What does it really take to be a great leader? Are they born or are they made?

One person who knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a real leader is Richard Branson. Walk through any of the Virgin offices around the world and you’ll really struggle to find somebody who has seen the company’s Founder raise his voice when the going gets tough. High pressured situations need to be handled, all whilst keeping your eye on the businesses real goal.

What leadership boils down to is people. Whatever your style, whatever your method, you need to believe in yourself, your ideas and your staff.

“Nobody can be successful alone – and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead. The trick is in striking the right balance between empowering your staff and being an example for them to follow” explains Branson

Dr Karen Phillip says “Good Leadership enables employees to also see the clear vision and direction. Great Leaders motivate workers to move toward the same end result and goal, clearly defined with steps on how this result can be achieved.

When we can see where we are going it is easier to reach our target. A business can only succeed with employees working towards the same agenda and being given the responsibility and belief they can achieve the result. (visit Dr Karen Phillip website)

Great Leaders have a natural ability to lead through instinct which can be developed through ongoing learning.

As an entrepreneur with employees, one of your primary goals is most likely to attract and keep motivated workers. So let’s explore the four key traits that will help you become the kind of leader people love working for.

1) Vision

We’ve all heard the saying “You must stand for something, or you’ll fall for everything.” But what does that really mean? Standing firm when it comes to your company’s policies and procedures is all well and good, but it doesn’t speak to having a vision. As a leader, you have to learn to communicate your vision or the vision of your company to the people you want to follow you.

2) Passion

Your employees want passion; in fact, they’ll go to the ends of the earth because of it, live and die for it. To build an extraordinary management team and a following of people who believe in the path ahead, you’ve got to light the “fire in their bellies,” to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to your vision.

3) Communication

Strong leaders know how to communicate effectively with staff at both higher and lower levels in the company. Understanding how to clearly explain tasks and projects to staff while communicating the importance of your department’s work to administrators is a crucial skill that takes practice. Good communicators keep staff informed when changes or updates to projects occur, are readily available to staff and hold regular meetings to ensure that all team members are aware of the status of projects.

4) Character

Without character, all the other “keys” are for nought. That’s because your innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.

Read entire article in Huffington Post