Leadership competencies are the traits and skills that one possesses in order to be a good leader. I possess a number of traits that have the potential of making me an excellent leader one day. Some of these traits are extraversion, conscientiousness and emotional intelligence.
Extraverts are known to be sociable, gregarious and energetic people. I enjoy interacting with others and it is very easy for me to adapt to various types of social environments. Additionally, I am very adept at persuasion. All these point towards strong leadership skills. On numerous occasions I have found myself leading groups due to my self-confidence and assertiveness.
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The trouble with being an extravert is I tend to be very assertive sometimes and not everybody likes that. According to Ames and Flynn (2007), assertive people are usually perceived to wield power and tend to have more structurally advantageous positions in social networks. High levels of assertiveness have benefits but it often has social implications. Assertive people are less likeable and not as friendly as unassertive people. It is important for me to find a balance and only be assertive in situations when it is critical.
Conscientiousness is one of the main leadership skills. As a conscientious person I am more inclined to be careful and diligent. I am very efficient and have a strong desire to ensure all my tasks are done well and completed. The results of this trait make for a good leader because conscientiousness people are dependable, organized and driven to achieve goals.
Too much of anything is always bad, leaders who are too conscientiousness tend to be perfectionists and that tends to result in negative micromanagement, organizational effectiveness is reduced in team members if the leader micromanages projects. The problem with following the rules by the letter sometimes is that innovation tends to get stifled and may sometimes get in the way of productivity. Being meticulous is good but it isn’t necessary all the time and it could end up delaying and costing a project. Also, it makes a leader focus more on the tasks than the people and people skills are extremely important in the role of a leader. If I am to excel as a leader I have to find way to use these skills to my advantage and not let them disadvantage me.
People with emotional intelligence have good communication skills, encourage others, have integrity and easily build relationships. Emotional intelligence brings together emotion and cognition, it enhances our capacity for motivation, resilience, empathy, stress management, reasoning, and our ability to read and navigate a plethora of social situations and conflicts. I am learning various skills that assist in developing my emotional intelligence because it is positively correlated to leadership and I hope to be a great leader in the future.
Emotional intelligence has its share of downsides. People who hone their emotional skills become very good at manipulation. Leaders who have selfish motives can use these skills to manipulate others for personal gain. Also, Walter et al. (2011) reported a negative relationship between emotional intelligence and Machiavellianism; this is promoting selfish interests by manipulating, which increases worries about the dark side of emotional intelligence.
All these traits make for valuable competences in a leader. There is still so much to learn and understand. If I can navigate through them effectively and avoid the negative aspects of them I will be well on my way to being an excellent leader.
References
Ames, D. R. & Flynn, F. J. (2007). What Breaks a Leader: The Curvilinear Relation between Assertiveness and Leadership, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92(2), 307–24.
Walter, F. & Cole, M. & Humphrey, R. (2011). Sine Qua Non of Leadership or Folderol?. Academy of Management Perspectives, 25, 45-59. 10.5465/AMP.2011.59198449
