Igor Makarov discusses the 9 most important traits of a good leader. For more from Igor Makarov, visit his website http://igormakarov.net

1. A PRESENTATION BY IGOR MAKAROV
9 TRAITS OF A GOOD LEADER

2. WHAT MAKES A GREAT
LEADER?
I’ve met many leaders in my life, and they all share
similar traits. Sure, we do things a bit differently here
and there, but for the most part, we’re alike.

3. I THINK PARTLY, YES. I HAVE KNOWN MANY
YOUNG MEN WHO GREW UP SIMILARLY TO ME —
THE SAME BACKGROUNDS, THE SAME COUNTRY
— WHO WEREN’T ABLE TO TRANSLATE WHAT
THEY WANTED INTO WHAT THEY BECAME.
ARE LEADERS BORN WITH
THESE TRAITS?
PERHAPS HALF NATURE AND HALF SHEER
FORCE OF WILL MAKE LEADERS A BIT
DIFFERENT THAN THOSE WHO JUST FOLLOW.
REGARDLESS, ALL OF THEM I HAVE MET
POSSESS AT LEAST 9 TRAITS.

4. All it takes is one negative person to
infiltrate ten positive people. Sometimes
positivity is harder to spread than negativity.
Instead of getting bogged down by what
isn’t working, leaders rise up to the occasion
and inspire positivity. When it’s hard to
know what is coming, it’s easy to want to
give up. Those who lead persevere, partially
because they don’t know how not to. It’s not
their natural response.
1. OPTIMISM
Not only does positivity lead
people, it motivates them to mirror
who is leading.

5. When an employee or a project is
leading towards a lost cause, I know
it before it happens. But I’m not
psychic; I’m intuitive, and there is a
difference. How I have become
intuitive is something that I learned
from an early age–to always prepare
for what’s to come. In business, I
keep my hands and eyes on
everything that happens in my
company. Since ARETI is a large
company and I cannot be
everywhere at once, I make sure to
hire people I can trust to report back
to me.
2. INTUITION

6. 3. GENEROSITY
AS A BUSINESSMAN AND LEADER, I TRY TO BE
GENEROUS WITH PEOPLE AND MY COMMUNITY,
WHICH IS WHY I PUSH MY EMPLOYEES TO GIVE
TO CHARITY AND TAKE PART IN
PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVES. BY BEING
PHILANTHROPIC, I THINK I MAKE MY
EMPLOYEES WANT TO BE AS WELL. RESEARCH
SHOWS THAT A SOCIALLY CONSCIENTIOUS
EMPLOYER MAKES FOR HAPPIER EMPLOYEES
OVERALL.

7. ASIDE FROM FOSTERING A SENSE OF GENEROSITY
FROM MY COMPANY AND THOSE AROUND ME,
LEADERS CAN BE GENEROUS BY LISTENING TO THOSE
WHO HAVE GREAT IDEAS OR PRESENT SOLUTIONS
WHEN OTHERS ARE PRESENTING PROBLEMS. HAVING
AN OPEN-DOOR POLICY AT WORK IS A GREAT WAY
TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU ARE LISTENING
AND PRESENT DAY-TO-DAY.

8. An indecisive person will fail as a
leader. It’s as simple as that. They
may move up the ranks in their
company because they are competent
but they will not have the ability to
lead anyone anywhere. Everyone
needs to know that the final decision
comes from the top (meaning you), or
someone else will take the helm. Or
worse, the venture, project, or
company will fail from being in
constant flux. A leader in constant
conversation with his or herself is set
to be stuck in a back and forth where
it is impossible to lead anything
anywhere positive.
4. DECISIVENESS

9. 5. CHARISMA
An important thing that thought leaders have is being able to speak in public
Many cite public speaking as their number one worst fear — about 40% of
them. But if that 40% want to become leaders, they’ll have to overcome that.
When I think about those who have been the most memorable leaders, I recall the
likes of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Winston Churchill. What makes them powerful
public speakers (and leaders) is their ability to evoke passions from those they are
speaking to, and they do it with charisma. Some people are born with it, but like
public speaking, even charisma can be learned. I suggest you do so. If you want to
be persuasive — something I’ve often had to be with investors, business partners,
and employees — remember that charisma is #1.

10. The feeling of restlessness causes a leader to
become kinetic, which is a time of great
possibilities. When leaders feel restless, it is a
time when they aim to do more and become
more innovative. Instead of complacency,
they are always on the precipice of something
better than what’s come before. Leaders
never stop thinking or doing.
6. RESTLESSNESS
Though a previously mentioned leader like
Apple’s Steve Jobs was known to be
unrelenting to his staff, he was always
striving, always learning, and extracted
excellence from both his staff and his
products. With his constant frenetic, restless
mind, he created not just a business, but
also an iconic empire.

11. People mimic the leaders, so it’s
vital that you display honesty. As
much as possible, leaders use
transparency to garner trust.
Without trust, it’s nearly
impossible to lead a company
towards a successful venture.
Those who trust their bosses tend
to be more productive, making
them better, more dependable
employees. Honest leaders create
a solutions-oriented staff and
company.
7. INTEGRITY

12. When you’re starting or
managing a business,
unexpected things will happen,
but it is how you react to
challenges that make you either
a leader, or an emotionally
immature dreamer. All the traits
of a leader I’ve mentioned so far
are ones of action, but there is
also the strength that comes
from inaction. If a leader reacts
to every crisis that arises, the
company is consistently in
chaos.
8. EMOTIONAL
STABILITY

13. “[…] out of the Big Five
personality traits, only
emotional stability and
extraversion significantly
predicted people’s ability to
cope with change.”
THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY,

14. BY NOT ACTING AND NOT REACTING
IMMEDIATELY UPON EVERY
DISSATISFYING SITUATION, HE OR
SHE CONVEYS A SENSE OF INNER
WISDOM — SOMETHING MANY
EMPLOYEES I EVENTUALLY LET GO
DIDN’T HAVE.
IGOR MAKAROV

15. 9. DARING
Breaking the rules and setting new trends is
something I and so many people in my
position exhibit. From Richard Branson to the
first-time startup founder pitching to Silicon
Valley VC firms, fearlessness is essential if not
the most important thing a leader must
possess. Without risk, there is complacency,
and with complacency comes decline. Great
leaders are always moving which is what
creates the distance from them to the rest of
the pack.

16. FINAL THOUGHTS:
I BELIEVE GREAT LEADERS ARE OFTEN BORN
WITH THESE 9 LEADERSHIP TRAITS, BUT WITH
HARD WORK, THESE TRAITS CAN BE
LEARNED IF APPLIED AND PRACTICED IN
YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE. ONCE THIS PRACTICE
BECOMES A REGULAR HABIT, YOU’RE WELL
ON YOUR WAY TO LEADING INSTEAD OF
FALLING BEHIND.

17. THANK YOU!
FOR MORE FROM IGOR MAKAROV,
VISIT HIS WEBSITE: IGORMAKAROV.NET
AND FOLLOW HIM ON SOCIAL MEIDA