Do you have what it takes to be a leader?

If you think that leadership skills come along with experience, then you need to rethink that idea. Even if you have worked in the field for years, handled difficult cases successfully, or coped with complicated issues positively, all of them do not necessarily guarantee your leadership abilities. When you find yourself having difficulties in building and maintaining relationships with people, or you hate giving explanations, maybe you are not cut out to be a leader.

There are times when we come across others saying, who-and-who are natural born leaders. Those who seems to be ‘blessed’ with ‘natural abilities’ to lead. However, being a great leader requires efforts, not just solely on ‘natural abilities’. We have list out a few points where it could mean that you are not of leadership material.

1. You have weak social skills

Your teammate invites you to a gathering after work on a Friday, but you refuse and choose to stay at home having a date with your cats. If you find this situation describing your personality, then being a leader will not fit you. A leader should have great social skills, because they are required to deal with different kind of people every day.

When you are a socially awkward person, avoiding any social settings or you do not want to be involved in interpersonal relationships, it will be difficult to form business affiliations and even harder if you want to manage a team.

2. You do not like being questioned

Some people ask because they honestly do not know or fully understood your instructions and they have qualms over the projects. If you are annoyed when people ask silly questions or something obvious that you think they must have known, then you shouldn’t think about wanting to lead others.

A leader should be able to provide comforting answers for anyone who comes to him asking even the simplest inquiries. It is one of the leader’s responsibilities to provide explanations, so if you cannot stand your team scurrying to you for assurance, further information or need you to repeat your directions again (maybe again and again), the position will forever burn you with anger.

Also Read: Leadership during the time of crisis: how to fail gracefully and emerge as a better leader

3. You are not a fast decision-maker

Great leaders are known for their ability to make the most suitable decisions on important issues. Sometimes, the urgency of a problem requires them to make the decision a fast (and appropriate) one.

Great leaders are not only looked upon as the problem solver, but also someone who trains their team members to be their own problem solver, too! If you can’t manage it, respect from team members could be lost, and you can also lose team members this way as they find no learning curve during their tenure with you.

4. You cannot give clear orders

Good communication is one among many skills needed to be a leader. When someone is asking you for directions but you are not able to communicate the instruction across clearly, chances are, you are not suitable as a leader. A leader should be able to deliver clear instructions to team members so they can execute the tasks successfully.

5. You do not care about your team

Motivation is highly crucial to run in any organisation. A leader should be able to encourage one’s team to achieve the designated goals. During tough times at the workplace, it is the leader’s job to keep the team motivated and bring up the positive energy. So if you tend to see things in a negative point of view, rather than bring everyone down with you, stay away from that leadership position.

But all these doesn’t mean that if you are not cut out to be of a leadership material, you are not worth anything. Some people are just more suitable to be a good supporter/follower! These group of people plays a crucial part in the success of the leader too.

Also Read: Match point: What tennis can teach us about entrepreneurship and leadership

Also, if you still aspire to be in the leadership position, learn what it takes to be a leader and exercise those qualities. Leaders are not perfect either — mistakes are there so we can learn and improve. (Just avoid making the same mistake again!)

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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