What makes a great leader? During an election year, everyone certainly has their opinion who should lead our country for the next four years. But what makes them so great? Is it their experience or their likability? Or the ability to persuade? There are many attributes that make a great leader, and when searching for the right employee for your business, you’ll find those attributes for great leaders and great employees can be very similar.
Forbes created a list not too long ago that featured those aspects of a great leader called “Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader.” This month as we celebrate the Presidents of our past, take a look at these attributes and see how they compare with the search of your next employee.
- Honesty: Honesty is so essential in leadership, and we believe even more so in employees. Great leaders have to have the trust of their followers, and they in return must be just as trustworthy. When there is much on the line, nothing seeds more doubt than a lack of trust. Honesty is one of our company’s core values, and we place a high importance on that with everything we do. And so should you.
- Confidence: Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” Having the confidence to do a job is vital whether you’re a CEO of multi-billion company or just entering the workforce as an intern. Leadership comes at all levels and finding a person to lead during the best of times or even adverse times can make or break a business. What comes with confidence is courage and there are many job candidates who struggle with these traits. If you’re an employer, finding candidates that embody this trait in a positive way can impact on your business.
- Commitment: How committed are you to success of a project? Of a business? Almost every success story has a foundation of commitment from a leader and his followers. Throughout history, we’ve learned how being committed has rewarded this country with some of our greatest successes. Take our first president George Washington for example, his leadership was exemplary. He led and fought for eight long years, inspiring commitment and greatness among his followers (both men and women) during the American Revolutionary War. Hard work and commitment will never be overrated in any workplace. Finding employees that are committed to your success, can be as important as breathing for any business.
- Positive Attitude: Abraham Lincoln once said, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” The best leaders know the importance of a positive attitude. Nothing can hurt a business more than the toxicity of people with poor attitudes. Negativity can eat away positive momentum, and it all starts with a bad attitude. Finding leaders and employees who breed positivity within a workforce is the first start to real success. An employee with a positive attitude will most likely give 100 percent, working overtime when needed.
- Creativity: How important is it to be creative as a leader? Thomas Jefferson was a staunch inventor throughout his career, and Dwight D. Eisenhower was an avid painter in the later years of his life. These leaders and more knew the importance of creativity. Without creativity, how can a leader find a solution to the impossible? The times may have changed, but the concept is still the same. In fact, being creative is an important trait for any job seekers in the current workplace. With technology, both outdated and emerging, there are more opportunities today for leaders to create something new and bold.
- Approach: If there is one leader who makes me think about on their approach and style, it is John F. Kennedy. He had strength in his speeches and power in his delivery. Kennedy once said, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” He embodied the concept of asking Americans to do more. Be more. His approach was profound and when it comes to getting employees to do more, it is all about a leader’s approach. With our diverse world, a leader’s approach and the impact it has on its employees can depict how successful a business will be.
Finding great leaders isn’t always easy, but try using this guide on your next group of candidates. Find out what great leadership means to them. Ask them who their favorite president was and why? Their answers will be telling and you’ll be that much closer to getting the right fit for your business.
Still struggling for finding the right job candidates? Contact us for more information about the types of traits your new hires need to make your business successful.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR, Ingrid Moore
Ingrid Moore is the Founder and CEO of Corporate Resources of Illinois, an employment & staffing agency with over 20+years’ experience located in Schaumburg, IL. Ingrid and her team assist employers with finding the right hire for their business. For more info, follow us on our LinkedIn Company Page, or follow us Corporate Resources of Illinois‘s Google+ page.
