What it takes to lead a team

Leadership is the ability to direct the activities of others for in order to achieve the common goal.

Being a leader is not a walk in the park and that’s because human beings are generally difficult to deal with. Leadership requires sacrifice and hardwork. Some leaders are born while others are made. Whichever you are, there are fundamental qualities one must possess in leadership.

As a leader, you must believe in yourself. It is not possible for you to inspire others to believe in themselves if you lack confidence in yourself and your ideas. You must also believe in the team you are leading. You cannot lead people you don’t have confidence in, it’s a waste of time.

You must a person of character. People tend to emulate what they see as opposed to what you tell them. If you are the leader who arrives to work late, after the rest of your team is in, you loose the moral authority to reprimand your junior for lateness. A leader must be able to lead by example. Integrity is fundamental in leadership. Are you the type that is willing to sell her team to the highest bidder?

A leader has a vision. The Holy Bible says, a man without vision is dead. Your vision is where you want to be, while your mission is how you intend to get there. With a clear vision, you are able to guide your team towards that destination as you inspire them to share the same vision with you. You cannot lead people to a destination you do not even know.

You need to have passion. When you perform your duties with passion, it stirs something in the hearts of your team, it gives them hope and the desire to fight for what you believe in. Whenever I watch Pastor Joel Osteen preach, I see the kind of passion the guy has for his job. You can’t help but just love listening to him. And he smiles all the time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Joel without a smile on his face. The kind of passion my boss has when pitching an idea to a client or addressing staff is enough to make you believe that everything is possible.

A good leader must learn to communicate. You must be able to communicate the vision to the staff in a manner they understand. Sometimes, you will be required to communicate some not so good news. And then there are employees who will do everything possible to make your life impossible. You must be able to communicate with all of them. Any person who constantly shouts at her staff in front of their colleagues is not a leader. You cannot shout at a Supervisor before her juniors and then expect the juniors to respect her and achieve the targets. Communication also requires listening.

For proper leadership to exist, you must learn to inspire your team, be patient with them and guide them. Leadership requires that you become the Captain of the ship.