​Article: Characteristics and Personality Traits of Great Leaders

​​​​Whether you think that leaders are born or made - or a bit of both - there are still some characteristics that distinguish leaders from others. Have you wondered if you or someone you know is a natural leader? Are you interested in learning some characteristics of good leadership? Here are some personality characteristics that tend to go with effective leaders.

Task-Oriented

Are you the kind of person who likes to get things done? Do people come to you and ask you to do something for them and know you'll do it? Not everyone is task-oriented, but those who are may end up being effective leaders. Being task-oriented means being a "doer," the kind of person who focuses on getting something done and not stopping until the task is finished.

Task-oriented people generally follow through. This is important in a leader, because leaders have definite goals to reach and people to lead, and people will stop following you if you don't get things finished.

Also, task-oriented leaders do not need "babysitting" to get something done. They can take initiative on their own - the task itself is motivation.

Honest Self-Image

Leaders tend to be pretty honest about their weaknesses and strengths, but not to the point of letting either one take over. For instance, a leader can balance between recognizing his weakness and not letting that stop him/her, and a leader can see his/her strengths without getting conceited. Those in leadership positions may find that they garner more respect when they are honest and "transparent" about their flaws than if they pretend to be perfect.

People Person

A leader tends to be a people person - someone who derives lots of energy from being around people. Such extroverted personalities make great leaders, but introverts are not barred from leadership, either. You can have a love for people and be introverted; you just respond differently to interacting with others.

In other words, you can be a "people person" even if you find yourself tired of leading at the end of a day. Extroverts and introverts can both be motivated by a love for people and their wellbeing.

"Infectious" Joy

Have you ever been around someone who just seems happy with life in general? If a person shares an idea or thought and seems really happy about it, do you feel like joining him or her? Leaders tend to exhibit this kind of infectious joy that draws other people to them. Positive-thinking leaders have a zest for life that compels other people to join them.

The general consensus is, characteristics of a good leader can be in-born or learned, or a bit of both. If you don't have all of these traits naturally, you can learn many of them. No two leaders are the same.

Notes from Alice....

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​​​How to Lead by Example

​​​It’s hard to argue with a leader who rolls up his or her sleeves and helps the team get the job done. No one can challenge such commitment to the team. Leading by example is one of the best ways to manage people because it shows you are part of the team.

This doesn’t mean a leader should do everything for the team. There are managers who mistake leading by example with interfering with its members. The team will learn to resent a leader who simply does everything for the team. Besides, who has that kind of time?

The idea of leading by example is to take on some of the tasks or fill in for team members who are not available, etc. Sometimes, it can be just giving guidance to members who are stuck and showing them some of the steps. Then, let them take on the rest and come to you with any questions.

Leading by example also entails being honest with the team. You need to take responsibility for your actions, and ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of your team members. If one person is slacking off and you don’t meet a deadline because of it, your management is going to approach you about the problem. It won’t matter if you defend yourself and state that your team member was the one responsible for being late. In fact, this will leave your management with the impression you are being petty.

After you take heat for members of your team, you may need to take disciplinary actions against those members. After all, they have to know they messed up. But, it should be dealt with one-on-one. Some managers feel they should let the whole team know what is going on and will deal with the situation in the team scenario. This is a personal preference, but some members may be more sensitive to being called out in front of the group.

The best way to lead by example is to make sure you keep up-to-date with what is going on with the group and the work they are doing. This doesn’t mean micro-managing them. It just means knowing what tasks they are performing and whether they need any help from you or any materials to get their job done quicker.

It’s rare that a team does not respect managers who get involved. These are managers that care about the team succeeding and wants to help everyone in the group advance.

Notes from Alice....

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​​Be a Leader by Letting Other People Shine

​​As a leader, you are looked upon to make serious decisions. These decisions often affect others and are not always popular. It goes with the territory of being a leader, but being a GOOD leader isn't about imposing your will on others. It's about cultivating a team that works well together and makes progress together.

​What if you can approach your leadership style in a way that could become a bit more popular with the people you lead? If you elevated people, this ​makes them want to work harder and they'll be willing to follow you just about anywhere. 

A few ways to elevate your team:

• Value and listen to all ideas and contributions from your team.
  
• Recognize and publicly acknowledge your team member for ideas you implement.
  
• Focus on your team members strengths, but be a ​positive and constructive source to help them strengthen their weaknesses.
  
• ​Celebrate victories together and use those celebrations as an opportunity to bring a social aspect to your team.
  

​Of course, you need to make sure your appreciation of your team members is genuine and they should feel truly valued. You should also make sure you're aware of all your team members and their accomplishments. Some team members are quieter and their contributions can go unrecognized. Be the leaders who sees and elevates all members of the team where it's deserved.

In the end, when you approach your leadership from a position of gratitude and appreciation, it comes back to you in productivity and appreciation of you as a leader.

Notes from Alice....

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​Why and How to Become a Community Leader

​You may be a great leader at work. People come to you to help them with their problems, and your suggestions lead them to good solutions. Perhaps you are skilled at running teams. Why not use your leadership abilities to help out your local community?

Most communities need help in some capacity. And strong leaders are too few and far between. This is not to say that people aren’t willing to help out. It’s just that they often don’t know what kinds of help is needed.

We often defer things to our municipalities thinking that our tax dollars are going to handle the necessary resources for the community. However, these municipalities don’t have enough money. This could be through bad management by the elected officials. Or it could be they don’t get enough in tax revenues from their collections to implement the necessary programs. It’s always a debate because taxpayers complain they are already paying too much in taxes.

Communities usually have needs that stretch the abilities of the municipalities. There are only so many dollars available before having to hit up the taxpayers again. This is never a popular position for elected officials. Therefore, community leaders are needed to step up and find ways outside of the municipalities to provide for the communities in an efficient manner.

One way to accomplish this is to seek out funding from foundations. It’s usually easier to obtain this type of funding than to tap into governmental grants. If you decide that there are funds available, make sure you read through the guidelines before seeking to fund. These foundations receive many requests, and they automatically reject applications that don’t follow the guidelines.

It may be worth it to find training on how to proceed with foundation funding. Check your local library for programs available as well as online inquiries. Some will charge a small fee, but this skill will be worth it when you try for your funding. It can be the difference between getting funded or not.

Another possibility is to seek out crowdfunding online. While this can be a great means to get your initiatives funded, it has become popular, which means there is more competition for funds.

Knowledge about funding initiatives for your community will set you apart from others. Most people will defer to their local municipalities or state governments. These same people are often left wondering why nothing ever gets done in their communities.

Notes from Alice....

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Following Through - Is It in You?

Some people can accomplish anything they set their mind to. They define what they want, and they go for it. They are highly driven people who get most of what they want out of life. Then, there are those who seem to be drifting and never get anything accomplished. These people seem to have a difficult time following through and often don’t get what they want.

People who struggle with following through may have a problem of getting bored too easily. They may even reach a milestone or two, but then the thrill is gone, and they move onto something else. It’s just the way they are. However, it can hold them back from being what they want or getting what they want out of life.

If you find yourself to be one that has difficulty following through, ask yourself why. You want to figure out what is holding you back from accomplishing your goals. If you truly have the passion, you may need to push harder than others who get things done easily. You may want to find others who can hold you accountable.

Be honest with yourself if you are like this. If it is true, then you may want to think twice about starting your own business, even if that is something you’ve wanted to do. If you start one, you are going to be put in a situation where you need to get things done, and you will need to know what needs to be done in the first place. If you truly have a desire to own a business, consider partnering with someone who has the capability of following through and you can each bring your skills to the table. 

There is nothing to feel bad about if you are faced with this situation. It is who you are and is part of your personality. Just know that you need to compensate for it in some way. You can do that by getting help from others or if some technology can help, use it.

The internet has made it quite easy to obtain the help you need. You can outsource many of the tasks that you may get bored with. This way, all you need to do is manage the outsourcers. If you struggle with even this task, you could outsource that as well. There are plenty of people who can manage projects online. The great part about this is if one person doesn’t work out as expected, you can easily find others who can step in.

Notes from Alice: How to Work with Your Clients

I believe it's possible to develop the skills of follow through. Sometimes it's a matter of discipline and overcoming fear of failure (or even fear of success) or just figuring out what is holding you back. But like the article above mentioned, sometimes it's who you are...you don't always follow through. 

When I first started my online business, I was big on follow through. I started something and kept working until I was finished. But over time, I got tired of that, so I did exactly what the article above said...I compensated in other ways. I focused on coming up with ideas and hiring people to implement them. I love coming up with new product ideas, marketing plans, etc...but I had attending to all the small tasks, so now I have a team to do that. 

If your clients are having trouble following through, here are a few strategies you might employ:

• Have them analyze why they don't follow through. Do they get upset at rejection? Are they frustrated when they hit a stumbling block? Do they feel they don't have enough time?
• Once they know what is causing them to give up, they can look at a few solutions:
  • Learning to become more disciplined and ensure they follow through. Maybe they need to break tasks up into chunks, set a timer or something else that will keep them focused in smaller bursts. 
  • Find a way to compensate. Whenever my kids get upset about something and are ready to throw in the towel (this happens often), I ask them to stop for a moment and remember, "There is ALWAYS a solution to every problem." Adults sometimes need this reminder too. If they hit a stumbling block, can they take a break and then come back to do some research on how to get around it? If they feel they don't have time, can you help them evaluate where they can prioritize their time better?
  • If it's just fear holding them back, suggest they break up their goals into smaller chunks. So instead of saying they're going to launch a product or lose 50 pounds...break up those goals so that there are small milestones that are easy to reach. 

We all have our own strengths and weaknesses...and while we can work to improve ourselves in specific areas, sometimes it's just a matter of changing our focus and finding new ways to achieve what we set out to do. 

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