Could you be a boss? The seven traits every leader needs

How many traits of a leader do you possess? Photo / 123RF

Every office has one and most people want to be one, but how easy is it to become a boss? According to experts, there's seven very specific traits that every leader needs and until you've adopted them, you'll never reach the top.

Pam Rogerson, HR Director for the ELAS Group, says a good leader is someone who is honest, reliable, confident, believable, inspiring, visionary, fair, committed and conscientious with a strong moral compass.

From heart and self-awareness to honesty and humanity, experts have shared the personality traits that highly successful and high earners share. So how many of them do you possess?

1. Have and communicate a vision: You can't get anywhere unless you know where you want to get to and can articulate to others in a way that gets them on board for the journey - this includes clients!

Sharon Richey, CEO of global experiential marketing network BEcause, said: "Leaders must be willing to see projects through from start to finish, and have very strong values and principles that can stand up to a whole lot of scrutiny. Building and running a successful business, and creating a great culture, is far from easy.

"It takes hard graft, plenty of burning of the proverbial midnight oil, tenacity and determination."

2. Team building skills: To build and maintain a viable team you need to be able to identify what skills and types of personalities are required to make a robust team - like the manager of a good football team, you need to keep an eye out for talent.

3. Heart, self-awareness and belief: Simon Coops says it's important to believe in yourself and you should also be open to - and encourage - constructive criticism.

When you are building your team you need to take into account your weaknesses - ensuring you have people who are strong in the areas you struggle with. You need to show passion for what you are trying to achieve, he maintains.

4. Humour: Being able to see the funny side of things will help you get over the inevitable bumps in the road. Growing a business involves making lots of new friends - humour helps here too. 'Business is cyclical. You have to be prepared to weather the storm and come out smiling on the other side,' said Pam Rogerson.

5. Humility: Always remember there is room for improvement and there are loads of people out there who could improve on what you do - including people in your own team.

6: Humanity and honesty: Caring about the people around you and taking the long-term view will always triumph over selfish, short-term and greedy thinking.

Also, it's important to do what you say and say what you do. Always be honest - taking into account the other H's above, of course.

7. The ability to sleep soundly at night: Sleepless nights are a given for those in the driving seat. With so many thoughts and concerns rolling around, it can be tough to live with the stress at times.

But successful leaders will find ways to cope and (mostly) sleep soundly at night.

Having someone to troubleshoot with is absolutely essential when it comes to getting the shut-eye needed to tackle the next day feeling refreshed.