5 Quality Leadership

During a conference I attended recently, one of the keynote speakers cited a poll showing that 65% of employees say that the most stressful of their work is their leader, and 58% of people seeking another job they do because they don 't like their leader.

It seems as though there is plenty of room for improvement among our leaders in business. These are the 5 qualities most often cited by my coaching clients and delegates to my training that is essential for leadership:

1. Integrity - employees want their leaders to show personal integrity in their work performance and relationships with staff. They want to be listened to with respect so that they can make known their feelings. They want to be treated fairly and see that their leader will stand up for what they believe is not acceptable behavior that must be seen to be questioned.

2. Enthusiasm - if the leader is not excited, then the team goes down. Leaders must be able to challenge existing assumptions and embrace new ideas, both his and the team. They must be able to take risks, sometimes pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved. Inspirational leadership is never complacent and encourages everyone to be creative.

3. Decisiveness - the leader must make difficult decisions, sometimes without all the necessary information. They must know when and where to get help, but you take all responsibility for the consequences and be generous with credit where credit is due. It takes a strong leader to encourage his staff to take risks for themselves and not their fault, when the result is less positive!

4. Transparency - the team members always want their leader to be clear and simple in their communication. This allows a clarity similar throughout the team. They need clear objectives and a culture of honesty when feedback is perceived as positive or negative, can be given and received, without fear of consequences.

5. Humanity - people want to be treated as individuals, not as units of production. They want a leader who takes the trouble to understand their strengths, weaknesses and circumstances, and that helps them to stretch. Everyone wants to be recognized for their unique contribution and the leader who can do this will be rewarded with much more ....