How to be a charismatic leader

Charisma and leadership should go hand-in-hand – and you might have noticed that leaders without charisma struggle

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on About Leaders

Leadership styles differ from one person to another but what all leaders have in common is undeniable – and almost tangible – charisma. However, we aren’t born charismatic, it’s something we develop along the way. It’s not that difficult to enhance your leadership charisma, though. These ten tips will show you how.

Be confident

Confidence is the most important trait of a good leader. It will be incredibly difficult to inspire people if you are not confident. Lack of confidence indicates that you don’t trust yourself, or that you don’t believe you’re doing the right thing.

Without confidence, leadership charisma is impossible to achieve. To become a more charismatic leader, you need to boost your confidence and truly believe in your skills and work ethic.

Communicate with your team

Isolation from the team or employees is one of the most prevalent leadership mistakes. Charismatic leaders don’t detach themselves from others; they work on improving their interaction with employees, clients, partners and other people. Good communication skills motivate people and build trust.

Be creative

Good leadership charisma is all about original thinking. Charismatic leaders don’t want to fit a certain pattern; they go , and aren’t afraid to encourage their team to be creative as well. Creativity is important because it allows us to identify opportunities in unexpected situations to conquer challenges ahead, and make significant progress.

Have a clear vision

If you take a look at interviews of highly successful people, including leaders in their industries, you will notice they say it’s crucial to have a clear vision. This means you need a clearly defined goal, broken down into smaller milestones. The vision allows you to know exactly what you’re doing or where you are headed.

Be mature

A powerful personality shouldn’t be mistaken for maturity. Someone may have a powerful persona, but still be mature when handling business.

Be determined

Determination goes hand-in-hand with the other secrets of leadership charisma mentioned above. To set yourself apart as a charismatic leader, you need to be determined and know exactly what you want, and how you’ll achieve it. This is closely tied to having a clear vision.

Team members don’t function well when the leader keeps changing their mind. Stay focused to build charisma and inspire your team to work hard and follow your lead.

Be humble

We are used to the fact that leaders should be confident, determined and driven, but they also need to be humble. Being narcissistic doesn’t contribute to charisma, it takes away from it. Charismatic leaders place a lot of value to each employee, and listen to their concerns.

Your charisma is best reflected through the act of showing each employee their work is appreciated. Humility goes a long way and enhances your leadership skills and charisma.

Self-improvement

It’s okay to appreciate your work and believe in yourself but, at the same time, you should also strive to improve existing skills or develop new ones. Self-improvement drives you forward as a leader and builds charisma. After all, it’s entirely logical; to be better, and achieve greater success, you need to acknowledge your worth, and work to expand it.

Walk the walk

The charismatic leader doesn’t just ‘talk the talk’, they ‘walk the walk’. This means you need substance and to  the type of leader who doesn’t focus on ordering people what to do. You also need to show you do exactly what you expect from the team. A good leader doesn’t just boss someone around; they strive to lead by example.

Set the bar high

High expectations are closely tied to creativity. The charismatic leader inspires people to do better, achieve more, and become the best versions of themselves they can be. This is not about setting standards that are impossible to reach, but about motivating the team – and yourself – to excel.

Leadership charisma is possible to develop or improve with a few steps. Remember, it’s all about believing in yourself and inspiring team members through compassion, clear vision and self-improvement.