Leadership Update - What Makes a Good Leader?

There are new leaders in the White House and in the Beehive. With that in mind, we take a brief look at a few of the characteristics that we look for in the leaders we want to follow.

Integrity – a true leader has a set of values that are the foundation of their personal life and their working life. If a leader has integrity there will be an atmosphere of trust in the workplace, honest conversations, predictable reactions and well-controlled emotions. A leader who is fair and honest in their relationships with people will be more approachable to their followers.

Vision – A leader must have a vision. Where are we going? How are we going to get there? What will it feel like when we get there? This vision must align with the leaders personal values.

Passion – A true leader will be dedicated to the cause and put in the hours necessary to achieve it.

Communication skills – a true leader must have the ability to communicate. These skills are required to relay the vision, encourage and motivate others to follow, enable feedback on progress, and inspire effort. The other key skills required are the ability to listen: to feedback, to new ideas; and to ask insightful, strategic questions.

Learning – a true leader will always be willing to learn, whether in the form of traditional book learning or openness to other peoples ideas. Research by Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger (FYI - For Your Improvement) stated that without the desire and ability to keep learning, a leader will not progress to a position of greater responsibility.

Humility – a true leader should not be afraid to admit to his/her weaknesses and failures and give credit to other people where it is due.

Intuition - Leadership requires the intuition to make solid judgments. Intuition requires listening to your instincts and using prior mistakes to determine better alternatives.

If you want to know more about developing some of these leadership qualities and skills then contact Nexus Partners for more information about tools for leaders, email us or call on 0800 4 LEADERS. More information is also available here.