Natural leaders are born leaders with the innate capacity to manage and lead organizations or groups of people.
People identify themselves as leaders through intellect, ability to handle crises, resolve conflicts, communication skills, willpower, and many other characteristics.
Instead of learning and developing leadership traits and qualities, they have inbuilt qualities that separate them from the crowd.
This does not mean they do not have to learn leadership skills and grow further; they have room for development through discovering new skills and trying out different management styles.
How to Identify Natural Leaders?
They are specific traits and characteristics through which you can identify natural-born leaders. Natural leaders are born with leadership qualities that people can understand by looking at their behavior and character.
People get to know them through their thoughts, actions, and willpower.
Many times you might have seen a person taking the lead, solving people’s problems, motivating others, and, more importantly, people are also listening to them.
All such actions illustrate and demonstrate the characteristics of a natural leader.
The qualities of natural leaders can be classified into two categories. They are personal traits and learned traits.
Traits Of A Natural Leader
Personal traits are inbuilt and inherent qualities of natural leaders that they have from the beginning.
Extrovert
Natural leaders are usually extroverts in nature from their childhood itself. They have advanced social skills, and they like being around people.
They are talkative to the people and try to understand their problems and their preferences, cultures, and values. They are socially aware of the art of turning people’s attention toward them.
Thick Skinned
Everybody in the world has positive and negative opinions about everyone. Natural leaders don’t take opinions personally; instead, they let negative words and opinions roll off them.
They assess themselves based on people’s opinions and positively manage the situation. They are even organized to change themselves if someone criticizes their actions positively.
Confidence
One of the primary duties a leader must fulfill is to instill confidence in their followers. Therefore there’s no point in leading the team if the leader does not have confidence in himself.
Moreover, leaders have to make difficult choices during difficult times and take responsibility for the situation. That’s why they need to be confident. They trust their intuition and know that they
have accomplished their goals.
Empathy
Natural leaders understand the feelings and problems their followers are facing. They empathize with them and try to find solutions to their problems.
This makes more trusted and liked leaders before their employees or followers.
Hard-working
Natural leaders are also active and energetic. They don’t just come up with ideas and strategies and sit back expecting their employees to follow and work on them.
They exhibit their involvement and contribution to teamwork. Moreover, they are early risers and take the first step first, inspiring their employees and motivating them to work harder.
Open-minded
Some leaders are open-minded and don’t allow different ideas and initiatives from their employees. But natural leaders are open-minded from the beginning itself.
They allow creativity and innovation in their team.
Observant
Leaders need to observe and be aware of what’s happening around them in the group. Being aware of the people and happenings around them improves decision-making.
Natural leaders make better choices through observation and understanding the environment
around them.
Energetic
Natural leaders are the ones who come up as leaders on their own, motivate others, and try to earn people’s trust.
Besides these, they have to take control and responsibility for all the affairs and events of the group. Therefore, they ought to be more energetic and confident to fulfill their objectives.
Patience
We all know our plans will not always succeed as we blink. Natural leaders have patience in obtaining the results of their plans.
They can see the results succeeding far from the Time they will bear. Natural leaders can trust the process and not get frustrated when they don’t see the outcomes of their investment immediately because they cannot make sound decisions if they are frustrated.
They Find meaning and purpose in their work.
Natural leaders are passionate leaders who find passion in their work. They add purpose and meaning to their work and realize that their work is very important to them.
They also have abilities to motivate their employees for the purpose and cause they are working for.
They Constantly learn new things.
Natural leaders are not static leaders who are satisfied with their little knowledge. They possess a learning and growing attitude. They like learning new skill sets and areas of business, trying different management concepts, and acquiring other beneficial knowledge.
They ask questions to others, even to their employees, to know more about certain concepts.
They unite employees
Natural leaders can influence employees and unite them to accomplish common goals and objectives.
They also show roadmaps to accomplish those goals and outline the tasks for each individual to follow. If the conflict arises, they resolve it by understanding each individual’s perspectives and reaching a mutual agreement.
Create a work culture for success
Naturally born leaders have an innate ability to design work culture environments in the group. In this work culture, the concepts of collaboration, cooperation, trust, approachability, healthy communication, etc.,
are promoted among the group members. In addition, communication, performance, and management tools are used effectively.
Self-care
Born leaders possess the quality of self-care and self-awareness. They can take control of themselves and their actions.
They also know their strengths and weaknesses, which helps them take the right steps at the right moments.
Their employees get inspired by their emotional intelligence, intellect, character, and behavior.
Creates order when there’s none
Naturally, born leaders do not wait for permissions or formal appointments before taking steps and doing what is at stake.
They volunteer to step forward to correct things in the group and show that they possess extraordinary leadership qualities. This stands them out of the crowd.
Initiatives
Natural leaders do not fear or hesitate to take initiatives based on different ideas and perspectives. They can think out of the box and solve problems in a way they have never done before.
They also create opportunities for others to take the initiative and ignore the wrong steps considering them as parts of the learning process.
They are responsible
Natural leaders have a great sense of responsibility which motivates and pushes them toward their passion.
When everyone is losing hope, they step forward for a good cause and motivate others not to lose hope. They also take responsibility for their strengths and weaknesses, making them stand out from others.
Have a great smile
True leadership skills are tested during times of hardships and distress. Therefore natural leaders keep a smile on their faces and keep themselves and others calm and hopeful even in the face of difficulty.
They believe that people don’t just see success but also experience failures. These steps should be taken as a learning process to get better for the next Time. With this concept, natural leaders keep positive momentum in the group.
Respect others
Natural leaders believe in the policy of “give respect and take respect.” They treat everyone with respect.
They respect everybody’s opinion, even if it is unfavorable. Employees’ peers get inspired and feel valued through the respect shown by their leaders. This makes them more responsible and works harder for their goals.
Always willing to lend a hand.
Natural leaders are always willing and ready to lend a helping hand to people without asking for anything in return.
They are focused on how they can benefit people, how they can add value to their lives, and how they can help accomplish objectives.
Learned Traits
Learned traits are qualities that natural leaders acquire over a while through their experience and increase in knowledge.
Strategic Thinking
Natural leaders change their ways of doing and shape each step strategically as they grow and gain experience when they dive deep into the field of Leadership.
They make their plans of action and process to achieve greater goals based on a strategic approach. They don’t just make strategies; they make effective strategies that are easy to follow. Their strategies motivate their employees and help them get successful.
Decisive
One of the most fundamental characteristics a leader must possess is the quality to make quick decisions.
Natural leaders make quick decisions when things are at stake and seek solutions.
Good communication. – great listeners
Born leaders are great listeners. Over some time, born leaders develop strong communication skills and understand that people tend to follow the leaders who communicate clearly with them. They pay full attention to them when they address issues or deliver ideas.
They even involve eye contact and body language while they are speaking. They don’t just communicate through their perspective but also include the employee perspective in communication.
Wise
To lead the group efficiently, the leaders must be wise and intelligent. Though young leaders lack intelligence initially, they develop their skills, experience, and intelligence as they grow older.
Loyal
Loyalty is also one of the essential elements when the organization, leaders, and employees are working together collectively. Leaders should be loyal to their organizations, and employees should be loyal to their leaders and organization.
Natural leaders have a great sense of developing loyalty in themselves and their employees to put their hearts to work.
Inclusive
Though many young leaders don’t understand the importance of inclusivity in the organization, they start to weigh the benefits of including everyone in the process.
They give everyone opportunities and involve everyone with their different thoughts and ideas.
They don’t overwork themselves.
Natural leaders understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance which helps them achieve more at work. They not stop themselves from over-working but also let their team members take off for their peace of mind.
The team members benefit from this approach and appreciate leaders who genuinely care for them by providing breaks.
Daring even in the face of failure
Natural leaders are known for their passions. They can stand again after they fall. They possess strong daring and hope to succeed in the face of failure.
They believe that failure is a step from the footstool of success. Besides facing failures, natural leaders dare to make decisions that are made before. They are not afraid to try different approaches out of the box.
A liberal giver
Natural leaders are liberal givers who identify true potential in their employees and provide resources, talents, Time, and energy to build and strengthen their potential.
They do not hesitate to share anything on their part to improve others’ talents. This not only increases efficiency in the group but also develops loyalty to the leaders.
Clarity on what is important
Natural leaders gain more clarity on their values and purposes and motivate their team members to strive for them.
They know what they do and why they do it. They can clearly explain their visions and inspire their team members to stay away from temptations to accomplish those visions and values.
Character
Born leaders appreciate honesty and integrity in themselves as well as their employees. They value good character and conduct and make decisions based on those principles.
Even if they are pushed to do something dishonest or things that they consider wrong, they choose higher grounds and follow the right path instead of fulfilling the aims of a bad environment.
Giving Credits
Leaders need to give credit to their employees for their effort and hard work to maintain a healthy momentum in the group.
Natural leaders usually have “we” sort of nature instead of “I.” They appreciate others and give them the credit they deserve. This makes their followers realize that their leaders value and respect their work.
Seek Help From Others
Naturally born leaders are not shy, afraid, or hesitant to ask for help and assistance from others if they need it.
They let go of their egos when dealing with their operations and working together to achieve a bigger goal. Natural leaders know their strengths and weaknesses well. Therefore, they think it is essential to ask for support in areas in which they are weak.
They are Attentive
Natural leaders do not ignore or push others away. They pay attention to what people are saying, their problems, their ideas, and their opinions. By listening to their school of thought, they can make sound decisions and improve themselves if they lack somewhere.
They are Flexible
Natural leaders have flexibility in their attitude instead of rigidity. They don’t just stick to one way or method of performing activities. They try brand-new approaches and give others opportunities to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.
Analysis
Natural leaders don’t react immediately without reason. They analyze the facts and figures before making choices and coming to a conclusion. They critically analyze what is beneficial for their objectives and what is not.
Ways to Improve Natural Leadership Qualities
We discussed above that although natural leaders are born with specific leadership traits and qualities, they still have a lot to learn and develop as they become seniors in their fields.
Let’s discuss some of the steps natural leaders can take up to improve their leadership skills.
Complete a Leadership Training Program
Several training programs will help leaders take their leadership skills to the next level. Universities and various institutions have designed MBA programs, executive MBA programs, and niche online courses to develop leadership skills and make leaders more proficient and experienced.
The leadership exports also conduct workshops to acquire leadership skills and talents, which can help leaders build their personalities.
Find a mentor
Leaders looking to improve their skills and talents can also choose to hire a coach or a mentor who has demonstrated his leadership skills for a long time because learning and experience don’t just come from pursuing courses and attending workshops.
Hence, finding a mentor and asking them for guidance through their knowledge and experience can greatly help. They can ask for advice from their mentors in difficult situations on how to solve problems.
Improve Interpersonal Skills
Though interpersonal skills are essential for everybody who wants to progress in life, they are very important for leaders in particular because communicating clearly to people, understanding their problems and cultures, exposure, and aspects that come under interpersonal skills are essential for one to grow as a successful leader.
Therefore, leaders who want to exert their skills can work on developing their interpersonal skills.
Invest in Continuous Learning
Learning and improving is an essential parts of every successful person, especially a leader.
They must constantly keep learning, reading books, and improving to broaden their thinking in today’s growing world. They should work more on their career fields and develop their soft skills.
Practice Leadership Skills
Leaders should practice and get some first-hand experience while serving as a leader. Every Time they meet their employees to serve as a leader, they should take it as an opportunity to improve their leadership skills.
While communicating and demonstrating in the group, they should focus on abilities such as communication, empathy, listening to their peers, solving problems, and others.
They can make a list of weak abilities and try to improve them by practicing in front of their employees.
Identify Different Leadership Styles
Different methods of Leadership are helpful for different types of leaders, different organizations, and different sorts of objectives.
Leaders should explore more types of Leadership and choose one best suited to their personality, character, and objectives.
Key Takeaways
- Natural leaders possess innate qualities and abilities that make them effective at leading and inspiring others.
- Some common qualities of natural leaders include vision, empathy, integrity, courage, communication skills, adaptability, passion, and humility.
- While some people may have a natural inclination towards leadership, many of the qualities of a natural leader can be learned and developed over time through practice and training.
- Effective natural leadership involves building strong relationships with team members, communicating a clear vision, making tough decisions, and adapting to changing circumstances.
- Natural leadership can be important in business, as it can help to build strong teams and inspire employees to work towards a common goal.
- Developing natural leadership skills can involve a combination of self-reflection, seeking feedback from others, learning from mentors, and taking courses or workshops to develop specific skills.
- Introverts can also be natural leaders and can use their unique strengths to lead in their own way.
Conclusion
The concept of natural Leadership typically doesn’t believe in “leadership titles.” Natural leaders come forward to exhibit their leadership qualities in the necessary situations, intentionally or unintentionally, through their will.
John C Maxwell quotes, “Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
Natural leaders are inspired by themselves and the goals that they have in their minds. They are passionate about improving people’s lives, skills, and abilities and influencing their characters.
They do not wait for someone’s appreciation or titles to bring about change in the environment. They are concerned about solving problems and resolving conflicts irrespective of what someone is pointing at and asking them to do so.
FAQs
What is natural leadership?
Natural leadership is the ability to lead and inspire others based on innate qualities and abilities, rather than through learned skills or training.
What are the qualities of a natural leader?
Some common qualities of natural leaders include vision, empathy, integrity, courage, communication skills, adaptability, passion, and humility.
Can natural leadership be learned?
While some people may have a natural inclination towards leadership, many of the qualities of a natural leader can be learned and developed over time through practice and training.
Are natural leaders always successful?
No, natural leaders are not always successful. Success as a leader depends on many factors, including the specific context, the team dynamics, and the leader’s ability to adapt and make effective decisions.
Can anyone become a natural leader?
While some people may have a natural inclination towards leadership, anyone can develop the qualities and skills needed to become an effective leader with practice and dedication.
How important is natural leadership in business?
Natural leadership can be important in business, as it can help to build strong teams and inspire employees to work towards a common goal.
However, learned leadership skills and training can also be effective in achieving these outcomes.
Can natural leaders be introverts?
Yes, natural leaders can be introverts. Introverts can still possess many of the qualities of a natural leader, including empathy, integrity, and communication skills, and can use their strengths to lead in their own unique way.
How can I develop my natural leadership skills?
Developing natural leadership skills can involve a combination of self-reflection, seeking feedback from others, learning from mentors, and taking courses or workshops to develop specific skills such as communication or decision-making.
More To Explore:
- What Is Transformational Leadership: Unleashing The Power Of Influence
- Emergent Leadership: Definition, Theories & Characteristics
- Top 10 Qualities of A Great Leader For Organization Success
- What Is Group Leadership? The Effects, Outcomes & Importance
- What Is Traditional Leadership? Characteristics, Examples
“Vision, strategy, and inspiration – these three words describe me the best. I am the founder of “TheLeaderboy” dedicated to leadership and personal development. As a self-taught practitioner, I have been studying the principles of effective leadership for the past decade and my passion lies in sharing my insights with others. My mission is to empower individuals to become better leader