I’ve been reading quite a few books about leadership lately. Many may appear conflicting with each other. Jocko Willink a former Navy Seals against Daniel Goleman, creator of emotional leadership.

In summary, however, the key concepts resemble each other and in essence a leader must: “Try to lead the team and let us have the most appropriate and personal way to reach the goal."

This article I write more for myself. For some, concepts may seem too simplistic or not very thorough, but the goal I set myself for this article is to give me a guideline on which leader I want to be so as not to forget.

Who is the leader?

Let’s start with the assumption that the leader is not necessarily the boss, or whoever is at the top of the hierarchy. The leader is the one that the other team members follow, by virtue of the authority that they themselves have given him. From this point arises the old dilemma of the Manager vs the Leader (which maybe I will deepen in another article). The leader is that person to whom we turn when we need, to whom we ask for advice and who guides us on our path of growth. I firmly believe that everyone can be a leader, perhaps not only at work, but also in sports, in the family, in friendships and in all areas of our life.

What are the main characteristics of a leader?

In all these books the leader must be able to communicate the goal to his team and make the environment the most appropriate to achieve it. But what are the main features?

Self-awareness

1. Emotional self-awareness.
2. Realistic self-assessment.
3. Security.

Self management

1. Self-control.
2. Transparency.
3. Adaptability.
4. Determination.
5. Initiative.
6. Optimism.

Social awareness

1. Empathy.
2. Organizational awareness.
3. Services.

Report management

1. Ability to inspire.
2. Influence.
3. Help others grow.
4. Catalysts of change.
5. Conflict management.
6. Teamwork and collaboration.

Among these in my opinion the most important are: Optimism, Self-control, Transparency, Determination, Empathy, Ability to inspire and Knowing how to work in a team.

How can we start being leaders?

All these characteristics are very beautiful but let’s try to think for a moment how we can apply these skills with those who work with us. I really like the concept that a leader must first know how to master the needs of the Maslow pyramid taken from this course Leadership: Practical Leadership Skills

The main needs that you have can be traced back to these 4 classes:

1. Security
2. Social belonging
3. Self-esteem
4. Self-realization

In the image below for each class of needs there are practical applications that a leader must make to satisfy them.

Some books that I have found useful:

• The Emotionally Intelligent Leader
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
• Extreme Ownership
• The Ride of a Lifetime
• No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

What do you think of it? What characteristics do you think a leader should have?