Hard and Soft Skills for Leaders

From LeadersSummit.Org:

"If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, you will tend to treat every problem as if it were a nail." Maslow

It's important for leaders to have multiple "tools" in their "toolbox." If you have a limited and incomplete set of leadership skills, your leadership will always be lacking.

HARD SKILLS (what a leader does)

• Vision - A leader must have vision (a picture of the future that produces passion).
  
• Team Building - A leader inspires and influences followers and chooses and works through a team.
  
• Change Agent - A leader must be willing and able to negotiate major change within the organization.
  
• Execution - A leader is ultimately responsible for and involved in getting the right things done.
  
• Communication - A leader is responsible for communication throughout the organization.
  
• Inspire - A leader knows that, “leaders lead by pulling rather than by pushing; by inspiring rather than by ordering”. (Bennis and Nanus)

SOFT SKILLS (who a leader is)

• L3 (life-long-learning) - A leader must continually grow and develop as a person and lead from the over-flow of a vibrant life.
• Authenticity - Every person is unique on the "inside." An effective leader knows himself and lives an authentic life.
• Emotional Intelligence - A leader is aware of and knows how to properly respond to the emotional world.
• Character - A leader must excel in character (ethics and morality) and possess key character traits that are essential for leadership.
• People skills - A leader must possess the attitudes and abilities to relate to people in a productive and wholesome manner.
• Social Intelligence - A leader understands, “the accumulated wisdom that comes from constantly observing and learning what works and what doesn’t in human situations”. (Albrecht)

HT: Khalid Bin Malek