Just as schools or sporting teams have captains and governments have presidents or prime ministers, every country needs good leaders to guide and help its citizens. Each individual of a group in society or a country cannot be expected to take important decisions. Everyone does not have the capacity, or the quality, to churn up ideas and the strength to lead. Countries need people with good leadership qualities to take the initiative. A person with such qualities from a group is asked to become the leader or the primary agent. So, it is a fact that groups, societies and citizens must have leaders to guide and show them the right direction.

An individual who has good management skills and can organize things is not always the leader. Moreover, not every person that takes up the role of a leader is able to carry out the role properly. Leaders are not always born. Anyone can become a leader by learning the ways to lead. People who seem to be natural born leaders also have to learn leadership skills. They may have seen their parents or teachers, or some other person as role models. They may have taken responsibilities from a very young age, or they may have done some leadership development courses.

Here are a few qualities that make good leaders

Listen carefully

The first thing that a leader should do is make it his/her duty to take care of the interest of each individual under him. This involves making collective interests more important than individual interests of the group or country. For this, the leader first has to identify the common good of the people involved and understand what is acceptable to all and have an inclusive foresight. It needs enormous patience to listen to people and learn and also have the ability to critically evaluate what each person wants and needs and then put all of these together.

Keep eyes & ears open

Second, a leader should keep his eyes and ears open and listen to all the criticism and try to judge whether the policies he/she has implemented are working. He should not be defensive when criticised, or try to avoid questions. A good leader has to take criticism with a bold face and take the constructive ones while discarding the ones that are unnecessary. A leader must also be flexible and have the ability to make corrections along the way by admitting mistakes. A good leader knows that his/her position is not lowered if they accept their mistakes and weaknesses.

Control over words

Next, a leader has to be a good communicator. This can be of immense help if you are good with words. But all your strength with words can go to waste if your speech is not delivered with conviction and sincerity. So, it would be better if you do your work quietly rather than making big promises that you are unable to fulfil.

Getting the right people

Then, as a leader one might want to choose those who are loyal. But he/she should remember that these people are not considered strong. People who are afraid cannot provide good advice to their leader and may even agree to poor or bad decisions that will take the country down a disastrous road.

Earning support

Last, as a good leader, one should know that he/she can achieve nothing without the team’s support and collective efforts. So, if you wish to be a good leader, you should choose the right kind of people who represent the common man of the land. Remember to stay away from people who are prejudiced in their thoughts or want to help only their own group. This cannot bring about good for the whole country. You have to rise above narrow-minded people to pick your team. So, a leader should be able to appoint people who are best for his team—people who are able, can understand the job well, speak without fear and are ready to disagree with the leader if needed. Moreover, they have to understand the general philosophy of the people that guides a nation. They have to understand the needs of the people too.