There are many leadership qualities a supervisor or manager, or any leader should have. But, without this one quality, a leader won’t have many followers, and a workplace leader won’t have much cooperation from employees. What do you think that quality is?
- Having a vision
- The ability to plan and delegate
- Being trustworthy and honest
- Being responsible
- A sense of humor
- Creativity
- The ability to relate to others
Yes, all these and many more like them are essential leadership qualities, but they are not the one essential quality I am thinking of.
Having a vision is important, but without this essential leadership quality, others won’t want to follow your vision.
Being trustworthy is admirable, but that alone won’t inspire others.
Being responsible is essential, but that too, is not the one that will make you a leader that others will follow. I’m sure you know many responsible people who can’t seem to get cooperation from others.
I believe the Number One Leadership Quality is… (drum roll please!)
Confidence
Without confidence, people will not follow you. People are always looking to see if you believe in what you are saying or doing. As a leader, you need to be able to appear confident, even if you don’t feel confident on the inside. For people to follow, you must be the confident leader.
And, you can be a leader even if you don’t hold a leadership position. In fact, everyone can be a leader to someone.
My aha moment with leadership…
My aha moment with leadership confidence came in a unique way. It was the summertime and my husband, and I were vacationing in a mountain ski area with friends. The ski chair lift was operating, even though it was summertime, so that people could see the view from the top of the mountain.
We rode the chairlift up, enjoyed the view, ate a picnic lunch at the top of the mountain, and then got on the chair lift to go down.
As a skier, I was very comfortable going on the chairlift, but I was sitting on the chairlift with our friend’s wife, who had never been on a chairlift before that day, and who was quite nervous. After all, you’re sitting with only a bar between you and the ground far below.
Within minutes the sky got dark and the wind started blowing. The chairlift started swinging – a lot. My friend got really scared. so I said, “Don’t worry, this happens all the time,” trying to reassure her in a calm, confident tone of voice.
The truth was, it didn’t happen all the time, and I was frightened too, but I knew I couldn’t show it to her. Then, adding to the wind, it started pouring down rain. If I hadn’t stayed calm and confident on the outside, there was no telling what would have happened if my friend or I, for that matter, had panicked.
By the time we got off the chairlift, we were soaked but relieved.
All through that experience I knew that it was essential for me to appear confident even though I was terrified. My aha moment was when I realized that, because of my confidence, I was a leader, even if just to one other person.
What does this have to do with the workplace?
While this was not a workplace situation, it was my aha experience with leadership. All leaders must lead other people through difficult challenges, and I had led another person during a frightening situation. There are also many times that workplace leaders must appear confident when shaking in their shoes.
People want their leaders to be confident so that they will feel inspired.
If you are a leader, people will always look to see if you believe in yourself before they will follow you. People are looking to see if you are confident. Who are the famous leaders that have inspired others through their confidence?
- Winston Churchill
- Martin Luther King
- Steve Jobs
Who are the leaders that you know personally who have inspired you through their confidence?
It is my firm belief that leaders, who have a vision, who have a mission, who want the cooperation of others, must first inspire others with their confidence.
What do you think is the most important leadership quality? I welcome your opinion, even if you disagree. Tell us your favorite leaders, too. Please write them in the comments area below the blue box.
