Business leaders are those people who lead work teams within company departments and, mainly, strive to ensure that assigned objectives are met successfully and within the established time.
A business leader, beyond his responsibilities, must possess qualities that represent him as such, both in work and networking spaces. Here are 7 attributes that business leaders possess
1. Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is defined as a set of psychological skills that allow us, in a balanced way, to express our emotions and understand those of others in a rational and empathetic way. It is the art of being responsible and consistent with our emotions both in stressful and calm situations.
Emotional intelligence is made up of five elements:
- Emotional self-awareness.
- Emotional self-control.
- Self-motivation.
- Empathy.
- social skill
In the field of business, emotional intelligence plays a very important role. Much of business success has its roots in the good use of emotions. Let us remember that emotions are nothing more than affective states that people automatically present when faced with certain stimuli.
Business leaders are characterized by having emotional intelligence because they are people who understand that it is not about eliminating or mitigating our emotions, but about accepting and understanding when it is necessary to act in a certain way or when not, depending on the conditions and the people with whom. that is being shared.
2. They empower others
Empowering means giving the power to another person to enhance their abilities and make them see how capable they are of achieving their goals and projects. Also, it is about helping a person or a group of individuals to increase their strengths and give them participation or prominence in a certain task or project.
This power is linked to autonomy and the power to do something. Empowered individuals, therefore, can defend themselves, resist adversity, and have autonomy.
One of the main characteristics of a good business leader is his ability to identify the strengths of his employees and cultivate them to enhance their professional and personal development, obtaining more qualified collaborators who are comfortable with the company.
Successful leadership is one that seeks to bring out the best in other people in order to build a strong team that does not depend on a unanimous decision, but rather each person has the power and responsibility to contribute a solution, idea or think of a strategy to the fulfillment of the objectives.
At this point, the characteristics of a leader differ drastically from a boss. The first always tries to ensure that the people with whom they interact in a work environment have the ability to decide for themselves and highly value the contributions of third parties.
On the contrary, the boss wants to give orders and expect them to be followed exactly as instructed, without taking into consideration the opinion of others. Only he can empower himself in the situation and no one else. Which is a characteristic that is not typical of a business leader and he tends to lean toward authoritarianism.
3. Clarity and focus
In the business world, being focused and having a clear direction is a great advantage. Especially when there are short, medium and long-term goals that need to be met, a time limit for each of them and a budget assigned for each moment.
That is why among the attributes that business leaders possess is having clarity and focus during their workdays. They are persevering people who, when setting a goal, strive to achieve it effectively.
To achieve this, they plan key actions and resources so as not to lose focus on their objectives and results.
4. Time management
Optimizing and managing time efficiently is a great challenge. However, business leaders must work on developing these skills to meet their daily goals and not leave out any responsibility; making use of agendas or digital tools such as Google Calendar, Asana and Trello, which also serve to manage projects.
A business leader is characterized by leading a busy lifestyle with multiple meetings and deliveries a day, so structuring his time and segmenting it into the different activities of the day allows him to attend to each of them in a more optimal way.
Although time management is a characteristic that we must all develop (especially when it comes to academic and work activities), business leaders enhance this skill every day and constantly look for ways to make their time more efficient.
5. They know how to communicate their ideas
Business leaders are good communicators. Mainly, because they need to transmit their messages correctly so that their team understands the activities to be carried out and can carry them out successfully.
To do this, these people make use of presentations, graphics, statistics and audiovisual material, which allows them to assertively communicate and encompass all their ideas.
Business leaders must also have excellent spelling, writing and oratory skills that allow them to engage in negotiations with their clients and express the benefits of their company, products and/or services. In short, a business leader has the ability to creatively use language to achieve important alliances and contracts.
6. Respect for others
Respecting others means valuing their opinion and letting them see how important their contribution is. Respect is a requirement to establish constructive and positive relationships.
Respecting others involves understanding that, despite differences, we all have the same basic physical, psychological and spiritual needs, and that the experience and knowledge of others is useful when applied in particular contexts.
This is why respect for others must be a permanent part of a good business leader and must be expressed in word and deed.
A leader who respects the people around him, and especially his work team, is a person who ensures long-lasting relationships of trust. He recognizes that respect goes both ways and the more respect he promotes, the more respect he will receive.
In business, respect and trust play a fundamental role, since they carry out exchanges of money, products and/or services that must be supported by an institution or agent that is responsible with consumers and has earned their trust.
7. They are in constant training
Constant academic and professional training is an inherent characteristic of any business leader.
People who lead companies need to be updating their knowledge periodically in the face of changes and updates that make life in the markets, including: strategic planning, administration, finances, even marketing and sales.
Business leaders who are successful do so because they recognize that they do not have universal knowledge of things and therefore, they are constantly learning. They rely on digital platforms and tools such as ebooks, webinars, master classes, whitepapers, etc. to acquire knowledge in an attractive way and in line with new educational formats.
In short, the main attributes that business leaders possess are: emotional intelligence, empowerment, clarity and focus, assertive communication, respect for others and constant training.
