Leaders shape our companies, communities, societies and our nation. Decent, effective, and honourable leaders are needed to help us navigate the intricacies of decision making, reach collective gains, and keep things moving on a growth trajectory.
Actually, we all quite easily recognise bad leaders. Sometimes we just get stuck with them. Or, we cannot see how to dislodge them within our capacity.
But, can we identify what makes a good leader?
I teach leadership skills in my training programmes for corporate companies. And over the years, through research, experience and observation, I have seen these 7 traits that are found in most of the leaders I rate highly.
Before I describe these 7 traits, it is important to understand that leadership is as much a process as it is the characteristics of individuals. Some people might show a few of these qualities, but if they don't work at the rest, they don't get far.
To lead is often a team endeavour. Even when someone is widely admired, if they cannot bring different people together, for a shared vision and common goals, they don't ultimately make a good leader.
And, the other caveat is to never assume that leadership is an end point or a last stop in the journey. It's dynamic and constantly evolving. It is something that people need to work at regularly.
Recalibration and course-correction need to happen, as you keep honing your leadership ability.
Most importantly, it is useful to realise that leadership is not just about a strong or charismatic individual, as it is often portrayed. But in reality, it is much more about being able to engage people to work together in order to accomplish results.
Here are the qualities I believe make for good leaders.
Integrity
Integrity is essential for the individual and the organisation they lead. The companies I consult always place this at the top of their wish list for new employees. I remind the leaders that they can only attract people with integrity, if they themselves visibly demonstrate it. Often, this is a blind spot. It is even noticeable in the leadership of our nation. When we select politicians without integrity, we place the country in peril because of their indecisiveness and greediness.
Communication
Leadership efficacy always comes with being able to communicate effectively and efficiently. One of the main functions of leadership is being able to influence others. Your ability to communicate across various mediums is important. Leaders transmit, coach, inspire and engage their people. If you are wishy washy in how you connect with those you lead, you cannot do the job. In this process, you must also be an artful listener. You will meet people with varying backgrounds, cultural nuances, and aspirations. People must be willing to let you lead them. For that, they need to be able to converse with you.
Influence
This term is often mistaken for "manipulation". It is not that. Manipulation has terribly negative connotations. To be able to influence someone requires you to have the ability to convince through rational, emotive, and supportive requests. This makes a leader inspiring and "followable". Robin Sharma, a well-known management guru, talks regularly about leaders being authentic and transparent. This is the main difference between manipulation and influence. Influence needs leaders with emotional intelligence and those who can engender trust.
Self-Awareness
As you embark on the leadership journey, you recognise how important it becomes for you to truly understand yourself better. People will make judgments on who you are. So, it becomes vital for you to be clear and aware of what your brand is. And, you need to know how people perceive you. That exercise starts with understanding your personality traits, personal values, habits, emotions, and the psychological needs that drive your behaviors. The more you understand yourself, the more effective you become.
Learning Agility
One of the most invaluable skills I see in the people who lead best, is the ability to decide what to do when they don't actually have the answers in front of them. This requires agility and nimbleness. Leaders observe and learn from every situation. And because of this skill, when confronted with the unknown, they quickly access their memory bank, sift through and find reasonable solutions. This ability comes with practice and effort.
Courage
Speaking up is hard. This is why courage is a key skill for good leaders. Rather than avoiding problems or allowing conflicts to fester, courage enables leaders to engage and move things along. I don't mean the courage to "blast" people. But the courage to stand up and offer emotional safety for the people you lead.
Respect
If you know how to treat people with respect and dignity, your biggest battle for leadership is won. Through respect, you ease tensions and resolve conflict, create an environment of trust, and ultimately improve effectiveness. Showing respect is an active and actionable choice that is a benchmark of a good leader.
In my experience, these seven qualities above, show up all the time when I meet the people, whom I consider good leaders.