Leadership

Leadership has multiple contexts. Each context is defined by the industry, the job function, the country where you work and the culture in which you operate. 

Regardless of the hands-on, supportive, top-down, or bottom-up style of leadership, you must demonstrate 5 leadership qualities that have universal appeal regardless of the country of origin or the culture or the hierarchy in your organization.

When applicants think about the different contexts of leadership potential, most will gravitate towards the extremes, like changing the culture or the scale of the achievement in a technical function.

Today’s question is from a consultant who has experience in over three countries with a diverse range of projects. His question is

Q) How should I shortlist leadership experiences for my MBA Application

Leadership traits cannot be learned from manuals and textbooks. It consists of behavioral patterns and traits that are organically evolved in people. Some traits are inherited and others, acquired, but the important ones are acquired by overcoming challenges.

Do you possess these 7 leadership qualities?

When MBA Admissions team asks you to write about leadership, one quality that they actively seek in a candidate is courage. Unfortunately, applicants tend to devalue their moment of courage as a routine action, and in many of our interactions with applicants, we have found it to be true. To figure out the moment of courage in your professional and personal life, we have shortlisted three qualities that define ‘courage’. 

When MBA Applicants are asked to write about leadership, they start with how they allocated the tasks to the team, monitored, and completed them as per the schedule. Managers play a pivotal role in project management but when schools ask about leadership, they are not expecting your experiences as a Manager. There are three implicit questions hidden behind the ‘leadership’ question.

360-Degree feedback about Managers and leadership rarely offer an in-depth review of what is lacking in a leader. In such a scenario, knowing about oneself is limited to the opinions of the close network, majority of whom depends on the leader’s evaluation for promotion and other benefits. When the balance of power is blatantly one-sided, leaders live in a bubble. The grandiose self-image comes from the exaggerations of sycophants.

Here is how you can demonstrate self-knowledge as a leadership trait

As kids, we were trained to acknowledge the other person while they were talking. The rudest listeners gaze up, or get distracted when the conversation lasts more than 30 seconds.

The speaker gets anxious and feels disrespected when the listener shows signs of “boredom”. In a 140-character universe, this tendency might seem acceptable but leaders are the exception.


A quality that proves our listening capacity is the ability to acknowledge. Find out how leaders Acknowledge team members and problems

Leaders possess an innate ability to reach out to the marginalized, the underdogs, and the “odd one out”. This seems an unnecessary chore but leaders understand that to get the team to work as a single unit there should not be an ‘odd one out’ that affects the team spirit.


Find out why examples of "Reaching Out" is Important in MBA Application

Most MBA Applicants will have little experience managing at mid or senior level. The only opportunity that they get is through project level management, independent consulting, and other start-up roles.

Although start-up roles offer a wide range of responsibilities, the experiences in itself are not proof of leadership skills.

We have listed the top 7 traits that might not directly show leadership skills but proves leadership potential in an MBA Applicant. Find out!

Diversity in nationalities, pre-MBA experience, undergraduate degree, and socio-economic background are considered by Business Schools before finalizing the class. Students interested in Finance, Consulting and Technology constitute the chunk of the class representation but around 20-25% of the class is for candidates who might not show great academic background but has proven Leadership skills and Social Awareness. Read More.

It can be overwhelming to manage a team when there are several things that take the focus away from the goals. Good leaders have to remain calm, maintain perspective, and a good sense of humor amidst the chaos. In addition to that, leaders have to motivate and keep the spirits high.

Learn why maintaining focus is an important quality for a leader

The image of a leader that has been conveyed in popular culture is that of someone who is giving orders and is constantly planning something. Contrary to popular images, a big part of being an effective leader is having excellent listening skills. Learn how to mention your listening skills as a leader in MBA Application.

Many think that humility is the least associated quality with leadership. When you think about successful leaders, it is the image of vocal leaders that come to our mind. There is no harm in being vocal about goals, and principles. In fact, over communicating is a key skill that is required to lead a team. But humility by definition does not mean that you have to be meek.

Learn how to incorporate Humility in your Leadership Essay.