In today’s fast-paced cut-throat world, where every organisation is trying to increase their efficiency and maximise profit, leadership is time and again identified as the gears that make an organisation turn. Often a vague term, leadership is viewed and practiced in many variant forms around the world; and what works in one particular organisation might not be universally applicable in others; what one leader does with his team might not be replicable in other situations.

It is generally accepted, however, that there are several tenants that all great leaders adhere to. Regardless of the part of the world, or the scale of operations, all successful organisations are led by inspiring and driven leaders. With that in mind, we spoke with some industry leaders of our own to identify five qualities all leaders must have.

Vision

LP Bhanu Sharma is the principal at Apex College and identifies clear vision as one of the rudimentary qualities all leaders must have. “Leadership is the energy that drives an organisation,” Sharma says,“An organisation and human psyche depend extensively on leadership. Without leadership there would be no direction in the organisation.” He adds that above all else, all good leaders have clear and concise short- and long-term vision that they are able to effectively sell to their team members. If a leader is unable to sell the vision and the mission of the organisation to his team, reckons Sharma, you are setting up the organisation to fail. “It is when the employees buy in to the vision of the organisation that they truly start working for it, you will struggle to get anything but very rudimentary requirements from them,” says Sharma.

Team Player

Arun Sthapit, the head of client servicing at Echo Advertising Agency, believes that before all else, leaders knows that they are only as good as their team. “A leader does not only mean that you lead the pack,” Sthapit is quick to reiterate, “You have to go beyond that.” He asserts that first and foremost a leader is aware that in order to lead a team effectively, you have to be a part of it—not above it. “Leadership is not just about barking orders to your subordinates,” believes Sthapit, “A lot of it is about being able to put yourself in a team members shoes and understanding what is motivating them to contribute to the greater common good.”

Sharma concurs that making sure that the whole team is involved in the task at hand is of paramount importance. “I think all leaders need to ensure that they forge ahead taking their entire team along with them. Team leaders sometimes tend to overlook the fact that without the team, there would be no team leader.”

Empathy

Sharma also goes on to add that one of the most common stumbling blocks for leaders is that they do no empathise with their subordinates. Often, leaders get disconnected and detached from their team to a point where they forget that they too rose from the same struggling ranks.

“We all work with human beings. So, it is important as a leader to understand individual needs and energy levels of the team,” adds Sthapit, “We have to multiply the positive energy and eliminate negative energy in an organisation.” According to him, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your team is of paramount importance. “But that can only be done when the leader can effectively put themselves in the shoes of their subordinates. Only when a leader is able to understand what drives and motivates the team and what truly makes them tick, that they can begin to channel those energies for the betterment of the organisation.”

Democratic

Often, leaders can over time drift towards being autocratic, says Sthapit. He opines that it is crucial that a leader is able to arrest this drift and continue to be able to put themselves in the shoes of their subordinates. “When leaders can do this,” he says, “they can continually replicate success.”

“Much too often, leaders eventually become autocratic,” concurs Sharma, “team leaders must always ensure that they are moving ahead taking their entire team in confidence.” He adds that it is essential that a leader is able to incorporate the whole team’s ideas and thoughts about a particular project. “Without doing that the subordinates lose ownership over the project, and there is nothing more demotivating than that.”

Sthapit also sees being able to incorporate and value ideas from subordinates as being a crucial asset among all good team leaders. “It is essential that a leader is able to transfer the ownership to his or her subordinates. Without being able to do that, you will be constantly micro-managing, which is detrimental to you, the team and the whole organisation.” He adds that it is equally important that the leader is able to transmit the plaudits of a job-well-done with the team. “Give the team the full credit that they deserve, that way they will feel valued by the organisation and are motivated to contribute to further successes.”

Creative

A large part of being a good leadership deals with being able to come up with creative solutions to the problems that arise in a day-to-day basis in any organisation. Bhanu Sharma reflects on his own experience as the principal of an educational organisation to drive the point home. “Every day, I am confounded with many different types of problems. As a leader, I need to take many strategic decisions. And every time, I need to weigh my options against the values that my organisation upholds. Setting the right examples as a decision maker is very important.” He adds that no two problems are the same and that a leader is constantly required to think on their feet. “Leaders should be creative. I cannot stress this enough. They should be able to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to the problems they are confronting.”

All good leaders have clear and concise short- and long-term visions that they are able to effectively sell to their team members. If a leader is unable to do to this they are setting up the organisation to fail