Do You Have These Qualities Yet? All Leaders must develop these...

We all know that good leadership is essential if any of us are to be successful in our businesses. But, what are the characteristics and qualities of a good leader and how can someone develop themself into a good leader when they aren't quite there yet?

There are many factors that determine whether an individual is a good leader. One very important thing is........you don't need to be BORN a leader. Leaders are made, crafted, created, trained, whatever you'd like to call it. It's just like Frankenstein, but without all the problems ;-)

First things first. GET TALKING, work on your communication skills. It is one of the single most important factors of becoming a leader. As a leader, you will be able to listen to the problem that your team may bring up to you and you will be able to communicate your input and your ideas to your team. If you aren't a leader and you just sit back in your corner sucking your thumb thinking "maybe I should tell them this idea or that idea" WAKE UP that doesn't get you anywhere. You must be able to share your ideas and this will most likely trigger the minds of those around you to better solve a problem and find the correct solution. If your team/employees have no idea whats in your mind, your leadership will be non-existant within the next few months and pretty soon you'll be back to stage 1, beginner. People can't read minds, for the most part...

You already knew that 2 heads are better than one...

Teamwork is essential when striving to become a great leader. This doesn't mean just you shouting out orders "JACK DO THIS, BILL DO THAT, CAROL GO GET THIS, JESSICA WRITE THIS DOWN". You can't do that, it won't work. You need to become part of the team, allow your co-workers/employees/downline to be open with you and share ideas and you listen to them. By working together, you learn more, get more done and have a better functioning team.

You won't realize how much potential your teammates have unless you are a true leader. A true leader is able to recognize that their employees/downline are not just numbers or names but they have amazing characteristics and abilities that sometimes you need to get to the core of and help them uncover their hidden talents.

You, as the leader that you are becoming, must trust your employees to do a good job. By working with them and helping them to be their best, your trust in each other will increase a ton and the work that is done by them will be unbelievable! You must use others' potential and help them to become their best. By doing this, you will find that

The point here is that employees/downlines need to be trusted to do more. A good leader doesn’t manage every single detail. Use others’ potential to your benefit. Let them work with the small details. You will find that you have become a better leader for it.

MOTIVATION-another sometimes overlooked subject

What is something else that you notice about great leaders? Their ability to MOTIVATE their employees/downlines. A lot of the time people get into "ruts" and are stuck at plateaus in their work when you know they are able to do a lot more. Many leaders today try to motivate with old-school tactics, you know.... by causing fear in their employees/downlines. Put yourself in their position for just a second... the boss is threatening you about something(Do this or you'll get fired! RAWR -Angry Boss)

This does NOT work. It may work temporarily. You know, maybe for a month or two. But in the long run it will not do anything for you. The work in the long-term ends up being really poor and the results are not what you want.

An alternative for this is to add challenges for employees. By challenging people, it brings about our animal instincts of win at all cost, find a way to win and be the best. Just like when you were a little kid, I know my parents would always say "I'll race ya" to get me to go somewhere and of course, i'd start running... :-)

A fresh challenge provides excitement and tons of creativity among the team. Make the challenge just outside of their range and let them go for it. This works great for yourself as well, make a goal that you think is just out of reach, I bet you'll find a way to get it ;-)

If the people run into a problem, give them a hint or help guide them towards their goal. Don't just give them the solution though, its better for them to learn and develop themselves as well. Their self-esteem will rise and this will increase their motivational level even more!

The last thing-EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION

We all know the importance of learning, but how many of us stop learning once we reach that one certain goal? I'm not talking about heading back to college or any of that. In my opinion it can be a waste of money since it's too old school for the most part. New information is available online and in Barnes and Nobles/other bookstores.You won't get a little piece of paper saying "blah blah blah now you graduated GOOD JOB" but you'll get something much more valuable. Tangible results.

Take the time. Learn to be a leader. There's tons of articles, books and courses to help you along the path. Talk with other leaders and get advice from them, find out how they got there, what has helped them get to where they are. Go to the nearest bookstore, pick up a book. Read it and start to implement some of what it says. I promise it will be worth it.

You can become a leader. If you apply yourself and get these qualities, you WILL become a Leader. Never give up, Never surrender.