The Good Qualities of a Leader you need to Remember

Let’s say, tomorrow you’d be promoted and become the manager of the company you are working for. What qualities should you develop to set a good example to your subordinates?

Good Qualities of a Leader

In this article, let me help you identify three important qualities to inspire people in the office

Follow the Conflict of Interest policy or COI

Almost all companies have an in-place COI policy. This internal process determines the boundaries between employee and company interests. And, reminds workers to prevent accepting favors from external partners to avoid connivance and corruption.

A good leader needs to be an example of having this behavior because if left uncontrolled, this can lead to a deep-seated culture of corruption. Without even knowing it, you’ll be passing confidential bidding documents and other information in exchange for monetary favors. Corruption can damage or even destroy a company, and you as a leader, I don’t think you want to be remembered as someone who helped more people lose their jobs.

It’s necessary to be friends with external stakeholders, but you as a leader must know the boundaries to exemplify a high level of integrity in the office.

Be present when it matters

What I mean here is, you need to let your people see you when something important is going on. You need to know their actual condition and assess if they are still doing well or they are overloaded.

An example of this is during a project. As a leader, you need to be present in all phases of the project. It doesn’t work when you’re only present during the ideation stage and during completion and celebration. Employees or workers are not open enough to tell you about their struggles in the fear that you might misinterpret them as being lazy or complaining about their jobs.

As a matter of fact, you being a leader, if you’re not present during times when front liners are needing support and solution, you are the one who is lazy.

Thus, you need to be present in times when your leadership presence is needed the most. But most importantly, you need to make your presence felt. Give value to the group, because they will see your weaknesses and faults.

Lead with empathy

If you’re not present during times when it matters, you’ll soon develop a lack of empathy for your group members. And when that happens, you just ignited a coup against you. Don’t expect a passing rate during your next 360 surveys.

Now, what is to lead with empathy from a standpoint of a worker?

I will emphasize the standpoint of an employee because I am an employee. You as a manager may have forgotten this feeling after being detached from your fundamentals for a very long time.

Empathy is a skill of understanding the value of your worker to the company and seeing his dedication over his faults. It also means giving credit when it's due, and providing mentoring when needed. Mentoring not shouting. Shouting to someone without even providing clear guidance is like making a goof out of yourself. And if you want to be a good leader, it’s a big NO-NO. You can’t even guarantee obedience from your kids when you raise your voice, how much more to people that you’re not related to.

And the way to show empathy towards lower ranks or people like me is to level with them. Get to know them better, allow them to open up about their challenges at work. Because for sure, they are seeing the problem more than you. Make them feel that they are safe with your guidance so they will be more transparent with you, and as a result, they’ll respect you more. Do the opposite of this, then you’d become the topic during lunch breaks and you’ll only receive fake smiles on every “Good Morning’s”.