What Makes a Strong Leader? 5 Essential Qualities

Strong leadership is the heart of every successful business -- especially with startups who face constant challenges. One leader dreams up creative and innovative ideas. Another leader might be fantastic at unifying people under one goal. What do they have in common? There are five leadership qualities all successful leaders have. 

Emotional Intelligence. 

This skill enables leaders to understand their colleagues and employees and respond to situations appropriately. Emotional Intelligence directly influences how leaders communicate with others. There are five main pillars of Emotional Intelligence:

• Self-Awareness: Understanding the power of your emotions, where they come from, how they drive your behavior, and the ability to recognize them in yourself.
• Self-Regulation: Recognizing your emotions as they occur, the ability to think before doing, and control how they affect your moods.
• Motivation: This is why you get up in the morning. It is what drives you in business beyond money or status.
• Empathy: Your ability to recognize, understand, and appropriately react to the emotions of others.
• Social Skills: Ability to build, strengthen, and maintain personal and business relationships with others.

Visionary.

Like an archer aiming at his target, a clear vision helps prioritize action. A visionary is the guiding light that defines collective purpose. 

Don’t confuse a great idea with great vision. Big ideas can drive value, but visionary leaders specify and convey short-term benchmarks and long-term goals with a clear strategy. They deeply understand their industry and test their vision repeatedly. Visionaries invest time in relationships to energize and inspire. Without those elements, your big idea remains just a dream. 

Persistence. 

Hurdles are inevitable on the road to great success. Obstacles, difficulties, and discouragement can pop up at any moment. Perhaps you lack a clear vision, are concerned about your strategy, or worry about being a good leader. A roadblock might delay an excellent leader, but they will use persistence to push forward every single time. 

If persistence does not come naturally to you, practice mindfulness to grow it over time. When your mind plants seeds of doubt in your abilities to overcome difficulties, fighting those thoughts can make them stronger. Do not dwell. That doubt deserves no more attention than any other thought. Instead, briefly acknowledge that thought and seamlessly move to a new one. 

Passion. 

A drive to win is one of the most vital leadership qualities needed to be successful. Steve Jobs routinely pointed out that without passion, a rational person would simply give up. Jeff Bezos said, “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you.” Put your whole heart into your vision, see no hurdle too high to jump over, and utilize your emotional connection to your product or service to get past the finish line. Passion helps you make your vision a part of your DNA. I’ve always believed that ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. To tap into your passion, ask yourself these questions:

• What are my overall values? What makes you light up when you talk about it?
• What long-term goals do I have for my business that you believe in strongly? 
• What is working well for you in life and your career?
• Who and what has been inspiring you lately?
• What is not working in your life or business that is leaving you too drained to address other things in your life?
• What can you use your passion to focus on today?

Use your answers to discover, maintain, and apply what drives and motivates you!

Intuition. 

Albert Einstein said, "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." Intuition is more than a hunch. It’s about instinctively understanding what information is and isn’t relevant or useful to the issue at hand. If you are a strategic, passionate, persistent leader who is willing to challenge their own assumptions, intuition is a great way to exercise your intelligence. 

Some might confuse intuition with instinct. Instinct is that first raw biological and psychological thought that comes to mind when faced with certain situations. It’s a common trait that every human and animal has, and relying on instinct alone can lead to mistakes. Intuition, however, is more refined and relates to our connection to the world around us. Trust that small voice when you hear it because more times than not, it's right.

All successful leaders embody these five leadership qualities. Put work toward personal and professional growth in these areas and you will surely reap the rewards.