Leaders are not born, they are not made overnight either. Leadership is one quality everyone seeks to have but it takes a journey of learning new things and sometimes unlearning to arrive at a place of great leadership. What is a senior leader? The characteristics traits of a leader are that they are generous, sacrificial, kind, shrewd, full of wisdom, discipline, honest, execute sound judgment, impartial and have accountability to themselves and others.
There are many instances where people have failed to recognize between a follower and a leader. One has to know what is not a leader, to recognize a true one. Here are some character traits of someone who is not a leader but a follower.
A follower is influenced easily meaning they absorb whatever comes their way. They are nearsighted. They do what they like and do not weigh in the situation. There are many more traits of a non-leader. But this article focuses on senior leadership and what it takes to be one.
If you want to know what a senior leaders is and the way they conduct their business, read on!
1. Well, a true senior leader serves with humility. You cannot call an arrogant person a true senior leader. It just doesn’t fit the equation. He/she cannot be a good leader by being arrogant and self-centered. A leader is loved and admired by all, not due to their leadership position but because of their serving nature.
2. If you want to see a true senior leader, find someone who can serve going beyond their capacity. There! You have found a leader. Serving others with meekness and cheerfulness is a character trait only a leader can possess. You may see people who act like a leader but their facade disappears during the time of serving. A senior leader faithfully serves. They do not just serve for the sake of it. You can attach the quality of love and self-control to a leader. Without these qualities, you cannot serve with excellence.
3. Talking about excellence, a senior leader is detail-oriented and does their work with excellence. You will never find a senior leader leading with mediocrity. Have you seen a leader complaining and doing their task? A leader does not complain and but weight their words before it proceeds out of the mouth. A leader does not speak vain things. They know exactly what to speak, when to speak and how to speak. They are very careful with their words as they know the consequences of a careless word.
4. This brings us to the next point a senior leader is full of wisdom. Wisdom is needed to speak the right things. A senior leader knows that he/she is not sufficient so a leader depends on wise counsel in the form of friends, family, or mentors. The beauty of being an effective senior leader is keeping connections on all hierarchies so that they will have the perspective on every level and thus analyze better and bring a better outcome.
5. A senior leader is focused. A senior leader is steadfast in whatever they do. They are not wishy-washy and think about quitting every time they are faced with a problem. They just don’t operate that way. A leader is determined to complete whatever project they take on. It is because any project they decide to take on has been done with deliberate thinking and foresight.
6. A leader knows to lead by example. They know that one cannot expect to be served without serving first. So a senior leader makes sure to execute the work and work long hours just like their subordinates. But a senior leader is even more effective when they can delegate work and have it done effectively. This one is a hallmark of a great senior leader.
7. A senior leader is impartial. He/she judges with truth and justice. These qualities make a leader more charismatic and earn the respect of his/her followers.
This is one of the strengths of a leader that he sees value in others. You will never find a know it, seen it all kind of person who is in a great leadership role. No, that is impossible. A leader is someone who learns from their followers too.
Most often those who choose to remain the dumbest in the room turn out to be the wisest of all. Because of this quality, they can lead with effectiveness. They hold great importance for their followers and one will never find them looking down on their followers and making fun of them, instead they find strength in them. Leaders have self-control and do not let feelings detect their decisions.
8. A well seasoned senior leader knows the value of counsel. This quality makes a leader have impactful decisions and this helps in further improving themselves or the place where they are in charge. Constant growth towards self-awareness is one of the keys to be a successful senior leader. Why focus on self-awareness? A senior leader is looked up to by everyone. As they reach the top, they rarely get feedback so they need to sharpen their self-awareness more to prevent themselves from getting stagnant.
9. A great senior leader thinks of others and looks for ways to add value to them.
you cannot add value to others when you only think of yourself right? A great senior leader is someone who thinks of the interest of others and looks out for them. This selfless service in turn brings value to the followers. If you are following a true leader, know that there will be always a benefit.
10. A wise senior leader has a keen eye for recognizing people’s traits. They can effectively judge faithful ones from the non-faithful ones. They know the potential of people and rewards them accordingly.
One of the qualities of a senior leader is that of a generous heart. Their aura is that of abundance. They have abundance in everything they do.
11. A great leader is not a stubborn person but he/she is very much trainable. They love to be trained by people(no matter the position of those people), by circumstances, or even by nature. They find lessons to learn in everything. They are learning and bettering themselves all the time.
12. A senior leader is not ashamed of their work. Instead, they take pride in it. They know that work is good and it is to be celebrated and so they do it with all their might and achieve excellence in whatever they do.
13. A great senior leader knows that they are accounted for everything they have. They have a sense of greater responsibility and the position they are at calls for it. They are fully aware of it. They value what has been given to them and try their best to repay them with diligence and excellence.
14. A great senior leader does not falter with their words. You will never see them lightly esteeming their words. They weigh their words before they make any decisions. A leader is mindful of their actions because the level they are at demands tactfulness and strategic thinking. One wrong move will cost too much. And also the senior leader knows that his/her actions are closely monitored. The wrong action can teach the wrong message to those he/she oversees. So a leader is mindful of it.
15. A great senior leader meets others where they are at. This is one of the most sought-after leadership qualities. Because of these qualities, people find comfort in the guidance of a true leader. Yes, they are indeed excited to help others and to uplift them in a new position or new roles. The thought of it is exciting to a true leader.
16. A great senior leader spends his/her time learning new skills or polishing their old ones. A leader is known for their excellence so spending time mastering their trade is a common thing.
17. Most great senior leaders are so passionate about what they do. You can just see the excitement in their eyes. This makes them good leaders and separates them from the pack. Only a good leader can light the fire of passion in the organization or anywhere they may serve. This makes an organization or anything under a good leader thrive and succeed in their endeavors.
18. You will never see a true senior leader disrespectful to others. A true leader knows that respecting others is a part of being a good leader. They know fully that respect is earned and not to be demanded from anyone.
19. One of the senior leadership traits is the art of reciprocating that you see in great leaders. A good leader is caring and has integrity. They move with integrity and justice which makes them stand out wherever they go.
20. Great senior leaders are strong and do not give up when circumstances are not in their favor. They are confident in themselves and the support system, they have developed over the years. They do not waste their precious time worrying or fretting. A true senior leader holds themselves accountable and keeps high moral standards.
21. One of the qualities of a great senior leader is fearlessness. These qualities usher others to the goals and visions that a senior leader shows them. Only a great senior leader can do that.
22. A great senior leader always has an attitude of gratefulness. They will always attribute their achievements to their team or the people/surround themselves with.
23. A wise senior leader accepts corrections graciously. This is true for every great senior leader. They celebrate constructive criticism and are thankful to some who point out their blind spot. They are growth lovers and so these things are appreciated and welcome in the community of leaders. Their greatest is known by the attitude they give out to the world which is the more I know, the more I don’t know.
24. One of the golden traits of a good senior leaders is how they look after their subordinates with genuine care and concern. To be at a seniority level means having lots of people working under them which is a lot of responsibility. A great senior leader can look after those people satisfactorily.
In conclusion,
A good senior leader loves challenges as it pushes them to achieve greater heights.
A great senior leader knows to give importance and love to whom it is due. In this case, it will be their leaders or elders in whose footsteps they are walking. This shows giving honor to whom honor is due. Such an attitude can be found in great leaders. A leader knows that one did not become a leader overnight and so they do not shy away from showcasing their mentors and leaders. A good senior leader is constantly striving to be the best version of themselves in any setting. Be it at home, work, or anywhere they find themselves, they will make sure to set a good example for all to follow and he/they will also surround themselves with genuine and valuable people so that they can learn from them too. They follow the law of kindness and give grace to others as they know they will need it too at times.