Truth be told, there are no definite leadership skills an individual must have to be a leader. Leadership means different things to different people. The definitions of leadership are many and varied and because the aim of this page is to show you leadership skills examples, I will quickly define Leadership in succinct.
As mentioned earlier, leadership means different things to different people. A definition usually depends on the perspectives, personalities, philosophies, values and professions of those who define it. In its most basic form, leadership is defined as the art of moving others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.
Therefore, a leader is an individual who possesses the ability to encourage, motivate and/or influence others. Because of the multitude of venues in which leaders are found, what constitutes leadership varies a great deal.
A famous quote by Douglas MacArthur cited in Anderson (2015) states that “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”
Thus, Leadership is defined as a process of individual influence on a group of individuals aimed at the achievement of individual and or common goals of the group or the organization” (Benscotter and Rothwell, 2012).
The focus of this page is leadership skills examples. However, let me quickly show you the most common style of leadership:
- Autocratic: Top-down approach that usually includes the leader making most of the decisions alone.
- Participatory: Leader includes followers in decision making and other processes.
- Delegatory: Leader often shares responsibilities with followers.
- Charismatic: Leader is well-liked by followers and has much influence in the organization.
- Democratic: A leader uses the opinion of the majority of the group when making decisions and when delegating responsibility.
I know you may be familiar with the seven common leadership skills below.
- Communication
- Active listening
- Conscientiousness
- Empowerment
- Effective communication
- Persistence
- Consistency
Are you familiar with the following skills?
Leadership Skills Examples
Global Mindset: Leaders with a strong stock of Global Mindset know about cultures and political and economic systems in other countries and understand how their global industry works. They are passionate about diversity and are willing to push themselves. They are comfortable with being uncomfortable in uncomfortable environments. They are also better able to build trusting relationships with people who are different from them by showing respect and empathy and by being good listeners.
Collaborative: Team orientation, self-sacrifice, diplomatic, nation-building, diplomatic, team integrator, consensus-seeking. This skill gives leaders the capacity to engage people and groups outside one’s formal control and inspire them to work toward common goals. It involves breaking down walls and silos and building close cross-functional relationships based on trust and communication
Creative: Innovation, entrepreneurship, learning agility. This skill help leaders to create and realize innovative solutions especially in the face of structurally complex or changing situations. It refers to those people who, when all is shifting and new approaches are yet unknown, can still create clarity of purpose for their teams.
Ethical: Religious, family-oriented, tolerant of diversity, integrity, social mission, social awareness, integrity, humane attitudes. Ethical leadership skill demonstrates a high regard for values. The principles of ethical leadership include honesty, justice, respect, community and integrity. Ethical leadership is critical to the success of any business.
Goal-directed: Performance orientation, decisiveness, authoritativeness, self-directed, purposeful. Goal-oriented leadership involves setting clear and specific goals where it is known, based on established experience, that they know can be achieved. If all the different goals are achieved, they will combine to improve the team’s overall performance and achieve the collective goal
Pragmatic: Fostering economic and physical security, apprenticeship, experiential learning, persistence, decisiveness, action learning, problem-solving. Pragmatic leaders are skilled listeners, exercising diligence while socializing ideas to listen holistically.
Strategic: Visionary, inspirational, motivational, environmental protection, development through opening-up, self-sacrifice, communicator, performance orientation, future orientation. It is the ability of a leader to chalk out a strategic vision and persuade fellow teams to undertake necessary actions to acquire that vision
Systemic thinker: This is a leadership skill to perform problem-solving in complex system. The ability to appreciate the interconnectedness and interdependency of the whole system, at all levels, and to recognise how changes to parts of the system affect the whole.
Open-minded: Actively seeking new knowledge and diverse opinions, questioning received wisdom, including being willing to have one’s own opinions challenged
Inclusiveness: Inclusive leadership skill involves giving a voice to team members. Collaborative and participative, reconciling different views and belief systems, both within communities and across geographic, cultural and political divides.
Navigates Complexity: This is a skill that involves analysing, synthesising and translating complex issues, responding to risk, uncertainty and dilemmas, recognising and seizing opportunities and resolving problems or conflicts