5 Leadership Qualities Every Business Graduate Should Have

Great leaders are essential for the success of any organization and are often the driving force behind company growth. They guide those around them to work on tasks and help them understand the problem more deeply. They have a positive mindset and create a productive environment where their colleagues and subordinates can be honest and open.

Great leaders are always shaped into the mold of the organization. Being a good leader is subjective to the environment you work in. Outstanding leadership is malleable and adaptable and can take many forms. A good leader is never born; rather, they are always made. Research suggests that only about one-third of the variance in leadership qualities is associated with heredity.

Did you know that a good business leader is often similar to a military leader? Just as a military leader is a critical thinker, quick on their feet, and decisive, business leaders must execute the same skills in the workplace.

You May Read: Give Your Finance Business a Solid Brand Name

Here are five leadership qualities that every business graduate should have to succeed in the business world:

1. Personal Development and Self-Awareness

Good leaders work on developing their emotional intelligence. Those that can do so are more resilient and adaptive and can take criticism positively. They are active listeners and incredibly flexible. They ensure smooth communication with those around them.

Many business schools stress the importance of developing emotional intelligence for influential leadership. Even the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) ensures that accredited business schools work on developing both hard and soft skills. As a result, you’ll see that business students pursuing a BBA or MBA from AACSB accredited schools are often more emotionally intelligent than those that don’t. Hence, they turn out to be great leaders.

Here are some ways in which an effective leader can work on your personal development and be more self-aware:

• Set SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Prioritize working actively to achieve them. If you cannot do so, then hold yourself accountable.
• Always try to look at a problem from all angles and avoid distractions. Moreover, try to avoid being stuck on small and inconsequential details.
• Always keep your personal and professional life separate. Try to maintain a work-life balance so those that follow you can do the same.
• Make sure you do a SWOT Analysis of yourself every few months. A SWOT consists of analyzing your strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats you are subjected to. This will help you attain a greater sense of self-awareness.
• Give yourself space to be human and make mistakes. Then, learn from them as you grow older rather than regretting them.

2. Effective Communication

A leader’s way of communication determines the success of their team. Therefore, there should be smooth and effective communication between those in the chain of command. Leaders are motivators and guides; they must be effective communicators to fulfill these functions.

You May Read: 5 Best Online Tools for Business Owners

Good communication also determines the efficiency of a group and helps complete tasks within record time. Moreover, they are completed effectively and adequately because there is no communication gap between the leader and subordinates.

Good communication is made up of the following attributes:

• Transparency and Clarity
• Active Listening
• Adaptability
• Empathy
• Positive Body Language

3. Developing Others

Good leaders are often selfless and want to develop others around them. They follow the situational leadership theory, which states that influential leaders are adaptive to the dynamic of the group they are working with and guide them in a manner that helps members polish their skills and develop others.

They develop others by doing the following things:

• They craft a team that is diverse and has a variety of skills. They give the members space and trust to use their skills to contribute to the project at hand.
• They are empathetic but never lose sight of the leader in themselves. Hence they adaptively execute authority.
• They delegate tasks to their team members and let them complete the job in their way, instead of micromanaging. It shows them what their team is capable of accomplishing.
• They have an effective network and a connection outside the organization. So they seek people who can train the team and make them stronger.
• They try to shape people into taking their position, i.e., they work on succession planning.

4. Encourage Innovation, Strategic Thinking, and Execution

A leader determines the direction of the organization. They decide where the organization is headed and make strategies to ensure success. A good leader works on product road-maps and HR policies that affect their team and keeps in mind the government regulations and technology advancements that impact their business in any way, shape, or form. They may even wish to explore things like Strategy Execution Reinvented with Innovative Technology to help them visualize their business’ performance and develop strategies to help improve areas or operations that need a little extra push to get them to a similar level as the rest of the business.

Here are a few ways in which influential leaders encourage innovation, strategic thinking, and action in their team members:

• They encourage brainstorming sessions and prototyping. They ensure that everyone’s ideas are given equal importance.
• They are willing to try new ideas and encourage creative and innovative solutions to problems.
• They are genuinely interested in the company’s business operations and adopt strategies that benefit the business.
• They ensure that they are adaptable to the changing business dynamic around them.
• They set a vision and attainable targets for their organization.
• They make informed decisions. Even if they make risky decisions, they can justify them to their managers.

5. Ethics

You’ll see that good leader always ensures that they keep ethical principles and the consequences of their action in mind. They have a zero-tolerance policy for ethical breaches and reprimand themselves and others for harmful conduct in the workplace.

They ensure that all their team members follow the code of conduct. In addition, they exhibit personal concern for the organization they work in and ensure that none of their actions or team members negatively affect the organization.

They Exhibit the Following Ethics!

• They are not vain and understand what being in authority entails. They are honest with their employees and ensure they can do justice to their power and control.
• They are transparent, open, and authentic.
• They ensure that everyone in the team is working with each other, and if there is tension between two or more team members, they actively work on eliminating it. They don’t scold or criticize them in a manner that would lead to demoralization.
• They take responsibility for their mistakes and expect others to do the same.

Conclusion

Leadership is an essential quality that is highly sought after in business graduates. Good leaders are self-aware and work on developing themselves personally to be a great addition to any team. They are patient, kind, and open with their team members. They work on succession planning and develop those around them.

You May Read: Tips for Organizing your Business Budget

They are strategic thinkers, and they encourage innovation and creativity. In addition, they promote effective communication and are always encouraging.