A leader does not necessarily mean a political leader, a manger or a CEO of the company. A leader can be any person to whom others look up to for suggestions or decisions or for general guidance.

If they trust you, they will follow you blindfolded; else even the best of your advice is meaningless.

If they trust you, they will follow you blindfolded; else even the best of your advice is meaningless.

It is generally said that leaders are born but I am of the opinion that leaders may be created also. It is true that not every person can become a leader as there are many qualities that should be developed in a person to become a leader. Many of us have the leadership qualities but we may not be aware of them. We come across these qualities at some time in our life and it is then when we slowly recognize our leadership qualities.

To become a good leader, the following few qualities are a must:

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS. This is one skill that will help you to gain co-operation and also to convey your goals, vision and decisions to all in most understandable manner. The ability to gain the cooperation and support of others through negotiation and influence depends directly upon communication skill. And all these things are most essential to become a leader. Active listening is also an essential part of communication. Unless you are a good listener you cannot be a good communicator. Hear more, speak less.

ABILITY TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS. The people choose a person to be their leader for he has the quality to listen to their problems, understand them and give them a solution. Listen to the problems carefully and then analyze them. They may not be as easy to solve as they seem to be or may be they are not as difficult to handle as they look. A leader is the one who has solutions ready for the problem. Sometimes the solution may be the simplest thing to do but it may not click into the minds of all the people.

ABILITY TO MOTIVATE. A good leader is one who apart from being self-motivated also has the ability to motivate others. Most of us know how well we can do just by a spark of motivation. Also, if the leader is motivated then half of the job of motivating others is already done. A leader should emphasize on developing the morale of the employees and setting example for them. Allow your team to be a part of planning and problem solving.

HAVING A WIDE VISION. A leader should create the vision and should inspire others to act in the direction of that vision. Your vision statement is a picture of the future. Your vision shows your attitude towards life, what you want to achieve in life and how far you want to go. Your vision tells you where you want to move thus making your directions clearer. Without a vision, you would be easily carried by others’ expectations.

TAKING DECISIONS AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONSEQUENCES. People are afraid of taking decisions because they are not ready for taking the responsibility of the upcoming consequences. Fear of consequences keeps them away from taking a decision. Leaders are confident of their ability and thus they do not mind taking decisions most of the times. Just remember that you may make a mistake while taking a decision but you should never give. You should rather learn from your mistakes and just go ahead.

Think of yourself as the captain of a ship; the fate of the ship is in your hands, and it’s up to you to steer everyone in the right direction. If at any time you are not sure of your decision then its better to walk out than being a not so good leader.