Everyone defines leadership differently. But irrespective of how you choose to define a leader, he or she can prove themselves to be a difference-maker between success and failure. If you are looking to determine if someone will make a good leader, or you are on your way to becoming one yourself, here are some of the most important qualities of a good leader:

Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and integrity are some of the foundational qualities of a successful leader. Most leaders would say they expect this from their reports, which makes leading by example crucial.

These two attributes are also important in gaining the trust of your employees, which will help in the areas of productivity and employee retention.

Good Communication Skills

How can you direct a team if you can’t clearly convey the organisation’s goals? The answer is simple: you can’t. The more effectively you are able to communicate specific goals and needs, the more effective your team will be.

Accountability

There are going to be plenty of times where a leader gets the credit for success, but there will be even more times when they will have to be accountable for failure. A good manager must hold themselves culpable and their team answerable. Ultimately, the level of accountability and success of a leader’s subordinates directly impacts them.

Resilience

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Nobody claims that being in charge is an easy job – which is why resilience ranks high on our list of the strengths a good leader must have. A leader should be able to rally their team regardless of what the circumstances might be. It is their job to focus on the solutions, not the problem.

What other key traits do you think are important aspects of being a good leader?