What Does It Mean to Be a Great Leader?

No matter what steps a person takes, they are bound to encounter some of the best and worst leaders in the world. In the professional world, we have a distinct separation between the terms "manager" and "leader." Though managers instill themselves with leadership roles, they often lack the necessary abilities and skills that true leaders require to inspire and direct others.

Anyone can find themselves in a leadership position, but what does it mean to be a great leader? 

Who Can Be a Leader?

The truth is anyone can be a leader, regardless of their professional roles or duties. Some of the best leaders can be people who never sought to be in a position of directing others in a specific direction.

The definition of “leader” or “leadership” changes depending on who you ask. Some might say that leaders should be the people whom others turn to for answers. Others will tell you that great leaders are the people everyone feels comfortable around.

With so much gray area, how can anyone truly lead if they don’t have a concept of what it takes?

As with all other walks of life, failure is a part of success. Yes, you read that right. The best leaders are the ones who have failed countless times trying to lead. Often through failure leaders learn what does and doesn’t work – and even through this learning, not every lesson learned can be applied to every situation. No two approaches work the same. That being said, you can circumvent many of the failures that create great leaders by working with a Bonfire leadership coach. A leadership coach will help you find your strengths and weaknesses to help you become a more effective leader in all facets of your life. 

Proper leadership requires patience, understanding, and a drive to continue learning new information. 

Traits That Make a Great Leader

A simple Google search will pull up dozens of pages listing what different sources believe to be the ultimate traits of a good leader. While all these lists have differing points, they have some essential pieces in common.

Goal Setting

Without a clear result in mind, people begin to feel as though they are spinning their wheels and getting nowhere with their work.

Successful leaders understand and recognize this. They envision a clear picture of what they want and how it will help others. They can detail and effectively plan all the steps it will take to get this job done.

Fostering Optimism

Nobody wants to work in an environment that makes them feel as though they walk on pins and needles all day.

A workplace that is warm, inviting, and a safe space for all stems from an effective leader at the helm. By cultivating a workspace in which everyone feels valued, optimism flows freely.

Checking Every Box

While productive leaders must focus on results, they can never lose sight of the tiny details that comprise the big picture.

For the car to run, all cylinders must be firing. The same applies to success in the work environment. The effective leader never lets the small details go without notice.

What Does it Take to Be a Great Leader?

As we learn more about mental health and how people react to the world around them, leaders have had to evolve and adapt their practices. The truly mindful leader has to understand the mental health of their team while also mastering some of the most difficult human characteristics.

Strength and Resilience

Remember, leaders often have to fail over and over again to grow.

Being able to accept failure, recognize what went wrong, and move forward with the knowledge gained is the difference between growing and stagnating. However, failure can be a deeply traumatic experience, depending on the situation. 

A person who looks failure in the face and finds the strength to move on, not past it, but through it, possesses a great deal of resilience. Being resilient doesn’t mean that failure can't affect you. Rather, it means you possess the necessary tools to use the setback to your advantage and not allow it to consume you.

Adaptation

If you have ever experienced a "normal day," then you already know there is no such thing as a "normal day."

Rarely does anything ever go according to plan. We all have this grandiose idea of how we want our day, week, month, or year to go. Life, however, has other plans.

Workplace flexibility is essential for great leaders. Though challenging, leaders who excel at adaptation model it well enough that their team strives to do the same.

Accept the things you cannot change, find ways to work around (or with) them, and watch life get a little easier as you do.

Dialogue and Communication

Though it (ironically) goes without saying, communication is a make-or-break habit. It’s also one of the easiest to spot when used effectively or ineffectively.

Workplaces that exercise poor communication leave team members feeling lost and as though they are flying by the seat of their pants at any given moment. There is no clear direction, and job satisfaction goes out the window.

Leaders that communicate effectively foster a safe, proactive, and emotionally lucrative environment for anyone who enters it. People know and understand their expectations, and things function smoothly. Though proper communication doesn’t always guarantee successful outcomes, it can mean the difference between what drives them.

Leading With Courage

Being a leader is scary. The responsibility of steering everyone in the right direction can consume a person. Feedback never stops coming in from all angles, making matters even more stressful.

Courageous leaders understand that they need this feedback to drive their success. Seeking out feedback can be daunting, but it is a necessary step to directing a team toward success.

Amongst other things, leaders must be willing to own up to mistakes, have the tough conversations nobody wants to have, and occasionally make the decision they know will be controversial.

Having the courage to look fear in the face and move on makes a leader great.

Maintenance

There’s the idea that nobody should ever assume they are great. Those who believe they are great have already begun a slide toward mediocrity.

Leaders who believe they can never stop improving their craft are correct. There is always more to learn and understand. Truly great leaders never have the time to stop and boast.

Great leaders must also always show up for their team. Teams who never see or know where their leaders are cannot have faith that they are moving in the right direction. 

Great leaders show up for their people and always ask the question, “How can I support you?”

Owning Up

Though it’s a heavy hat to wear, leaders must always be willing to accept responsibility for all aspects of the team. A true leader knows that they are in charge of every function of their team, from the big picture down to the granular details.

Anything and everything that happens on their watch directly results from their leadership. Paying attention to all team's functions and understanding how their influence affected them makes a leader great.

Nobody said leading others was easy, but when done responsibly it can yield excellent results.

A Friendly Reminder

Though anyone can be a leader, not everyone does it well. Proper leadership requires a never-ending commitment to and passion for success. It can be very easy (and exciting) to get started, but once the road gets tough, the real test begins.

Leaders must wear multiple hats at once and can never lose sight of their endgame. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

How to Develop Leadership Skills and Be a Great Leader

The seeds of leadership get planted at different times. Most people can think back to the most effective and inspiring leaders they have ever worked with. Remembering how that person made you feel and drove success for everyone is usually enough to ignite a desire to be that person for someone else. This is where leadership begins.

Regardless of how big or small your aspirations may be, the first step to leading others is realizing you have the potential to do so. Even if you find yourself at the bottom of a corporate ladder, there are always multiple avenues and methods through which you can direct and steer others.

There is always a path to lead others along. Though the road may not always be clear, have courage and let your passions guide you.

Final Thoughts

One big takeaway from all this is that leadership is not just one person who does anything well. Rather, it is a culmination of multiple skills being present at any given moment. These skills receive a boost from the person’s knowledge, passion, and character. The right combination of these can create the perfect recipe for success.

So, what does it mean to be a great leader? It means that although you know the road is long and rough, you believe in the journey and the people along for the ride. After all, leadership is a journey. Leadership means staying the course despite obstacles.

If you’re ready to develop your leadership potential into something great, contact Bonfire Coaching now for a leadership course with proven results.