Written by 8:19 pm Women in Business • 53 Comments

Qualities of a Strong Leader

woman giving instruction

There are certain qualities that a strong leader must possess for people to want to follow them. You can own your own business, but a strong leader entices people to work for them. If not, they will eventually quit.

If you want to be in management, you must become a strong leader; if not, your chances for promotion are minimal. 

What Are the Qualities of a Strong Leader?

A strong leader knows that they are not the most intelligent person in the room, nor should they be. You need to surround yourself with people that make you and your organization better. People that can take things to the next level.

Having a solid team around you is incredibly crucial to growth for any business. I’ve learned throughout my time at 1SEO if the same people keep doing the same things, you keep getting the same results. Isn’t that the definition of insanity?

Strong Leaders Delegate Tasks

Proper delegation is another characteristic of a strong leader. This can be hard for many, they have it stuck in their minds that they have to do it themselves. Especially if they want something done right. 

This is a terrible mindset. Not only do you hurt yourself by taking on more than you should be handling, you also hurt people around you. You’re keeping them from being able to grow and develop new skills. If you let them grow, they can eventually take some of the workload off of you.

Just like when you were a baby, you couldn’t walk until you learned to fall. You weren’t a failure. You just couldn’t walk yet.

Why Delegation is Important

The people around you may not do it precisely the same way, but they will never learn if you don’t allow them to try. You can’t physically grow your company if you can’t offload some day-to-day tasks that bog you down. 

It’s hard to be a visionary when you also have to be an operator. Your entrepreneurial mindset cannot flourish if you don’t have time to be creative and think about the next steps for your team.  

Follow Up and Follow Through

You need to know your clients are being handled in the way you expect. I don’t mean micromanagement; no one wants to feel micromanaged. 

However, if you have people who work for you, they must be held accountable. The only way to properly hold them responsible is by inspecting the work they do. You must ensure it’s being done to your standards. 

Managers Manage Tasks. Leaders Manage People. 

It doesn’t mean you’re checking every task while analyzing results. You can delegate that. You need to know that tasks are being completed and standards are being upheld.

A strong leader has the ability to connect to their employees. If your employees don’t share your vision, they won’t help grow the company. They will do a task, collect their paycheck, and go home. At 1SEO, we focus on a customer-centric mindset. I find it crucial to ensure my clients always come first. They need to know why that is our mentality, and we chose this mindset for a reason.

I can’t expect my staff to follow me if they don’t know who we are or why we do things. 

Every organization is different. They have different cultures, serve a diverse audience or community, and have different leadership styles. One thing that all organizations share is that they have employees, managers, and leaders. 

Don’t Let Your Company Be a Leaky Ship

This happens if everyone isn’t on the same page with the company’s culture. A leak can be fixed if identified and corrected, but if left unattended, a leak spreads and has the potential to sink the ship.

Don’t Overlook Negativity

Just like a leak, negativity spreads. 

It can burrow deep into the weeds of your organization and cause so much unhappiness, uneasiness, and discontent that it becomes critical. A strong leader understands the difference between a bad day and a bad attitude.

Strong leaders understand the difference between a negative person and a problematic situation. It’s essential that, as a leader, your negativity never leaks onto the floor. Yes, you are human. You get negative sometimes. You need to handle that situation behind closed doors. 

You find a resolution, calm yourself down, address those involved, and move on. You set a poor example for your employees when you walk out onto the floor and let your negativity be known.

You owe it to your employees to show the type of behaviors that you want them to emulate. Allow future leaders to mimic what makes you successful, thereby allowing them to be promoted. 

This Helps You to Become More Successful

If you want your company to grow, you have to show people what strong leadership looks like. 

You also have to be willing to learn from those around you.

You have to be willing to let the smarter people in the room. 

Can you handle that?

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Last modified: June 1, 2022

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