9 Qualities of Highly Influential Leaders!

Exceptional leaders have an uncanny ability to recognize talent, encourage teams, and bring out the best in people. They can literally change the course of a company and an employee’s career. However, being an exemplary leader does not only require being a subject-matter expert. In order to work their magic and create long-lasting results, successful leaders persevere daily to embody and enact certain behaviors that make them highly likable. Outlined below are key qualities of highly influential and likable leaders:

1.     Empathy: Exceptional leaders often “get it”. They understand what others are going through and can walk a mile in your shoes. They accept that everyone in their team is “simply human”. There will be good days and bad days. So, they try to consistently practice kindness and empathy. A true sign of someone being such a leader is someone you can go to, to discuss your challenges and come out feeling empowered with renewed faith, even if there are no quick solutions.

2.     Humility: “The tree that is laden with fruit bends down. However, a tree that has no fruit to offer remains erect.” Similarly, gifted leaders are humble, grounded, and down-to-earth. Instead of constantly boasting about their accomplishments, they actively serve others with their knowledge, experience and skills. They are genuinely interested in getting to know the aspirations and ambitions of people who work for them. It is remarkable and refreshing to come across individuals that are highly accomplished, however still truly humble.

3.     Self-awareness: A Yoga Guru once asked a group of students “If you do not truly know yourself, how do you expect to be fully aware of the world around you?” Self-awareness is a critical skill in every influential leaders’ toolbox. To know precisely what makes you tick, and exactly what annoys you enables you to consciously “respond” to the events around you, rather than impulsively “react”. Influential leaders are minutely aware of their triggers, reactions and negative emotions, on how to tackle them, to not let things slide out of proportion and let their negativity diffuse into the team. This high level of self-awareness makes them very effective in managing not only their own but also their team's interactions. Likable leaders also often prefer to listen more (to understand) and talk less to cultivate an awareness of others.

4.     Ethics: Exceptional leaders accept the rather unnerving reality that they are being constantly watched by their peers and subordinates. Often, whatever they say or do will be set as a precedent for the rest of the team. The quality and culture of the entire team depends on the leader’s actions and behavior. Influential leaders strive to display strong character, integrity and professionalism. In situations when they falter, they are willing to take responsibility for the setback or mistake rather than blaming it on someone else.

5.     Trustworthy: People intuitively like to follow those who they can trust. Likable leaders take time to cultivate trust. They are respectful communicators while delivering honest feedback rather than beating around the bush and avoid gossip.

6.     Enablers: Effective leaders know that micro-management is a mistake causing undue frustration and anxiety. Micro-management makes the best employees flee and the remaining too exasperated to perform. Influential leaders enable their subordinates by giving them space and freedom to do their jobs and encourage collaboration. This has been shown to increase productivity, satisfaction and foster trust within teams. Exceptional leaders trust their teams and give them space to perform, err, grow and evolve. They delegate and engage their team members in adequate assignments so the team can advance their skills. This in turn makes the leader even more likable as they are not just invested in their own growth but also their team's.

7.     Genuine: Genuine leaders are secure and truly comfortable in their own skin. They are confident about what they know, inquisitive to learn what they do not, and open to critical feedback. They do not fake who they are not, and hence, people find it easy to be genuine around them.

8.     Expert Learners: Influential leaders are experts in their respective fields and are always up to date with latest developments and insights. And despite being at the top of the game, they are committed to being life-long learners.

9.     Confidence: Real confidence is infectious. In fact, influence feeds on confidence! Truly inspiring leaders have the courage to drive major change and infuse confidence in everyone around them. This innate quality is a result of years of self-development and hard work and is not primarily dependent on external praise and accolades.

Thus, it is a balance of both soft and hard skills that makes a likable, highly influential leader.

I hope we all keep coming across exceptional men and women who are courageous leaders, leaving a positive mark not just on our careers, but also on our characters!