What are the 5 Cs of Leadership?

The biggest goal of any leader is to improve employee engagement. The engagement affects your employees' productivity, desire to contribute to organizational growth, and ability to do routine tasks. The company’s leadership plays a pivotal role in employee engagement. A great leader is someone that employees feel great to talk to. They don’t just set the mission and vision for the organization but work as an active member of the company, helping the teams achieve their goals. As a leader, you should ask yourself these questions −

• Do people trust my leadership?

• Do I do what I preach?

• Do I communicate the goals to the team and stakeholders?

• What leadership style do I follow?

• Do people look up to me?

People judge your leadership based on your ability to drive your organization to success when faced with challenges. Since the leader plays the most important role in any company, the leadership team is built after careful evaluation of the individual’s qualifications, experience, and understanding of the company. Most importantly, leaders are selected based on their soft skills. Let’s discover the 5 Cs of leadership you will see in every great leader.

5 Cs of Great Leaders

Not every leader is a born leader. You learn these skills over time. Most companies select leaders that have worked in the firm as managers or are in senior-level executive posts. That’s because nobody knows the company as well as people who have been managing it for years.

How people perceive you depends on the leadership style you adopt. So, how do you know whether you are a good or bad leader, how you can improve, and where your strengths and weaknesses lie?

You can evaluate your leadership based on these five crucial Cs.

Coaching

People get inspired by their leaders. If you expect your team to follow your direction and work how you want, you need to set a great example. You must be willing to work on the tasks, small or big, on your own. No employee wants a leader that just orders around and sits back, watching their team do all the work.

You must participate in each project and help your team finish their milestones efficiently. Of course, you are supposed to be honest about your employees’ performances, which means you might have to hurt their feelings with your honest feedback. A great leader knows how to give constructive feedback in a polite way so that the employees get your feedback and work on it instead of resigning. A good leader is an excellent coach. Your team shouldn’t just admire your work, but they must learn from you.

Communicate

A leader is responsible for setting the company’s vision. What sets good leaders apart from the average ones is their communication skills. To be a great leader, you need to be a good communicator. That’s the first and most important soft skill a company looks for when building leadership. A leader is supposed to instruct the team on how to execute their responsibilities. You must be good at giving the right direction to your team so that they can understand their roles and feel free to ask you questions.

A leader isn’t just good at communicating the company’s goals with the team, but they know how to negotiate when necessary. They are also capable of resolving conflicts. To be a good leader, you must schedule meetings with your colleagues and staff to remind them of the company’s goals and check your progress on achieving long-term corporate objectives.

Commitment

The biggest difference between a leader and an employee of an organization is that the leader focuses on the company’s goals. They do everything in their power to serve the company. Once they have set the goals, they build a team and provide resources to achieve those.

A company can’t start a new project until the leader has checked and approved it. The leader ensures that all projects the company accepts are aligned with the organizational objectives and contribute to the company’s growth. Commitment is the most prominent yet difficult C of leadership. You need to develop a solid management approach that generates positive outcomes.

Connect

There’s a common misconception that a leader’s duty is to communicate with senior-level management and work on the company’s goals. These are just the parts of leadership. A great leader stays connected to the team. They talk to the employees individually and share their performance reports. They organize regular meetings to discuss the company’s status, objectives, and other issues. They are open to feedback and are willing to work on them to improve their performance.

A leader should invite employees to share their opinions on important matters. That builds their trust and makes them feel valued. They are likely to give their best performances when their voice is heard. Listen to their ideas and implement them if they seem reliable. Your team should never hesitate to bring their complaints and concerns to you.

Confidence

Your employees judge you by the way you conduct yourself. Confidence is the most important quality of a great leader. Then again, it isn’t something you are born with, but you develop over time and after learning from your leaders. Remember, there’s a very thin line between confidence and arrogance.

Bossing around people and creating an environment where only you matter is not a trait of a good leader. You should portray this confidence through your actions, communication, and by making good decisions. You should have faith in your abilities. It’s also important that you learn continuously. Just because you are a leader doesn’t mean you don’t need to learn anything anymore. With great power comes great responsibility. Show your confidence in a subtle way so that people know you are a confident leader.

Bottom Line

These were the 5 Cs of a great leader. Coach your employees, communicate with your team regularly and efficiently, connect with them, stay committed to your company’s goals, and show confidence in positive ways. These qualities will make you a good leader.