By fneedle@hubspot.com (Flori Needle)

Influential leaders are a pillar of any organization.

They motivate employees, help them feel empowered in their skills, and, in turn, build strong teams that consistently meet business goals and contribute to overall business success.

Assuming a leadership role is often an end goal for many business people. If you’re hoping to get there one day and want to know how you can succeed, or you’re hoping to improve your skills, this post will explain what leadership skills are, outline how you can develop them, and learn how to display your skills on a resume to stand out amongst your competitors.

Leadership skills are essential for a business because they drive success. Strong leaders ensure that employees are equipped with the tools and resources to succeed, unify teams to create a culture of togetherness, and delegate and communicate responsibilities and wins to all involved stakeholders.

As an individual, leadership skills are important because they help you in all aspects of your career. You’ll know how to take ownership of your job responsibilities, communicate effectively, and work with others to reach a common goal. If you possess leadership skills but are not yet in a leadership role, demonstrating these skills will signal to employers that you can be a strong leader, which sets you apart from other applicants.

Examples of Leadership Skills

While not an exhaustive list, the skills below are examples of abilities that effective leaders have.

• Communication: A leader needs to communicate effectively and clearly with stakeholders, employees, and all involved teams. Additional skills that support effective communication are active listening, clarity, concision, and persuasion.
• Strategic thinking: Leaders must be strategic thinkers who can understand business goals and develop processes specifically to help meet them.
• People management: As leaders lead people, they must manage groups and help them succeed. People management skills can include communication, active listening, working collaboratively, team building, empathy, giving feedback, and delegating responsibility.
• Motivation: Leaders must be self-motivated when it comes to hitting targets and performing their job duties. You also must motivate your teams and help them feel empowered and able to achieve business goals. Commitment is a skill that strongly relates to motivation.
• Flexibility: Things can change quickly for a business, and leaders must be flexible and able to face changes in the market, employee turnover, or any issues that arise. Being able to think strategically is a skill that strongly relates to being flexible.
• Reliability: People look up to leaders, so they must be reliable. Your teams want to know and trust that you’re giving them the tools they need to succeed, and higher-ups want to trust that you will meet the goals set out for you. Additional skills related to reliability are trustworthiness, integrity, timeliness, and the ability to take the initiative.
• Ability to mentor and teach: One of the most important things for a leader to do is mentor and teach employees and help them develop their professional skills. Related …read more

  Source:: HubSpot Blog

        

  

  Author: Aaron