Key Traits of a Leader

Just yesterday, I was thinking about what it takes to be a ‘Leader’, how difficult is the path to Leadership. That is when I realized the two most important things a Leader is built of: ‘Intelligence Quotient’ and ‘Emotional Quotient’.

I have been a small part of this corporate world and I have seen a lot of influential people that I admire and would want to be like, in a few years. Of course, every leader has their own special trait that sets them apart from the rest to reach that position. But there was something that I found common in each Leader, i.e. the Intelligence Quotient. Whenever I have spoken to a senior or a Leader, their thoughts have always made me think for days – What is that special characteristic in him/her that one should inculcate in themselves to reach this position? A leader is not built by his victory but by his optimistic attitude of handling failures. And this optimistic attitude comes from the most difficult transformations that a leader goes through time and build themselves strong enough to reach those heights. A well-known example of this is Satya Nadella who transformed from a brilliant techie to one of the most inspirational leaders of not only that company but the world.

As a boss you can always get your work done by your employee but to earn respect and be respected you have to have that ‘Emotional Quotient’ that would make a difference. Constantly motivating your employees to do something better and to find the best in what they have done is a kick start to it. Self-evaluation also plays a very important part of being a Leader. One has to understand their own emotions, moods, mood swings, self-control and how does it affect their employees. The way Leader thinks has to be the one that analyzes every aspect of the decision that it cannot be challenged although, they have this trait of appreciating all the suggestions that are made. And the most important part is being empathetic towards their employees which is the backbone of building and retaining talent in the company. The term should actually not be Leader but ‘People’s Leader’ who is an inspiration for all because after all, it is not just the leader who drives a company but the people working for it.

So I would say it is not ‘Intelligence Quotient’ and the ‘Emotional Quotient’ alone that plays an important role in the making of the Leader, it is the “Emotional Intelligence” that wins it all!

– Akanksha Marwaha

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