what are the characteristics of a leader

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WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A LEADER

Leadership entails the authority or ability of an individual or individuals (leaders ) to lead others towards the achievement of a goal It involves directing and influencing others towards the accomplishment of the stated common objectives and involves responsibility and accountability for the group . The responsibility often lies with a leader . There are several leaders who posses different leadership styles which are applied today in many organizations and institutions . They include an autocrat leader , the Laissez-Faire

manager and the democratic leader just to mention

The Laissez- faire managers use little control over their groups . This allows the team-members to sort out their duties and obligations but the manager is not in any way involved with them . On the other hand , a democratic leader often uses participation and group teamwork as his style of leadership towards attaining a collaborative decision . Lastly an autocratic leader applies unilateralist while dominating the team-members in to achieve a particular objective . Today 's environments as well as people are changing as changes in technology also advance . This therefore calls for effective leadership which needs to be established by a good leader . In addition , these leaders need to posses certain basic characteristics as regards leadership . Napoleon notes that

The man who can follow a leader must efficiently , is usually the man who develops into leadership most rapidly . An intelligent follower has many advantages , among them the opportunity to acquire knowledge from his leader

Consequently , leaders need to posses qualities that will enhance effective management of people be it in institutions or organizations Leaders should display a good work ethic that will enable other employees to emulate . A good work ethic includes : being on time , being organized , giving praise to employees , being well prepared for meetings and having good communication within the venture that will go a long way towards achieving emotional and financial success . Therefore , a leader should set an example with an ethical set of values for other managers and employees . For a leader to be effective , he /she should be willing to constantly learn and at the same time integrate the knowledge they have acquired through learning into their leadership style

A leader should constantly keep up with the current trends in leadership and be aware that the leadership styles are constantly changing . In other words a leader should always be open to change and should also be able to mobilize people and acquire their trust in the process

In addition , a leader should also be able to communicate in to attain the required outcome and should be able to convey these messages in a manner that will enable others to be motivated , convinced and persuaded hence enabling them work towards achieving a certain goal

Integrity is essential as a quality of a leader . A leader should be trustworthy otherwise his subordinates will view him as being untrustworthy . This therefore calls for a leader to be able to set standards and adhere...