The Characteristics of a Good Leader

Loida M. Medrano

The leadership skills of school heads in the country were put to test when the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Despite all the technical challenges to the new normal style of learning - modular and online - school leaders give their best to keep their schools running smoothly.

But, how are school leaders able to keep their passion despite all the hurdles? While it is true that great leadership is innate, learning how to be an effective leader is attainable.

Some of the qualities and traits of great leaders that can be learned and practiced include passion, vision, creativity, intellectual drive and knowledge, and interpersonal skills.

Passion. An effective leader is a person with a passion for a cause that is larger than they are.Also, without passion, a leader will not make the necessary decisions and carry them into action.

Vision. A leader has to have some ideas about change, about how the future could be different. Vision then is based on two components that leaders also need: creativity and intellectual drive.

Creativity. A person has to try to think out of the box to have good visions and to come up with effective strategies that will help advance the vision.

Intellectual drive and knowledge. In general it is hard for a leader to be around enough other leaders to pick this up just through discussion, so a leader has to be a reader and a learner.

Interpersonal skills. Leaders must have the ability to act in an interpersonally competent manner, yet they also need to learn the techniques of good listening, honest and open communication, delegating, conflict resolution skills to actually get work done and keep the whole movement/organization/project together.

These are some of the characteristics of a good leader, thus, of good school leaders.

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The author is Principal I at Bayto Elementary School, Sta. Cruz, Zambales