What makes a great leader? Is it someone who listens but knows when he or she needs to step in? Maybe a great leader is encouraging and enthusiastic but is willing to be stern when it’s required.

Many characteristics make up an excellent leader, but there are a few that are general across all leaders. For some, being a great leader comes naturally. For others though, it requires a bit of extra work. In the end, however, anyone can be an excellent leader if he or she wants to be.

Global Resources LLC knows how important it is for a business to have strong leadership. That is why we’ve come up with the following characteristics of what makes a great leader.

Enthusiastic

A great leader is one who is passionate about many things. He or she should be proud and cheering on his or her team members. Enthusiasm should also be towards the company, the product, and everything else involved in the company.

Genuine enthusiasm cannot be faked. When you have a leader who contains genuine enthusiasm, however, it’s contagious to everyone around.

Communicates

You’ve likely come across a boss who struggled to communicate with his or her employees. You also know how frustrating it can be to work with a leader like that. It’s hard to get work done, let alone understand what you are supposed to be doing. Lack of communication can create a stressful and unmotivated work environment.

A great leader is one that can effectively communicate with everyone in the office. Whether it be delivering instructions, having to go through disciplinary actions, or just to motivate the team, a good leader can clearly communicate his or her thoughts.

On the other side of communication is listening. Just as a good leader can communicate efficiently, so too should a good leader be able to listen. It’s one thing for someone to speak, it’s something entirely different to sit back and attentively listen.

Dependable

Another key characteristic of an excellent leader is one who is dependable. You want to know that your boss has your back and is there when you need him or her. If you cannot lean on your leader when you need it the most, you may start to question his or her loyalty to you and the company.

Integrity

Having integrity is essential for a good leader. This will mean that a leader is authentic, knows right from wrong, can acknowledge when he or she makes a mistake, knows when to give credit for someone’s accomplishment, and puts quality and safety before anything else.

A leader who lacks integrity may have a difficult time gaining the trust of his or her employees. Once that trust is lost, it’s even harder to try and get it back.

Makes the Difficult Decisions

In the end, a great leader needs to be able to make difficult decisions. Difficult decisions arise in many ways. Whether it’s needing to make sacrifices, so it boosts the lives of everyone around, or having to make a tough call in regards to his or her employees or business, an excellent leader takes it upon his or herself to make the decision and doesn’t push it on to someone else.