One of the most common leadership conflicts that arises is the quiet leader versus the silent leader. A quiet leader has more than enough motivation, experience and desire to lead while a silent leader only has the motivation and desire. This often leads to an inferiority complex, lack of clarity on the direction and poor leadership skills. There are some people who are willing to take orders from no one and there are others who are completely self-motivated and like to lead from behind the scenes. It’s important to find out whether the leader you have working for you has the qualities that make them capable of leading and ensuring the success of your team.
To help in identifying the traits of a leader you should ask yourself some important questions such as what makes them likable? Is there a certain charisma that makes them more charismatic or do they come across as genuine and down to earth? Are they able to hold a good conversation and get along well with people? How well do they handle various types of situations? Are their leadership principles grounded in real world experiences or do they simply believe their theories?
You can identify leadership qualities by asking the leader themselves such questions such as:
- How hard is it to lead and keep the team motivated?
- Do you prefer to be respected and not loved?
These questions are important as they will give you the insight into the type of leader you would like to be.