Leader qualities. What qualities does a leader have? Essay - reasoning "why I consider myself a leader of leaders" What leadership qualities exist

Most people who hear the term “leader” associate it with a persistent and self-confident person. An excellent mentor can be not only the head of a company, a successful businessman, but also an ordinary person striving for a good life. While studying the character of activists, it is also necessary to learn what qualities a leader possesses.

As a rule, such people are ahead not only in their business, but also in everyday life. Everyday life. All the “advanced people” try to imagine what their life path will be like. And they are developing plans for what they will become in the near future and in many years to come.

Leader Character

What qualities of a political leader must be present in order to win the support of those around him? The character of such a person clearly manifests itself in those moments when the leader finds himself in a difficult life situation, and much depends on his actions at this moment. The main thing for him is stability and firmness.

As a rule, true leadership is inseparable from involving other people. Followers' trust in leaders disappears if they notice some instability of character. Stable emotionality and fortitude are success in relationships with people.

Qualities a leader should have

The qualities of a leader are an integral factor that determines success and failure. The main condition for achieving success in any human activity is the skill and ability to take on certain functions and provide appropriate leadership.

Today, a wide selection of books is offered on how to develop the skills and qualities of a leader not only in business, but also in everyday life.

Leaders cannot be born, but leaders can become!

When given the opportunity, a person seeks ways to take a leadership position. Many live ordinary lives until some situation arises that requires them to take a decisive step, as a result of which they accept the responsibility of leadership with all its consequences.

You can become a “leader” only when, not only in business, but also in everyday life, a person exhibits certain qualities, as well as the norms of behavior that are characteristic of a leader.

What is leadership?

Along with other skills, leadership is the improvement of behavior and attitude through practice through repetition. Such a quality as the desire to lead people is usually fully rewarded. If you are a leader, you will certainly win the support and respect of those around you. Enjoying the feeling of massive control and personal power in any aspect of life becomes an integral part for you. Goals that previously might have seemed exorbitant are now much easier to achieve.

Is it possible to become a leader?

The more you can apply leadership qualities to yourself, the more positive you will feel about yourself. A feeling of pleasure will come high level self-esteem and self-esteem. Feeling like a smart, strong person with the ability to achieve your best results will help you make changes in your life. better side not only at work, but also at home.

By giving rise to the thoughts and actions that are characteristic of leaders, and by putting all these qualities into practice in your business and personal life, you will be able to attract more and more opportunities to yourself, use all your talents at an even higher level.

It is worth listing the main qualities of a leader, without which it is difficult to stay at the top of the pedestal.

Qualities a leader needs

Courage- these are bold decisions and actions on the way out of failures and difficulties. Controlling yourself in the face of fear, making difficult decisions, and taking actions when there is no guarantee that success will be on your side are qualities of a good leader.
Sincerity. To earn trust, you first need to be honest with yourself. Only then can we say that we are open to other people around us.
Realism. Accept the world as it really is, and not as you would like it to be. This golden rules realism. It is necessary not to allow yourself to be upset because of troubles, and also you should not believe that someone will solve the painful problem for you. Being an example in everything is an essential quality of a true leader. It is common to look up to such people; they are very reliable. If a leader has made a promise, albeit perhaps very tentatively, it is worth trusting that it will be kept.
Analytic mind- this is exactly what will give you the opportunity to learn valuable experience from failure. In the future, such “full cones” will definitely come in handy and help avoid possible failures.
Ability and willingness to learn. Personal growth, self-development - all this requires conscious preparation, effort and work on oneself. A leader is one who is always ready for the new and unknown, one who wants to deeply study those nuances that will subsequently make him an even more decisive person.

All of these qualities that a leader needs to achieve success must be improved daily.

Psychological qualities

Everyone knows that every person is an individual. But not everyone knows that it is the personality in the process of formation and formation that is characterized by psychological qualities that, as a rule, remain with us throughout our lives.

The psychological qualities of a leader can be positive and negative. This can be influenced by upbringing, society and other factors. For example, people who play sports are likely to have resilience, the will to win, and endurance. We can develop a sense of taste if we read a lot, are interested in art and are creative. And there can be a lot of such examples.

Disadvantages of a leader

Alas, we cannot regard all qualities as positive. For example, the same activities mentioned earlier may have reverse side medals: sport implies serious competition, and it follows that the main quality of a person will be cruelty. This can apply to absolutely any activity to which we are ready to devote our lives, immersing ourselves in them headlong.

Throughout life, a “skeleton” of personality is formed in people. It is sometimes impossible to predict everything; many events happen against our will, but one way or another they leave an indelible mark, which subsequently shapes the psychological qualities of a leader.

Behavior of a true leader

A person who leads others must have the following skills and abilities:

Political leadership

A political leader is a person who, having certain qualities, is able to lead people and the entire system as a whole.

There are three aspects that define the components of personality:

the instruments by which power is exercised;
directly the situation.

What character traits do political mentors use to gain trust from others? And what personal qualities of a leader are inherent in a politician?

Distinctive Traits of a Political Leader

Conventionally, all of them can be divided into three groups:

natural qualities;
moral qualities;
professional quality.

The first, perhaps, include willpower of character, the presence of subtle intuition, determination, and magnetism. The second group should include such qualities of a political leader as honesty, nobility, morality, concern for people around and justice.

The third group includes the following leadership qualities:

Taken together, these characteristics pave the way for the possibility of implementing state and social activities. All these qualities needed by a leader are usually directly related to his political activities and the ability to stay on top.

Functions of a political leader

The goals that a leader sets for himself are usually related directly to the functions he performs. Situations can be critical and emergency, but it is important to create a program of action that could be implemented under any circumstances.

List of the main functions of a political leader:

Analytical. It implies a deep analysis of the current situation.
Development of an action program. The fulfillment of this function depends on such a quality of the leader’s personality as the ability to take on greater responsibility. You also need to have determination and courage.
Mobilization of the country's citizens. The ability to persuade, negotiate, lead the masses and inspire are the main qualities of a leader required to implement this function.
Innovative: development of improved programs, new ideas, formation of goals and objectives.
Organizational is a combination of communicative and innovative functions. The ability to organize communities, win the trust of the human masses, regulate reforms and transformations.
Communicative: serving people, expressing the interests of society, taking into account changes in public mood, opinions that reflect the dynamics of life.
Coordination. Coordination of transformations, coordination of all branches of government, including the courts and executive bodies.

Once you can master the basic soft skills listed earlier, each future step will become easier every day. All these recommendations will certainly help you get at least a little closer to your cherished dream or simply become more self-confident.

It is necessary to understand that in order to become a leader, you need to go through a long and difficult path that requires permanent job above oneself. It is a process of transformation that never ends. On the path to success, you need to enjoy your own self-improvement.

Finding new options to motivate others is the task of a true leader! Every person can cope with it, just make an effort. This kind of work on yourself should be done every minute. But having learned to enjoy such changes, a person will no longer want to stop and will go to new heights.

Good afternoon, dear readers. In this article I will talk about who a leader is and what his qualities are. Is this a heavy burden or a pleasant side of a person's character? Is it possible to become a leader and is it so simple, and also what dangers can lie in wait for a person who leads millions.

What is it and what is it eaten with?

There is an opinion that a real leader is a certain celestial being who knows everything, keeps everyone under his control, does several things at once and much more. I won’t argue; leaders have a much wider range of qualities. They can do things that not everyone can do.

But in essence, the leader is an ordinary person like everyone else. He just knows how to gather people around him, motivates them to a common cause, and has organizational skills.

The character of a leader can be different. This can be either a person who is open to communication or vice versa. It is not at all necessary to be able to communicate with people in order to know how to manage them. Although, of course, communication makes up the lion's share in becoming a leader.

The main principles of such a person’s work are composure, resourcefulness, confidence, knowledge of one’s business, the ability to distribute responsibilities, knowledge of human motivation, and time management. This and much more helps and guides a person in a direction that will be beneficial for the whole team. A leader is a sociable person who tries for the benefit of his team.

Typically, a person’s leadership qualities begin to manifest themselves in childhood. Everyone had a story about a boy in a sandbox who stood at the helm and supervised the play of other children. The question is whether a person will develop these qualities, whether he will go further, whether he will become a real leader, or simply leave everything as it is.

Maintaining this status is difficult. Today there are many ambitious, impetuous and hungry people who would gladly take the place of an existing leader. But there are also many people around who will gladly shift their responsibility to another person and simply follow him.

What are they like?

There are different types of leaders. There are no general rules of behavior for such people. Everyone builds their own line, strategy and plan to achieve success. In this case, we can only talk about general recommendations. This is what makes a leader different. He chooses the path himself, he does not look for instructions or a set of laws. The ideal leader will use intuition, his knowledge and experience, and new information.

Tyrant. There are people who keep everything under their strict control, do not allow anyone to take part in making important decisions, and do everything solely at their own discretion. His power is limitless and extends to all aspects of his team's lives. He gives orders rather than instructions. Such people love strict discipline, have certain rules, and have a bad attitude towards violations.

Friend. There are leaders who try to be everyone's friend. Relations are maintained warm and trusting. The hierarchy is very vague. Trying to be everyone's friend, such a boss faces many problems. Disrespect, violation of his rules, frivolity and not taking tasks seriously. It is possible to be friends with your team, but it must be done extremely carefully. There must still be a subordination. Otherwise, anarchy may ensue, followed by a change of leader.

Eminence grise. Some leaders like to remain in the shadows and carry out their manipulations at the expense of other people. Such a person has little contact with the entire group. He often chooses one or two people who act as a coordinating link.

Mentor. There are leaders who try on the role of a mentor and are looking for a student whom they mentor and teach about life. Learn from knowledgeable person will never be superfluous. Such people behave like a father who treats every victory or loss of his student with reverence and feeling. Often, a warm, trusting relationship arises between a mentor and a mentee. Which can continue even after the ward leaves for free swimming.

Of course, these are not all types of leadership behaviors. They may differ in some nuances, or combine different aspects, for example, mentor-friend.

Personal traits

let `s talk about personal characteristics leader. The boss must have several psychological qualities that will help him along this path. Such qualities can be both positive and negative. The main characteristic of a leader is to be able to use them to his advantage.

Honesty has a dual character. Sometimes, to achieve a goal, you have to resort to tricks and some manipulations that go against honesty. But in general, such a person adheres to openness and transparency. Because honesty is always right.

Responsibility is integral. Often, a leader takes responsibility for other people, for his entire team. And that is why he should not be afraid of the consequences. A person must be able to react quickly, if something goes wrong, then not give up what he started and not shift the blame to others. He is a leader, so he is responsible for everything. This is incredibly difficult and difficult from an emotional point of view.

Composure helps you keep control of the situation. Such a person must be able to quickly switch from one task to another, keep in mind a large number of information, make decisions quickly.

These are the main qualities that are inherent in a true leader. In addition, here you can add sociability, openness, easy meeting with people, quick learning, broad views of the world, curiosity and much more.

Business qualities

A modern leader must study a lot, remember quickly and change according to the situation. The world does not stand still and changes are happening faster and stronger. In our society it is simply necessary to be effective and successful, otherwise everything will go down the drain.

What professional skills should a real pack leader have? Eloquence. It's the same oratory. Being able to speak correctly and beautifully is very important for such a person. After all, he leads others, and in order to assemble a team for himself, he must skillfully negotiate with them.

Knowledge in your field. If a person works in a furniture factory, then he must know the entire process of creating a chair from the moment the chair was wood. The more a person knows about his activities, the easier it is to manage it.

Ability to delegate responsibilities. A good boss knows when to divide activities between different team members. He is not afraid to trust people with responsible areas and finds the most suitable candidates for this type of occupation.

In addition, the charisma of a leader in business plays an important role. Thanks to his charm and ability to find an approach to people, he can achieve great success in his business. Most often, it is charisma that makes a person a leader.

Time distribution. Proper time management will never spoil the overall picture. A leader must be able to allocate his time.

Is it possible to become a leader

A leader always attracts attention. People are drawn to such people, want to be like them, and respect their opinions. How to become one? This path is thorny, very difficult and not everyone can do it.

From the outside it may seem that the boss is easy, simple, fun and carefree. But a real leader requires hard, everyday work. It is necessary not only to constantly develop your potential, but to consolidate the knowledge already acquired, move forward, learn new things, and be prepared for obstacles.

It is possible to become a leader. The question is whether you are ready for the job. The qualities that a leader possesses must not only be acquired, but also develop. Constantly work on them, persist, achieve new heights and still continue to move forward.

Every person can be a leader, because everything is in our hands. Fate plays with us, but only we are responsible for our choices, for our actions and decisions. As the well-known proverb about fish says, nothing will happen without effort. And only you can decide whether you are ready for such a turn of events or not.

Ruinous power and other dangers

Power can even ruin good man. There are pitfalls in leadership that can play a cruel joke on a person. Power can become an end in itself and a person will lose control over himself. The main goal will be more power, more money. Greed and pride destroy people.

It is necessary to be able to notice the signs of emerging dangers in yourself and deal with them. It's not that simple or easy, but it's still possible. After all, a leader leads people and he must always think not only about himself, but also about his entire team. And sometimes it becomes difficult, and a person brings only his needs to the forefront.

It’s good when there is someone nearby who can help in the current situation. Which will point out mistakes, tell you where the leader crosses the line and goes the wrong way. This could be a spouse, friend, father, colleague.
A leader is a responsible position. Remember this.

I'm sure you can become good leader, you will gather a close-knit and friendly company that will follow the path to success side by side. If you found interesting thoughts in the article, be sure to share with others on social networks.

Have a nice day!

Everyone who aspires to take the place of leader in a team must have a number of leadership qualities. Exactly leadership skills and define the role of a leader, explain why some become such and are ready to captivate and lead, while others are not accepted in this capacity and do not enjoy authority.

is a set of psychological qualities, skills and abilities to interact with a group that can ensure the successful implementation of leadership tasks and functions. It is impossible to single out one or two qualities that characterize a leader. There are many more of them. On the other hand, you can list qualities for quite a long time and interpret them as leadership qualities. And the longer the list becomes, the less practical use it has, and the easier it is to get confused.

This article will present the main leadership qualities, the development of which can make a real leader out of any person.

Personal qualities of a leader

KNOWING YOURSELF, YOUR FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

To know yourself, to feel what is happening inside yourself, to be able to listen to your emotions and feelings, to your intuition, to clearly and clearly imagine what you want is an integral quality of a leader. This helps you navigate life and understand other people; it helps you not to miss your chance by recognizing the right opportunity. A true leader cannot be led astray from his intended path; he is difficult to manipulate, because he knows exactly what he wants.

RISK WILLINGNESS

This is one of the leadership qualities that many modern leaders have. For example, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Corporation, which today controls more than 300 different companies around the world, is the image of a leader who is always ready to take risks. He often risked everything, both in business and in everyday life (take, for example, a trip around the world in a hot air balloon).

The reason why true leaders are not afraid to take risks and change your life, is the understanding that sometimes you have to pay a considerable price for not showing initiative. Therefore, people who strive to anticipate events are always ready to take risks.

Today there are many business owners and managers who strive to build a significant “business” without taking risks, but by working in the style of “the slower you go, the further you will go.” As John Kennedy said: “ There are costs and risks inherent in any action plan, but they are significantly less than the long-term costs and risks generated by comfortable inaction».

SELF CONFIDENCE

Tall and adequate level of self-esteem A leader, together with self-confidence, helps him take risks when necessary, and increases courage and determination in critical situations. Self-confidence allows a leader to expand the limits of his capabilities and gain new life experiences. This theory was substantiated in 1981 by B. Bass, who analyzed leading research in the field of leadership qualities and confirmed that the feeling self confidence, the leader is an order of magnitude higher than those who follow him.

RELIABILITY, REGULATION AND CONSISTENCY

A leader is the bearer of the norms and values of an association of people, therefore his worldview and his actions must be consistent with universal human moral standards - honesty, justice, reliability, responsibility and consistency in actions and deeds.

ACTIVE LIFE POSITION

For adequate orientation in the situation, the leader must have an active life position. This is necessary leadership quality, which allows the leader to always be in the thick of things, learn about everything first-hand and be more informed.

INITIATIVE AND ABILITY TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF

Initiative and active people do not wait for someone else to make them want to work. They know that only they have the responsibility to convince themselves to leave their usual comfort zone. And they make self-motivation a regular practice. This is what Theodore Roosevelt, one of the proactive and greatest people 20th century, endowed with a lot of leadership qualities: “ There is nothing outstanding or brilliant in my biography, except that I really did what I was convinced needed to be done... And when I had a clear opinion about the need to do something, I acted».

Managerial and organizational leadership skills

ABILITY TO BUILD A TEAM

Ability to attract people ideas and thoughts, ideals, skills convince a person) and create a team of followers and like-minded people - a quality that determines the success of an individual becoming a leader. Setting shared goals and values and monitoring followers' commitment to these goals are among the core leadership qualities.

ABILITY TO ORGANIZE A TEAM TO SOLVE SET TASKS

This is one of the fundamental organizational qualities of a leader. It consists of the ability to distribute responsibilities between team members, the ability to inspire and motivate a group to perform tasks and functions, coordinate work, etc.

VISION OF PERSPECTIVE

The person who leads the group simply must know where to go. Observation, vision of the prospects for the activities of his group, the prospects, the team that follows him is one of the most important organizational qualities of a leader.

Leaders cannot get so bogged down in minutiae and detail that they lose sight of what is truly important. The writer Alfred Montaper wrote: “ Most people see obstacles in front of them, only a few see goals, history celebrates the successes of the latter, while for the former the reward is oblivion».

FLEXIBILITY AND SENSITIVITY TO THE SITUATION

Leaders are often participants in complex processes; they are in an “arena” where a large variety of various forces operate, which are sometimes beyond the boundaries of their knowledge and control. Therefore, an organizational leader must feel the situation, be able to quickly navigate it and make the only correct decision.

WILLINGNESS TO SUPPORT IN DIFFICULT MINUMENTS

The reluctance of a leader to provide his like-minded person and follower with support in cases where it is very necessary and he is able to provide it, in most cases, deprives his followers and the status of a leader.

People respect a leader who never forgets their interests. If you focus on what you can give to your followers rather than what you can get from them, they will respect and love you, and this will make your relationships lasting and stronger.

As one General Motors executive said: “ The fields of the most diverse industries are strewn with the bones of enterprises, the leadership qualities of whose leaders were thoroughly saturated with rot and moral decay, where they firmly believed that you only need to take, instead of giving... where they did not understand that the only asset of the company that cannot be quickly replacement - these are her people».

Remember! The ability to thank and reward qualities that help a leader successfully perform organizational and managerial functions.

Psychological and socialleadership skills

COMMUNICATION

Important quality of a leader is communication skills, the ability to quickly establish contacts with people and feel confident in a team. It is difficult to imagine a leader who is shy when communicating.

The leader coordinates relationships in the team, therefore, in assessing the actions and actions of other people, he must be fair, objective and unbiased.

ABILITY TO REPRESENT AND DEFEND THE INTERESTS OF THE COLLECTIVE

A leader represents common interests, so the ability to defend them in external authorities and take full responsibility for corporate activities is an important quality of a leader.

ABILITY TO CREATE CONDITIONS FOR SELF-REALIZATION OF ITS FOLLOWERS

This leadership quality is the basis for building followers' trust in the leader and willingness to follow him.

Henry Ford said that the question "Who should be the boss?" is similar to the question “Who should be the tenor in a quartet?” Obviously a man who can sing tenor. A true leader is not afraid of responsibility and is ready to answer for the people who have trusted him.

Not every person is given the opportunity to be a leader in the most in the best sense this word. Many are sure that being ahead of everyone is very prestigious, but in fact they are poorly aware of what a true leader should be, what qualities he should have so that people would strive to follow him and would like to be equal to him.

After all, in essence, this person is like a beacon that indicates where people who trust him need to move.

A leader can become a person whose interests are much broader than just his own, because he thinks extremely broadly - and, first of all, he is most interested in personal growth, development and self-realization of other people.

Qualities that are essential to a true leader

1. A clear awareness of your own goal

A true leader knows absolutely exactly and really understands where and why he is going - because this gives him the opportunity to lead other people - his followers. Otherwise he will be just a small unit of a large crowd.

2. Self-control, the ability to listen to your intuition

Knowing yourself well, the ability to deal with what is happening inside yourself, the ability to understand and at the right moment listen to your own emotions, feelings, intuition - really important quality a real leader.

Are you surprised that so much attention is paid to ordinary feelings? In vain. They are the ones who help at the right moment to correctly navigate what is happening and to “notice” in time the chance that life carefully provides. A true leader cannot be manipulated, he cannot be led astray from his intended path - after all, he clearly understands what he wants.

3. Adequate self-esteem

A leader must be calm, sober-minded, and in his own strength. All these important qualities help him behave correctly in certain critical cases, and thanks to them, sometimes he can even take risks in some way, because in certain critical situations his determination and courage are really increased.

Adequate self-confidence significantly expands the limits of a leader’s capabilities, as a result of which he can gain new positive life experiences. Usually such a person has a much higher sense of self-confidence than his followers.

4. Moral readiness to take reasonable risks

A true leader is ready to take risks not only in business, in his own business, in his own work, but also in his normal everyday life.

Moreover, he is absolutely not afraid to do this, and all because he is quite clearly aware that he will have to pay a serious price for initiative not shown in time. That is why he is ready, in some cases, to literally get ahead of possible events and consciously take a certain risk.

5. Honesty and reliability

Any leader is, in a sense, the bearer of certain general moral norms of a certain association of people, therefore his own worldview and actions must correspond to the universal human and moral norms that are familiar to us - justice, honesty, reliability, a certain responsibility and a clear consistency in his own actions and actions.

6. Motivational activity and adequate initiative

A true leader never waits for someone else to make him want to be productive. He understands and is clearly aware that the entire responsibility for convincing himself to do something lies solely with him. Therefore, first he tries to learn how to properly motivate himself, and later makes self-motivation a necessary and absolutely regular practice.

7. Active life position

It is she who helps the leader correctly and adequately navigate in any current situation. Thanks to her, he is always practically in the thick of any events, knows how to find out everything directly from first-hand, and as a result of this, he is well informed about everything that is happening and has an absolutely clear opinion on every matter.

8. Ability to gather people into a team

As a rule, he constantly attracts people to himself with his thoughts or ideas, certain ideals, as well as the power of his ability to persuade, so a certain group of like-minded people gathers, which becomes a cohesive team.

This is the skill common man is the most important ability that subsequently determines his successful development as a leader. And competent setting of the right values and rational control over the adherence of the followers themselves to these goals is an important quality of the leader himself.

9. Definition and clear vision of the future

Agree that a person leading a team must know the direction where he is going. Therefore, the most important organizational qualities of a true leader, among others, also include observation, determination and a clear awareness of the prospects for the specific activities of his team - the people who follow him. A true leader does not notice the obstacles that arise in his way, but he absolutely clearly and clearly sees the specific goal to which he strives.

10. Ability to organize and motivate a team to quickly solve assigned tasks

This is a fundamental organizational quality of a true leader. It lies in the ability to competently and adequately distribute responsibilities between team members, as well as the ability to properly motivate and at the right time inspire people to complete specific tasks and coordinate work if really necessary.

11. The ability to quickly navigate in any current situation

In fact, the leader is the main participant in a complex process; he is literally in the center of events, where various forces interact and confront, which very often, for objective reasons, he cannot control on his own. Therefore, a true leader must feel the potential development of events, literally “feel the situation” and at the same time be able to instantly navigate it so that the decision he makes is exclusively correct.

12. Willingness to help and support your followers in difficult times

These qualities characterize a true leader as a Person. People begin to respect him even more because he always keeps their interests in mind, and if he is also puzzled by what he can give them, and not by what he, as a leader, can get from them, then respect and love for him is simply will know no boundaries. A bad leader is one who does not notice the problems of his followers and does not consider it possible to support them in a difficult situation, especially when he can and is capable of doing so.

In addition to this extensive list of leadership qualities, a true leader must be able to thank and encourage his followers in a timely manner. This will help him perform specific functions in organizing the management process much more successfully.

How often have you met people like this in your life? Most likely, it is really rare. Sometimes life tests the strength of such comrades. They start out as true leaders, but, alas, they never pass the tests because they are weak in character or they are not leaders at all, but just ordinary upstarts.

If you suddenly notice certain leadership inclinations in yourself, then know that positive traits need development, which means that you are able to overcome all obstacles that arise, avoid possible temptations of exceeding your authority and become a real leader, but this is not achieved immediately. Don't be afraid to work on improving your own personality!

A leader is a person who can influence the behavior of other people, take responsibility, consistently move towards achieving specific goals and lead a team. Therefore, leadership qualities are necessary, first of all, for candidates for management and top positions. Communication and analytical skills, independence and the ability to work in a team, ambition, resistance to stress and creativity are mentioned in almost every CV, but they do not always reflect the real qualities of the candidate and often simply do not correspond with the desired position. Your resume should only list those that will be applicable to the desired position. This article examines the characteristic of “leadership qualities.”

Who is a leader?

In a broad sense, leadership (from the English lead - to lead) is a relationship of dominance and subordination, influence and following in the system of interpersonal relationships. Thus, a leader is one who leads or goes ahead.

Today, many companies declare a shortage of talented and experienced managers in all areas of business in the labor market. A manager/leader must possess methods and tactics that can inspire other people, influence their mindset and motivate them to take action to achieve their goals. “We can only talk about the development of leadership in Russia since 2001,” says Elena Egorova, director of the development department at Penny Lane Personnel. – It was at this time that Russian business began to become interested in regular management and methods of competition. Over the past seven years, many Russian companies have realized the need to develop leadership skills among employees.”

Olga Litvinova, senior consultant of the HR department of the headhunting company Cornerstone, believes that we should not forget to distinguish between two types of leadership: formal and informal. We can talk about formal leadership when an employee occupies a managerial position and successfully copes with job responsibilities. Informal leadership is a certain charisma, the ability to influence and convince people, and the ability to take responsibility. The ideal option is a coincidence of the leadership position and the qualities of informal leadership. However, such options are quite rare, which is once again confirmed by the discussions of participants in the HeadHunter LIVE project on the topic “About formal and informal project managers.”

Who needs leadership skills?

Leadership is attributed to both yesterday's university graduates and applicants for top positions. “From the employer’s point of view, a leader can be considered a candidate who is focused on results, achieves them as quickly and profitably as possible for the organization, and leads his entire team towards it,” says Ilya Baranov, an analyst at the personnel company AVANTA Personnel.

When a work team is faced with complex tasks that must be completed in a short time frame with limited resources, a leader is required who can motivate his colleagues to achieve the goals set for the team. Olga Litvinova says that “project leadership” is now very common - appointing an employee as the head of a small, time-limited project. This gives the company’s management a chance to evaluate the managerial potential of a specialist, and gives him a chance to try his hand and make sure of his ability to manage a team. As a rule, after experience of successful “project leadership”, a specialist can become a full-fledged middle or top manager. However, the expert also believes that leadership qualities, so necessary in leadership positions, can be harmful in positions where only accuracy and mechanical execution of any actions are required. “Of course, if a specialist begins to show leadership inclinations, this is his advantage,” says Ilya Baranov. – The question is to what extent his position and the current situation in the company will allow him to realize this potential. If the state of affairs in the organization does not give an employee the opportunity to demonstrate and apply his qualities in practice, then he begins to lose interest in work and look for happiness on the side.”

Personnel market experts believe that leadership skills are now most in demand in those areas of the market where competition is high, there is a need to quickly make decisions, show initiative, and work with innovations.

“Leaders are people who influence the behavior of others, therefore, we talk about the need for leadership qualities when we are considering a candidate for a managerial, top position, or the company is going through a stage of restructuring, or the team has to work under stress, or it is necessary to bring the organization out of the stage stagnation, says Elena Egorova. “At the same time, such personal qualities as the ability to control the situation, make decisions, and take responsibility are important.”

How can you prove that you have leadership qualities?

Candidates applying for management positions may well omit information about their leadership qualities in their resume: their previous work experience will speak for itself. “Mid-level managers should, first of all, talk about their professionalism, about what they can and want to do,” says Galina Nemchenko, senior manager of the Sales&Marketing department of the recruiting company Antal International (Russia). But applicants who aspire to leadership positions, but do not have managerial experience, should try to draw the attention of recruiters to the presence of the makings of an informal leader in their resume, and during a personal meeting to fully demonstrate them. “The candidate can reflect his leadership qualities in his resume by indicating his experience in leading a group of subordinates, possibly within the framework of a project,” says Olga Litvinova. “To emphasize the presence of informal leadership skills, you can list achievements such as team formation, increased sales, successful project implementation.”

Many recruiters admit that they do not pay special attention on what personal qualities the candidate “attributed” to himself in his resume. They believe that it is better to find out how sociable an applicant is, how stress-resistant, and whether he has the makings of a leader, directly during the interview. By the manner of behavior, by the way the candidate presents himself, it is already possible to draw certain conclusions regarding whether he has the qualities required for the future position, and the results of special test tasks, solutions to various cases will make the portrait of the applicant more complete.

“A resume is a specialist’s business card, containing information about his experience and skills,” says Ilya Baranov. – When compiling a CV, the candidate indicates information about the areas of his previous activities, functions performed and achievements. A well-written resume will leave a positive first impression on the recruiter and allow him to assume that the candidate has leadership qualities. Please note that this is just a guess. A good resume only increases the chances that it will be immediately noticed, but a real portrait of the candidate can still only be drawn up during a personal meeting, during which applicants are often asked to undergo an assessment by psychologists.”

“Leadership is an incalculable concept, and it is quite difficult to show the presence of this quality in a resume,” agrees Elena Egorova. “We can make certain preliminary conclusions based on the skills and competencies listed in the resume, previous work experience, successfully implemented projects, education... But the final opinion about the candidate can only be formed at the interview.”