People are born with leadership traits, but it is possible to develop leadership skills. If you want to lead a team there are certain things that you should do, certain things that you should know, and certain things that you should be.

Great leaders seem to share some common traits. They tend to be conscientious, determined, resilient, self-assured and well-adjusted individuals who are capable of inspiring trust; they also tend to be empathetic and intuitive individuals who can empower and motivate their team members.

Which of these strengths you will need to develop, if you want to be a good leader, will depend on your existing personal strengths and weaknesses. If you aren’t sure what they are, you can get an idea by doing the quick quiz at the bottom of this page, or by going through the more rigorous processes some organisations employ to identify those with leadership potential.

Good leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses, and those of their team members, and understand how to make them work effectively for the greater good.

Knowing your team members

You can learn a lot by watching the way other people interact. You need to recognise that different things motivate different people and good leaders understand others and treat them as individuals.

You can practice communication skills by making yourself listen to others and think about how they might feel. Listening to others can make them feel good about themselves and teach you something new.

Knowing yourself

No matter how unappealing it may be, you also need to learn as much as you can about yourself. Actively seek feedback from friends, co-workers, and family. Make yourself face up to what people really think about you as this will help guide you in the right direction.

Positive feedback will give you confidence that you are doing the right thing, and negative feedback will help you to identify the weak areas of your personality.

Leading from the front

But to be really effective you must be able to convince people to follow you. Show your team that you can be trusted: deliver what you say you can, perform your job to the best of your ability, support your team and emphasise the importance of being part of a team, where everyone’s contribution matters.

Learn from others around you and make sure that people feel as if you appreciate their viewpoints, opinions, and suggestions. Leadership is all about how you behave with other people.

Leadership quiz

Do you have what it takes to get to the top, or are you more of a team player than a leader? Find out.

How important is your status to you?

1. Very: I like to feel like I’m in the top tier
2. Quite: I’m in with the in-crowd
3. Not really: I’m more concerned with the quality of my relationships
4. Not at all: I just want to get on 

Among your childhood friends, were you?

1. Leader of the pack
2. The comedian
3. The brains
4. The odd one out 

In a lecture / seminar, how often do you come up with ideas and suggestions?

1. All the time: everyone knows what I think
2. Often, but only when it won’t upset anyone
3. Often, but I’m wary of personal and political issues
4. Rarely: I don’t want to risk being wrong 

A team member is criticised for failing to meet a deadline. Do you?

1. Tell them to do better next time
2. Take them out for a drink after work
3. Offer to proofread their next effort
4. Avoid them – you’ve got too much to do already 

You are criticised by your tutor. Do you?

1. Become angry and defensive
2. Listen carefully and conceal your disappointment
3. Think about how you can do better in future
4. Sigh, and think here we go again

When you are faced with a problem, Do you?

1. Think of the correct solution
2. Come up with a few possible solutions and ask others what they think
3. Brainstorm with a couple of nearby colleagues
4. Ask someone else for help

If your tutor asks you to do something beyond your abilities, do you?

1. Tackle it: you can do anything
2. Give it your best shot, after joking about the risk of failure
3. Agree, but ask for assistance
4. Get stressed out then confess you can’t do it 

Is delegation?

1. A waste of time: no one else does anything as well as you
2. A way to share the workload
3. A way to create new learning opportunities for others
4. Something you’re always on the receiving end of 

Is change?

1. Something to be controlled
2. An opportunity where anything could happen
3. A chance to make progress
4. Something to go along with

Your leadership potential

If you scored mostly As, you are a natural born leader: strong, decisive, authoritarian and widely respected – or so you believe. Your overconfident and autocratic approach is old fashioned and may even attract ridicule; try being more appreciative of others’ talents and points of view.

If you scored mostly Bs, you’ve got initiative and leadership potential. You are a people person who listens to and supports others, but you avoid conflict. Think more about getting the job done and less about being liked. Have the courage of your convictions: with the right training, you could be a great manager.

If you scored mostly Cs, you’re ideal management material: creative, assertive and empathetic – you work well as part of a team or as its leader. You have high expectations of others, but you value their contribution, and are prepared to do what’s necessary to help them reach their potential. You should climb through the ranks with ease.

If you scored mostly Ds, you are a follower not a leader. You prefer to listen to ideas, not voice them, and would rather implement decisions than make them. But the world would not work if we were all the same. You’ll make a good accountant, and as long as you are solid, reliable and a loyal team player you can go far.