you as highly credentialed, either by an academic degree or with specialized experience, and capable of leading your company to success, it will be more difficult for you to be as respected, admired, or followed.

Practically speaking, not all executives immediately possess all of the characteristics that spell success. Many leaders learn along the way with hard work. As crises and challenges arise, those at the top of the hierarchy have key opportunities to demonstrate to others that they are in fact, qualified to be leaders. In actuality, greater competency can be achieved as a leader gains more on-the-job experience.

A strong team: Realistically, few executives possess all of the skills and abilities necessary to demonstrate total mastery of every requisite area within the organization. To complement the areas of weakness, a wise leader assembles effective teams of experienced, credentialed, and capable individuals who can supplement any voids in the leader’s skill set. This ability is what sets leaders apart from others. However, the leader needs to be willing to admit he lacks certain abilities and go about finding trusted colleagues to complement those deficiencies. After building the team, the entrepreneur needs to trust that team to understand issues, create solutions, and act on them.

Communication skills: It does little good to have a strong mission, vision, goals, and even a solid budget, if the executive cannot easily and effectively convey his ideas to the stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. He must regularly be in touch with key individuals, by email, v-mail, meetings, or other forms of correspondence. Of course, the best way to ensure other people receive and understand the message is with face-to-face interactions.

Interpersonal skills: Successful entrepreneurs are comfortable relating to other people; they easily create rapport and are at least more extroverted than they are introverted. These factors help leaders seem approachable, likable, and comfortable in their position. Those qualities contribute to staff wanting to interact with their leader. They also help motivate employees to do a better job. When workers can relate to their boss, they believe that their boss is more concerned about them, with their performance, and with their output. Furthermore, they believe that they can go to their boss with problems they encounter on the job without fearing consequences for not knowing how to resolve issues.

Not all entrepreneurs are adept at interpersonal skills. Those that aren’t, might find it helpful to take a course, choose a mentor, or locate a therapist to help them build interpersonal skills. The intangible cost is too high to not improve these abilities. In addition, here’s where a strong team comes into play. The less experienced leader who is still learning these skills can rely on the team to get out and to “press the flesh,” interact with employees, and spread a positive attitude to help develop morale.

A “can do, get it done” attitude: Nothing builds a picture of success more than achievement, and achievement is the number one factor that motivates just about everyone across all cultures. When employees see that their boss can lead and direct, has a clear vision and attainable goals, and actually gains results in a timely manner, then that person’s credibility increases throughout the organization. Entrepreneurs must modestly demonstrate their skills to give their constituents valid reasons to appreciate and value their efforts.

Inspiration: Quite often, employees need someone to look up to for direction, guidance, and motivation. The entrepreneur needs to be that person. Hopefully, Human Resources has hired self-motivated individuals. Nevertheless, there are times, when many employees need the boss to inspire them by word or action. Employees need someone to look up to, admire, and follow. Even when the production or delivery of services looks like “it is all going well,” the leader may at times need to step in personally to offer a suggestion or encouragement to ensure that employees perform their jobs in an optimal manner.

Ambition: Resting on your laurels is bad for employee morale and entrepreneurial credibility. Employees need to be constantly striving for improvement and success, and they need to see the same and more in their leaders. When the boss is seen as someone who works to attain increasingly higher goals, employees will be impressed and more willing to mirror that behavior. It’s a win-win for everyone.

The basic message in this article is that you as the owner/entrepreneur need to “be out there” for your employees and/or clients. Continually demonstrate to them why and how you earned the position you now hold. Communicate with them using any of a variety of methods that show them you are worthy of being followed. Make that process inspiring and positive and you can almost guarantee that your results will be consistent with your efforts.

What do you think are the key characteristics that make an exceptional leader? Share your thoughts with us in the comments sections and as always share this article with your friends and colleagues.

* Engineered Lifestyles does not guarantee any level of success or income from the NHT Global Business opportunity, or any other money-making opportunity. Every independent distributor’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. Please see our full Earnings Disclaimer here.