Today’s businesses are going through a leadership crisis. According to surveys by the Economist Intelligence Unit, less than half of employees feel that their leaders are truly inspiring and unlock their employees’ motivation. This is a major problem! After all, many organizations don’t see any breakthroughs unless their employees are engaged and inspired. So how do leaders best inspire and empower their employees? The following will describe the secrets behind true leadership. 

Centeredness Stands Out

One of the most important qualities that helps a leader stand out is centeredness. Centeredness is the state of mindfulness that keeps leaders calm and engaged. Being a leader is stressful. Employees look to someone who can remain respectful and calm under pressure. Workers don’t respect a leader who gets flustered under pressure and takes out their frustration on others. Centered leaders take time to listen to their employees to ensure that they truly understand a situation. They exercise empathy by putting themselves in other peoples’ shoes instead of automatically assuming that they know what’s best. 

Personalized Strategy 

Good leaders don’t apply a “one-size-fits-all” approach to their strategies. Instead, they take into account the specific context, company culture, and business model. They know that what makes their company unique sets them apart from the competition, and they prioritize implementing that into their strategies. Because of this, they value every employee’s input. Diversity is powerful, and they don’t shy away from those who are different from them. 

Walk the Talk

True leaders understand that in order to create change, they need to practice what the preach. They don’t degrade people, but instead constructively disrupt established behaviors. Bad leaders don’t think about when is the best time to implement new regulations. Good leaders, however, realize that they need to choose their battles wisely. They know that they aren’t above the rules. Everything applies to them as much as it does the rest of their employees. 

Practice Optimism

During the daily grind, many people adopt a pessimistic attitude. Strong leaders don’t fall into this trap. Instead, they focus on seeing the best in everyone. They look at what team members need and consider how to best support them instead of focusing only on what needs to be done. There is no room for selfishness in their attitude, and they choose to put others before themselves. They view success is a positive lasting impact, not something they can achieve by stepping on other people to get where they want.