The leader is a person who has abilities and strengths, especially skills and strengths in a field, so that this person is able to influence many people to jointly carry out certain activities, in order to achieve one or several predetermined achievements. This is the definition of leader put forward by Kartini Kartono in 1994. According to Ahmad Rusli, a leader is an individual who is given the responsibility to lead the subordinate (followers) to achieve the specified matlamat.

From these two definitions, we can see that the leader is a person who can lead, is responsible for his subordinates, seeks to pursue and achieve common goals. Those are the three indicators we can take from these two definitions.

Do We Need to Be a Great Leader? 

Then, if everyone is able to carry out these three indicators, what can distinguish them from great leaders?

Being a leader is one thing that is desired by many people, but being a great leader is another great thing that is certainly very desirable by every leader. In the world of work we can see that the subordinates are led by great leaders, they will work in teams with very good results too or we can call it.

Why is that? Because their leaders never run out of ways to motivate and support their employees to do even better. Of course, this encouragement is also accompanied by another appreciation given by the leaders. So, employees know that the hard work they give will come back for them too.

The better and more effective a leader, the better the work provided by his team. The digital age is seen as a year full of new developments. Work requests to be filled by a variety of skills and expertise are also increasingly diverse this year. This condition has made great leaders increasingly needed, because the more years change, the more problems and challenges that must be faced by leaders in every company.

According to the glassdoor website, there are 6 special ways that can help and train us to become great leaders in the digital era like now. Come on, we refer to the following description.

1. Learn to Listen and Become a Good Listener.

People who don’t want to listen to others are very annoying individuals. Likewise with leaders who do not want to hear the complaints of their employees. This first point is actually not only to be done by a leader, but must be done by everyone on this earth. However, as was defined at the beginning of the article that a leader is the individual who is responsible for the subordinates. So, the leader has an obligation to be willing to listen to all the grievances conveyed by his subordinates, especially to the challenges faced by their employees in pursuing common goals.

Learning to listen means we learn to understand what other people are saying about what they are feeling right now. Thus, learning to listen is not to reply or answer what our interlocutors are talking about without understanding and understanding what they mean.

To be great leaders, we need to take special time to listen to their complaints. If necessary, we ask directly “Is there anything I can help with? If there is, maybe we can talk together “This question is good to invite employees to discuss together, because maybe they feel embarrassed or afraid to invite us to discuss. Being a good listener is a criterion for a great and coveted leader . When problems in the work world are increasing, a great leader is one that is needed by all employees.

2. Likes to Take Time for the Team.

No matter how busy we are, as a leader we still need to spend special time for our team members. It is important to distinguish that taking the time is not to pay attention to, supervise or monitor all our team members, so that they are not free to do their jobs. Making time for a team is not like that, but it gives them the freedom to work and be creative. At the same time, we also take the time to check the results of their work, especially when they are in need of our presence in the team.

This second point is almost the same as the first point. The difference is, in the previous point we suggest a leader to be willing to learn to listen and be a good listener for his employees or team members. Meanwhile, at this point a great leader not only needs to be heard, but a leader also needs to encourage other things that are needed by his team members.

For example, when there is free time, a great leader opens a relaxed discussion room with his team members to exchange ideas and stories. This relaxed discussion can be held during lunch hour or outside office hours. We can hold a meal and be filled with light discussion.

Great leaders will never let their subordinates struggle alone, even if they give employees the freedom and trust to work and be creative. In short, they will not just let go.

3. Want to Recognize Mistakes.

Wanting to admit the mistakes he made was one of the ways needed to become a great leader. More problems this year will create even more misunderstandings. Misunderstandings and mistakes are not only done by employees, but leaders can also make mistakes, maybe even more fatal.

To be a great leader, not beating around the bush and admit mistakes are commendable. This attitude can make us great leaders. Why? Because there is no human who has never made a mistake, but how we recognize it is an important thing to remember. When a leader is willing to admit his mistakes, this will be a good example or example for his subordinates, because the subordinates will follow the attitude and behavior of their boss.

4. Keep Calm despite Being Under Pressure.

As a normal human being, it is natural that we feel stressed when under pressure. However, a great leader will be able to remain calm and not be carried away by emotions, even if he is facing an unpleasant situation. Great leaders also will not channel their anger and stress to their subordinates. They know how to manage their anger, so that anger is not transmitted to the subordinates.

Those who are entitled to enter into the category of great leaders are leaders who are ready to motivate and support their subordinates, not those who spread hatred, anger and stress they are feeling to the subordinates.

5. Believe in Collaborating with Others.

The fifth way to become a great leader is to want to trust others to work with him. As we all know that the work of a leader is not small.

Therefore, every great leader must have at least one person whom he believes deeply so that he can delegate his work to that person. Will it be very risky if we do everything alone, even though we also have great and credible team members. In this modern era, the field of work and important tasks will increasingly grow and develop, so that a leader really needs a partner or representative who is trusted to jointly carry out this difficult task.

6. Want to do complicated things that are usually done by employees.

Being a leader does not mean just sitting relaxed, giving orders, giving work assignments to employees and supervising their work with cynical eyes. Not! those are not characteristics possessed by great leaders. Great leaders are those who want to play “dirty-shit” or play in the “ditch”. That is, they are leaders who want to go into the field and try to do complicated things and face obstacles and challenges that have been felt by the subordinates.

When they realize that their subordinate jobs do require a lot of sacrifice, great leaders will not be shy to praise and motivate their employees. This is a characteristic that is coveted from a great leader. Come on, from now on we try to do what our employees do. At the very least, our minds will be open that they also work hard and face the same difficulties as us.