8 Signs to Instantly Recognize a Great Leader

In the book, “Servant leadership in action”, the author, Raj Sisodia, tells us about some signs that can be used to identify a leader immediately. He also uses an abbreviation “Selfless” to sum up the qualities of a great leader.

Here are 8 signs to immediately recognize someone with the gift of leadership:

• Strength
• Enthusiasm
• Love
• Flexibility
• Long-term orientation
• Emotional intelligence
• Systems intelligence
• Spiritual intelligence

Sisodia further explains this Selfless approach of leadership as a blend of mature masculine & feminine characteristics. He states,

“An excessive number of leaders today show just immature hyper masculine characteristics, for example, domination, animosity, hyper competitiveness, succeeding at all costs, and so on. They see each leadership challenge through the viewpoint of war – an attitude that is, best case scenario, win-lose, and for the most part lose-lose.”

You now have an idea of what the abbreviation is used for in the book so, let’s dive deeper & discuss these individually.

Strength

The strength of a great leader is seen by his courage to stand up unshakably against those who get in the way of their convictions. They are confident with what they are doing & that too, without being arrogant, & “draw on the strengths of their teams without exhausting the power of those teams.”

Strength, writes Sisodia, is practiced as “power with, not power over, those they look to lead.”

Enthusiasm

A great leader produces an incredible energy & enthusiasm due to their obligation to moral authority, respectability & a higher purpose.

“At the point when you’re lined up with your motivation, you can’t resist the urge to be enthusiastic,” writes Sisodia. “That is difficult to counterfeit in the event that you don’t have it.”

Love

Fear is something opposite to love & when fear penetrates an association; it halts the thinking process & eventually stops creativity & innovation.

Love here is significant and noble.

Thus, a great leader, instead of managing the work performance only, creates a sense of psychological safety amongst the team members & thinks about their prosperity.

Flexibility

It is very important to be vigilant & be ready to accept any changes. Leaders should be agile, adaptable & open.

A great leader is always ready to switch modes and roll out quick improvements while considering all the other ongoing processes of the business.

Sisodia presents an incredible analogy:

“Conscious leaders resemble golf players with a full set of clubs; they realize how to choose and execute the correct methodology for every circumstance.”

Long-Term Orientation

A great always ensures a long-term orientation with the company. He/she always has plans beyond their tenure at the company.

Conscious leaders measure accomplishment by what befalls their company after they’re a distant memory. 

They guarantee that the business will keep on working with the high standards & with the same purpose that it was established on.

Emotional Intelligence

In everyday interactions & decision-making, Enthusiastic Intelligence (EQ) is a powerhouse when it appears with mindfulness (understanding oneself) & empathy (the capacity to feel and comprehend what others are feeling).

However, researches have shown a different picture,

“The higher the position in the organization, the lower the degree of EQ, with the CEO typically having the most minimal level,” writes Sisodia.

Systems Intelligence

Systems intelligence shows how each piece of the business co-relates with the setting of the entire organization as a whole.

Conscious leaders “comprehend the underlying foundations of issues and how the issues identify with hierarchical plan and culture,” writes Sisodia.

Spiritual Intelligence

This is the ethical insight with which conscious leaders access their more profound implications, values, purposes & higher inspirations.

This is where the sense of good & bad, right & left, comes from. It is sometimes hard to realize when things are starting to go off-track from your intended purpose.

From this insight, a great leader practices decency, truth, beauty & compassion.

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