Leadership Coach Monte Williams Shares the Characteristics of a Strong and Effective Leader

There is no doubt that being a dominant force in a particular industry can be more than overwhelming. In fact, it could be represented by a lion in the jungle or a shark in the sea. When you have a leadership role, no matter what field you are in, you have the power and authority to make decisions. While being called an unstoppable force in your profession can lead to success, it must be understood that it is not easy to accomplish. However, leadership coach Monte Williams shares some insight about thought leaders and how one can achieve leadership qualities.  

Monte Williams is a founder and CEO of ALEU, The Leadership Development Company, which helps people lead themselves in a more effective way so they can add the most value to their company. It’s a company dedicated to helping people develop leadership skills. According to Monte, he has been assisting people in growing their leadership qualities and becoming more effective leaders in their respective business industries and their personal lives. With close to 20 years of experience, he has worked with hundreds of satisfied clients who give rave reviews for his services. Due to his growing popularity, he has been featured in many business magazines, including Inc., Entrepreneur Magazine, Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, American Express Business Class and many more. 

Monte believes in adding value to people’s lives and tries to touch as many souls as he can. To accomplish this dream, he started training the leaders of tomorrow. Monte reveals that by helping willing individuals, he was able to provide a direction and environment to companies with thousands of employees. A leader holds an incredible responsibility over their shoulders. They must be creative with an optimistic vision, so they can inspire others to work hard on every level. “Unfortunately, our world is filled with managers rather than leaders,” he informs.

Know your expertise

Being a thought leader does not entail being an expert on everything. According to Monte, what is essential for you is to be extremely knowledgeable in your field. Specializing in one niche while learning about other areas is ideal. This will allow people to emphasize skills and expertise and make you stand out from your competitors. However, this does not imply that you should take the chance of losing productivity or falling behind industry trends. A thought leader must be aware of all the new advancements in their field. After all, consistency is a crucial aspect of thought leadership. 

Your expertise must align with your audience

Thought leadership is all about expanding and pushing the industry forward with your skill and expertise. While this is the main concept, you must realize that this expertise must be aligned with the targeted audience to generate an outcome. Many people make mistakes and jump on the leadership bandwagon without understanding their audience.  Monte advises studying your audience first, and for that, you must start by identifying the fields your brand’s expertise lies in. The next step is to determine the questions your target audience and current customers are asking or are interested in learning about concerning your area of primary expertise. The responses to those questions must then be the basis for your thought leadership.

Show your success, don’t tell

Thought leadership is about sharing the results of your journey, regardless of whether you deem them as successes or failures, not just showcasing them to the world.  Monte states that many people proudly display their accomplishments, but a leader is more focused on building the trust of their clients and employees by highlighting failures and examples of what not to do. An expert in his field, he advises working hard to create a reliable brand image that can be easily recognized. It means leaders should be able to show what they believe in through the consistency of their actions.

The fact is that being a thought leader is more about offering unique guidance and inspiring innovation. For someone to instill leadership qualities, it is essential to master a particular skill and emerge as a trustworthy force that people can look up to.