The 8 Key Leadership Skills I Have Learned Over the Years.

If you’ve been in a business or leadership class, you’ve probably learned about leadership skills and qualities, and how they impact the success of an organization. Skillful leaders know how to communicate and motivate their teams towards achieving organizational goals.

In this article, I will share with you the 8 key leadership skills and leadership qualities that super successful leaders have in common.

Super Successful Leaders Are Curious and Shameless

One key quality leaders of super successful companies have in common is that they are curious and bold. Super successful leaders know their limitations and always seek advice from people more successful than them. For example, the founders of Airbnb Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk admit having sought advice from established entrepreneurs like Reid Hoffman, Jeff Weiner and Mark Zuckerberg among others.

Successful Leaders Try to Make Their Team Members More Successful Than Them

Leaders of successful organizations know that their success depends on the success of those they lead. Hence, successful leaders will go the extra mile in encouraging team members to outperform them because it’s the best way to motivate employees.

Great Leaders Organize Their Teams

Skillful leaders understand the importance of scheduling tasks because it helps in organizing teams and conveying the intentions of the leader. Successful leaders use time scheduling tools to track time and activities. This is important in employee evaluation and in determining whether the team has achieved its objectives.

Great Leaders Learn and Improve Themselves and Their Teams

Great leaders understand that success is incremental and there is always room for improvement. This why most successful leaders seek professional training for themselves and their teams. For instance, the cofounders of Airbnb hired professionals with vast experience to coach employees, identify areas of weakness, and suggest improvements.

Successful Leaders Review Their Performance Periodically

The ability to examine your work critically and give yourself an honest review is a quality only possessed by very successful leaders. Pausing to review our performance once in a while is not enough. Focused and organized leaders review their performance within specific intervals, for example, some leadership coaches advise leaders to review their performance every week.

Great Leaders Acknowledge Mistakes and Rectify Them

Mistakes that lead to delays or poor service and customer experience are common in most organization. The damage caused by such incidents depends on how leaders handle the situation. Successful leaders acknowledge mistakes and implement measures to prevent future incidents.

Super Successful Leaders Are Not Motivated by Money

It’s hard to believe, but high achievers and great leaders including notorious criminals are never motivated by money. Instead, successful leaders have the habit of investing back their profits and giving a proportion back to the community. This is the reason all big corporations engage in social responsibilities because the leaders understand how you create customers and followers by giving back.

Great Leaders Are Decisive

Successful leaders always take a stand in times of controversies or calamities. For instance, when President Trump banned immigration from seven Muslim countries, many business and political leaders opposed the move. This what successful leaders do; they make their stance on controversial issues known.

If you have fully read this article, now you know the 8 key leadership skills and leadership qualities of successful leaders that I have learned over the years. Put the skills to the test, but if you feel that there is a crucial skill I have not included please share. Marco Calamassi @lmcala