Top Five Leadership Skills that Shift You into an Iconic Leader
Leaders emerge from all spheres of life. Taking quick look at the most memorable ones like Martin Luther King or Bill Gates proves so. At some point in their life, they were ordinary men in society.
So, what catapults a person into the status of an icon. It appears the secret is in the unique leadership skills each one commanded. From Winston Churchill to Arianna Huffington, here are the top five skills you can learn from these exceptional leaders.
Creativity
Creativity is not top in many leadership programs as a skill to learn. But it may very well be the x-factor to outstanding leadership. It creates endless opportunities for problem-solving, goal setting, and motivating the team. To become iconic, you have to break the status quo and lead differently.
Coaching
There are many proven leadership skills that people have used over the years to achieve greatness. Yet, the one mark of modern leadership is coaching. It is the ability to help the employees do their work. Today’s iconic leader shows the team how to set goals, identifies areas to improve, create a plan of action, and provides motivation. The types of employee coaching can exist as on-the-spot coaching, mentoring, or performance coaching.
Building Teams
Modern-day companies are increasingly relying on teamwork. They find it essential to gather people with different skills and talents to handle the changing industry needs. Most leaders graduate into these positions. They join already existing teams without practical knowledge on how to build one. But highly sought-after leaders learn how teams work and develop through the four stages of team building- forming, storming, norming, and performing. They apply these to turn them into productivity machines.
Leading Change
The world evolves at an accelerated pace. That means organizations that don’t keep up lose out on new market shares. To move from ordinary to an iconic leader, you have to pick up on the trends and run with them.
Inspiration
The true mark, however, of a leader that impacts is his capacity to inspire. Inspiration is the ability to influence people on an emotional and logical level. Learning and successfully applying this skill relies on emotional intelligence, trust, and a strong vision. It makes memorable leaders because they are the people that create lasting change in lives.
Final Words
Here is the truth, there is no manual to becoming an iconic leader. You only have to learn and master leadership skills that set you apart. That is what will be your legacy.