(Introduction) An effective leader is a leader that employees are willing to follow and respond positively to. Terry Leahy, who is the chief executive of Tesco, defined a good leader as someone who takes you further than you would go on your own. Also, a good and effective leader will often have a new vision if the situation needs to be changed and everyone will follow him. Surveys and studies have shown that effective leaders around the globe share the same few traits and same goes for the ineffective ones. So, what are the qualities required in order to become effective business leaders?
(Characteristics of an effective leader)
First of all, an effective leader will have undoubted self-confidence in himself. It is the fundamental basis from which leadership grows. A leader without self-confidence is just like a house without foundation of sand. An effective leader will not be afraid to make any decisions. If you, as a business leader, intend to build your self-confidence, you should learn to live with failures. When you have made a mistake, you should learn from it and move on, so that if comes a day when you are met with the similar obstacle, you can face it head-on because you already have experience on how to deal with it.
Furthermore, the ability to think outside the box and creativity is also required by an effective leader. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are good examples of the great leaders of our time. Both these men lead their group with extraordinary leadership qualities, plus out-of-the-box creative minds. Leaders should stimulate creativity for two very important reasons, to prevent obsolescence and increase productivity. An effective leader will always come up with new ideas so that the business won’t be obsolete and the changes may make the work of higher quality, lower cost and faster completion.
(EQ) Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a