What’s Your Sign? Examine Your Personal Qualities to See If You’ll Be a Good Leader

While many people love to read their daily horoscope to see what the stars predict for their day, when it comes to being a leader, there are other signs you need to check out. Top leaders around the globe always have particular traits in common that set them apart from other bosses and which help them lead their teams to great success. Read on for some of the key signs that will tell you if you’ll become a good leader, or if you need to do a little work on yourself first.

Having a Growth Mindset and Continually Learning

One of the most important elements found in top leaders of all industries is a growth mindset. To be a long-term, successful entrepreneur or manager, it is vital to keep learning new things. The best leaders are always looking at ways to develop their skills and knowledge, and they stay open to new experiences. Is this something that you enjoy or at least can think about doing? If not, it’s time to start broadening your horizons.

Keep in mind that there isn’t just one way of learning, but many. This comes down to your interests, learning preferences, budget, available time, and more. However, many people find it very helpful to enroll in further education where they can really immerse themselves in study. If you’re keen to be a top leader in the business world, it pays to enroll in an MBA online program or to study another relevant degree.

If you’re not keen on opting for structured study, you can also gain a lot from reading often (everything from books and magazines to websites, newsletters, reports, blogs, and white papers), or attending seminars, courses, talks, workshops, forums, and other types of educational events. You should also consider joining business clubs and associations for the learning opportunities they provide, as well as finding mentors and advisors who can educate you based on their own experiences.

Being a Good Communicator

It is also important to think about what your communication skills are like. All of the best leaders around the world tend to be excellent communicators, not just in person, but also in writing. This doesn’t mean that you have to be an extraverted leader who is always talking though; in fact, a key part of developing communication skills is making sure you are just as good at really listening to people as you are at spouting your own thoughts.

To be a successful leader, you need to be able to present yourself well to people from all walks of life, of all ages, and in varied settings. You need to know how to get your message or requirements across to others well the first time, and to properly communicate your organization or department’s mission, vision and goals. Doing so will ensure that everyone is working together in the same direction, and that tasks are completed in a timely and appropriate manner.

Having good communication skills will also ensure that you can train others well; motivate and inspire workers and keep them engaged; promote products, services, or brands effectively to journalists and customers; entice investors and top job candidates, and much more.

Having Drive, Passion, Resilience, and the Ability to Focus

Lastly, have you thought about how much drive, passion, resilience and focus you have? If so, do you feel sure that you are really committed to what you’re doing, and can keep at it even when times are tough or when you have a million priorities competing for your attention? The mark of a successful leader is being able to persevere and stay the course.

Leading a team and constantly striving for top results always has its challenges. You will be faced with difficulties from many angles over the years, whether that is through tough economic times, an increase of competition, difficult employees, theft, natural disasters, unsuccessful product launches, or any other sort of trying circumstance.

When this happens— and something always does at some point — you must have the drive and passion to keep going, and the resilience to get back up again. You also need to be able to be there for your team when times are tough, and to be a leader they can count on. You must have the ability to stay calm (at least in front of your colleagues), and to ensure that even though you might be anxious, stressed, angry, or ashamed, you keep morale up and find a path through obstacles.

Similarly, to get to the top, you should also have a laser-like focus on what you’re trying to achieve, so that your time is spent wisely and you don’t go off course, distracted by other things or people. Being focused throughout your career will help you to become an expert in your field; to learn more and do more; to plan for the future, and to see opportunities and threats as soon as possible.