10 Characteristics of Superior Leaders

David Javitch wrote a nice piece, in his Entrepreneur's column, with the characteristics of superior leaders. According him, the successful leaders share the following characteristics or views:

1 - Mission: Leaders know what their mission is. They know why the organization exists. A superior leader has a well thought out (often written) mission describing the purpose of the organization.

2 - Vision: Where do you want your organization to go? A vision needs to be abstract enough to encourage people to imagine it but concrete enough for followers to see it, understand it and be willing to climb onboard to fulfill it.

3 - Goal: How is the organization going to achieve its mission and vision and how will you measure your progress? Like a vision, goals need to be operational; that is specific and measurable. If your output and results can't be readily measured, then it will be difficult to know if you have achieved your purpose.

4 - Competency: You must be seen by your advisors, stakeholders, employees, and the public as being an expert in your field or an expert in leadership.

5 - A strong team: Realistically, few executives possess all of the skills and abilities necessary to demonstrate total mastery of every requisite area within the organization. To complement the areas of weakness, a wise leader assembles effective teams of experienced, credentialed, and capable individuals who can supplement any voids in the leader's skill set.

6 - Communication skills: It does little good to have a strong mission, vision, and goals--and even a solid budget--if the executive cannot easily and effectively convey his ideas to the stakeholders inside and outside of the organization.

7 - Interpersonal skills: Successful entrepreneurs are comfortable relating to other people; they easily create rapport and are at least more extroverted than they are introverted.

8 - A "can do, get it done" attitude: Nothing builds a picture of success more than achievement, and achievement is the number one factor that motivates just about everyone across all cultures. When employees see that their boss can lead and direct, has a clear vision and attainable goals, and actually gains results in a timely manner, then that person's credibility increases throughout the organization.

9 - Inspiration: Quite often, employees need someone to look up to for direction, guidance, and motivation. The leader may at times need to step in personally to offer a suggestion or encouragement to ensure that employees perform their jobs in an optimal manner.

10 - Ambition: Employees need to be constantly striving for improvement and success; and they need to see the same and more in their leaders.