The 10 Personality Traits of a Leader

What are the personality traits that define a leader? In every organization there are objectives that must be met, and the existence (or not) of people who guide others is one of the keys to making things work.

Human groups (companies, political parties, unions…) are characterized by investing a lot time and effort to detect and develop the leaders of the future The importance at this point usually focuses on the detection of profiles with good potential in intellectual, communicative, and even physical attributes. This vision presupposes that there is a known number of personal traits that a leader must have, traits that have been well defined.

The personality characteristics of the leader

The characterization of leader skills has been studied based on personal tests and also through observation of behavior in group contexts. This line of study has managed to correlate almost all of the leadership traits

Below, we summarize the ten most prevalent personality traits in people with great leadership capacity according to this research.

1. Communication skills

Communication must operate in two directions: clearly and assertively expressing ideas, instructions and opinions, as well as ensuring that the message is heard and understood. Also characteristic of a leader is the ability to know how to listen and take into account all the opinions, individual and collective, that reach him.

2. Emotional intelligence

Researchers Salovey and Mayer (1990) initially characterized Emotional Intelligence as the “ability to manage one’s own and others’ emotions and feelings, to discern such feelings, and to use this information to correspond with precise actions.” Feelings mobilize the subject, which is why emotional intelligence is a key trait of the leader.

3. Ability to determine goals and objectives

The management of a group requires knowing What should be the roadmap to guide you? In the absence of precise goals and objectives, the effort may be fruitless, and the group may feel frustration. The objectives must be consistent with the group’s capacity: it is not effective to set unattainable goals.

4. Planning and development capacity

When the objectives have already been set, it is essential to draw up a plan to achieve them. This plan must plan all the actions that must be carried out the times, the people who will carry them out, the resources that will be used…

5. Proactive self-knowledge

A good leader must be aware of its virtues and must make the most of them Obviously, he is also aware of his weaknesses, and fights to try to improve.

6. Self-development and assistance to colleagues

A leader is capable of growing while helping others develop. To improve, it is not necessary to do it “defensively”; He is not a slave to his group role or reputation Help the group grow by teaching others, delegating tasks and creating spaces for action and communication so that other people feel useful and valued.

7. Innovation

will try to find new and better ways of doing activities This trait is fundamental in the context of a society that advances at a rapid pace, with constant changes in technology, communications and high competitiveness.

8. Responsibility

He is aware that his position in the group gives him power, and knows how to use it to benefit the whole It is not selfish; Use your position to activate processes and energize potentials.

9. Information

A good leader must be informed. No corporation can survive without the presence of leaders who know how to manage information. Know the processing of information, interpret it correctly and cleverly and then use it in the most useful and creative way is a key skill.

10. Charisma

This last point is controversial. Some authors believe that the trait of charisma has very different definitions, and that depending on which of them is used, it will be a characteristic present in people with leadership skills, or not. And, in fact, it seems that there are even certain common facial features among leaders.

Defining the concept as the ability to attract and cause good feelingsAs well as attracting attention and appearing pleasant and empathetic in the eyes of other people, charisma is a crucial trait in a good leader. Charisma can be trained by socializing and showing genuine interest in people. Charisma is related to the absence of selfishness a factor that is decisive when perceiving a person as a leader.