Leaders are called such because of the position they occupy and the capability in team development alongside peers and subordinates. That of overseeing and directing affairs in their organization. But for a leader to be truly successful in an executive position and thus retain that position, there are qualities he must possess. It is these qualities that separate successful leaders from unsuccessful ones. We will consider the top six habits a leader occupying an executive position should possess.
Top habits of an executive leader
He should be a good listener
Unless a leader listens to his employees, he will not understand them and their reasons for often certain things. A leader may be tempted to make a rash decision based on the way things appear on the surface. But it is quite immature and unwise to act based on the face value of things. A great leader digs beneath the surface to unravel the real nature of things. When a leader listens to others, he will be able to bring facts together and make a great decision.
He should be clear
Clarity is a great habit that every leader needs. Your employees should clearly understand your rules and how to apply them. The rewards, as well as the punishment for defaulters, should also be clearly understood. A great leader should always ensure that his job rules are reasonable and clear enough for all to understand. Having sets of ambiguous rules hard to understand will frustrate employees and reduce their efficiencies. Also if the rewards and punishment rules are unclear and irregular, the employee’s motivations for keeping them will be reduced.
A good leader should be passionate
A leader’s passion for the philosophies of his job should reflect in all his words and actions. A leader provides a vision for the direction of his business. He knows where the business presentation is and understands where it is going. If he is passionate about this vision, it will rub off on his employees, because enthusiasm is highly contagious. A leader that has the habit of being passionate about his vision will set good examples for others to follow.
He should be decisive
The ability to reach meaningful decisions quickly is important for a leader. Procrastination is bad for every leader. A great leader should be able to put together minor details and use the knowledge gained to make meaningful decisions. He should not allow things to get worse before making decisions. A leader should be very responsive. He notices impending danger and takes action to prevent them. Prevention is always better than cure. He will also discern business opportunities and take decisive actions to develop strategies to maximize the opportunity.
A good leader should be courageous
Courage is born when someone is able to take action in doing hard but necessary things. He should dare to lead any program or project that comes his way. It takes courage to make great decisions. A leader should face challenges frontally and address them the way they appear. For him to be successful in this, he should not be scared of people and circumstances. A leader should be bold enough to address issues and not hide or shy away from challenges
He should be humble
Humility is a mark of wisdom, and not of cowardice. A leader should be humble enough to acknowledge his limitations. Such acknowledgment helps him to realize the need to improve to better ways of doing things. A leader that thinks he knows it all will not grow. He should accept his mistakes and make corrections. If a leader is humble, those under him will learn humility also. They will be more willing to accept corrections and improve themselves.
