Leadership Influence

It is imperative that leadership effectiveness manifests respect, empathy, trust-building, and a value proposition to be able to reach a higher level of profundity. 

Leadership is an influence. Substance in leadership refers to the foundational qualities, expertise, and character that a leader possesses. It includes their knowledge, skills, integrity, and the ethical principles they uphold, their decision-making approach, and their overall manner of leading.  

Style in leadership refers to how a leader chooses to express themselves. It encompasses their communication skills, how they interact with and motivate their team, etc.

Substance is about what the leader is and what they know. Style is about how a leader leads. A leader's style should be an expression of their substance, reinforcing their message and inspiring confidence. Effective leadership involves a combination of qualities and skills, substance and styles. Some key traits include:

Intelligence, character, and courage as leadership substances: Leaders need intelligence and courage, supported by a strong belief in themselves and their cause. Emotional Intelligence includes the ability to understand and manage one's own emotions, as well as recognize and respond to the emotions of others. Components of emotional intelligence include self-awareness, self-control, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills. Decisiveness-the ability to remain cool and clear-headed under pressure is essential for crisis management and decision-making.

Communication and Social Skills as leadership style: Effective communication and well-developed social skills enable leaders to communicate effectively, influence, and motivate others. There are many ways to communicate. There are strategic presentations at the roundtable or the tough negotiations with vendors, empathetic conversations with employees, or touchy-feely chats with customers, etc.

Charisma as leadership style: Charisma is an attribute of astonishing power that leaders use to challenge the traditional order. It is nice to have the right dose of charisma or unique style if it can enhance leadership effectiveness, complement leadership substance, highlight leadership uniqueness, or amplify your leadership influence.

Usually, leadership substance is hard capabilities, and leadership style is the soft touch. Leadership effectiveness must manifest respect, empathy, trust-building, and a value proposition to be able to reach a higher level of profundity. 

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