Being a good leader involves having the right kinds of qualities and skills. Effective leaders have the “hard” or technical skills needed depending on the industry or field they work in. However, soft skills, such as communication and teamwork, are just as important. These skills can help leaders thrive in their careers when they take the time to develop them. Knowing more about key soft skills for leaders can help you determine which skills to focus on while earning your leadership degree.
Is Leadership a Soft Skill?
Effective leadership involves a combination of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are the ones needed for a specific industry or job, such as technological skills and training for leaders in the IT field or medical training for healthcare leaders. Soft skills refer to the skills needed to effectively lead others and help your department or company succeed, such as decision-making skills and conflict resolution. Some of these skills involve people skills or interacting with others, while other soft skills involve handling everyday tasks on the job in a leadership position.
15 Essential Soft Skills
When you’re planning to take on a leadership role in your career, understanding the importance of leadership soft skills is a must. You might have some of these skills already, but you can still work on improving them throughout your education. Earning a leadership degree can help you do this and develop soft skills you might not have. The following are some of the most important leadership qualities and skills you should focus on.
1. Communication
Communication skills are among the top soft skills you’ll need as a leader. Both nonverbal and verbal communication skills are essential whether you’re communicating with employees, other leaders, or clients in person, through writing, or on the phone. As a leader, you might need communication skills for giving presentations and holding meetings, as well as interacting with employees and management on a daily basis.
2. Interpersonal
Being able to skillfully interact with employees and colleagues, which involves tuning into their emotions and handling different social situations on the job, is crucial for leaders. Interpersonal skills, such as being a good listener, can reduce conflict in the workplace and help boost employee morale.
3. Teamwork
Teamwork is an essential skill for employees at all levels, including managers and leaders. As a leader, you’ll need to focus on team development throughout your career, which involves interacting with your staff and collaborating with other departments or teams when needed. Encouraging team members to share their ideas and input is a big part of having good teamwork skills in a leadership position.
4. Motivational
Being a motivational leader can give your employees the encouragement needed to succeed. When you develop motivational skills, you’ll be able to inspire your employees to achieve their goals and improve their work performance.
5. Problem-Solving
Being an effective leader doesn’t mean you’ll never have to deal with problems. As a leader, you can expect to face problems on a regular basis, such as problems with logistics or business processes. Being able to find good solutions to problems is an important skill to have, especially if you’re able to think outside the box to come up with creative approaches to problem-solving as needed.
6. Decision-Making
Leaders need to make a wide range of decisions, including minor everyday decisions and major ones that can impact an entire department or company. Having solid decision-making skills allows you to handle minor and major decisions with ease. This might involve weighing pros and cons and comparing possible outcomes of certain decisions, such as improving company policies or choosing projects for your teams to focus on.
7. Conflict Resolution
Even the best leaders can’t always avoid conflict between two or more staff members. Conflict resolution allows you to take an impartial approach to resolving these situations. When you’re a leader, you’ll need to be able to handle workplace conflict in an effective way, such as listening to each employee’s side of the story and gathering feedback if needed.
8. Confidence
Confidence is a key skill to have to be a successful leader. In fact, some leadership styles, such as authoritative leaders, are known mainly for having a high amount of confidence. As a confident leader, you’ll be able to manage employees effectively and handle interactions with others in an assertive manner. Keep in mind that confidence means you’re willing to identify and work on improving your weaknesses as a leader.
9. Integrity
Integrity involves doing what’s right as a leader when you’re faced with moral or ethical dilemmas. This might not always be an easy decision, but it’s important to show integrity on a regular basis as a leader.
10. Mentoring Skills
Being a great leader involves mentoring others from time to time. You might be able to show mentoring skills if you have newly hired staff who need training or if your team or department needs to learn new processes. Being a good mentor means having the patience and ability to help your employees learn and develop new skills as needed.
11. Willingness to Learn
Although you’re expected to know quite a bit as a leader, a willingness to learn is important. Leaders can always work on developing their skills and learning new skills that make them more effective on the job. Being willing to learn shows that you’re open to improving your own work performance, which can serve as inspiration for your employees.
12. Creativity
Being creative isn’t just for artists. Leaders in any field or industry need to have creativity to come up with innovative solutions to problems or ways to improve business processes. Thinking creatively allows you to view company problems or challenges with a fresh perspective, which can help you find imaginative ways to handle problems or conflicts.
13. Strategic Planning
No matter which industry or field you work in, strategic planning is an essential skill for leaders to have. This type of planning plays an important role in ensuring that your company reaches its goals and remains successful. You’ll need to use different skills as part of strategic planning, such as critical thinking skills and analytical skills. These skills help you come up with business plans for your company.
14. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Being aware of and able to handle your own emotions, which is known as emotional intelligence, can help you become a highly effective leader. When conflict occurs or problems arise in the workplace, you’ll have the ability to focus on your own emotions and achieve a sense of calm before handling these situations. This allows you to think clearly and make the right decisions when interacting with staff or solving problems.
15. Adaptability
Being adaptable as a leader is a key soft skill to have. Situations can change often on the job, especially when your company implements new business processes and policies. Being able to adapt to these situations and help your employees do so as well is a critical skill needed for success.
What Soft Skills Should a Leader Have?
A good leader should ideally have all of these soft skills, but these aren’t the only ones to work on. To be an effective leader, you should also make sure you have other soft skills, such as honesty, delegation, organization, critical thinking, compassion, and empathy. Having a positive outlook is another soft skill that can help you thrive as a leader in your field or industry.
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