What makes some people great leaders? What do they possess, practice and promote that engenders people to follow them willingly and enthusiastically? The following list describes some characteristics inherent in great leaders. It is by no means comprehensive. It is hopefully enlightening.
Great leaders don’t rest on their laurels. They recognize that winning today does not guarantee winning tomorrow, and how they won today will be copied and copied quickly. A great leader celebrates success and recognizes the contributions of the people who helped create the success. They also are moving forward before the party is over, spurring the team to innovate and create their next success so the winning continues.
Realism is another hallmark of a great leader. They do not delude themselves with unattainable goals, or unrealistic expectations of others. They understand what their team can do, and then they motivate and push them to achieve just a little bit more. A great leader facilitates successful growth by taking actions that helps others develop and achieve levels beyond normal expectations, without expecting the unattainable.
Servant Leadership
Great leaders support the greatness in others, and provide them the climate and tools to be great. Delegation is not enough. Leadership requires enablement. Enable others through tangible support such as training and needed resources. Enable others through less tangible but equally important support such as encouragement and honest authentic feedback. Great leaders enable success by using resources to remove obstacles.
They take warranted action, especially with regard to people decisions. Effective leadership entails building – building the team and the support structure the team needs to be successful. A strong leader is internally strong and can make tough decisions about people. They strive to put the right person in a job, and don’t hesitate to remove the wrong person from a job.
The best leaders recognize that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Effective leaders use their power, but do so appropriately. They do not exercise “one up/one down” power scenarios, or “power over” someone. Rather, they harness their power and channel it towards garnering resources, rallying support, and motivating innovation and ideas. They also use their personal power to make genuine connections with people – powerful connections that evolve into strong relationships.
Creativity
Great leaders can solve puzzles. Business success isn’t easy, nor is it simple and straightforward. If it was, everyone would be winning. The best leaders can see the complexity, but also see through it, developing the path that leads to growth and profitability. They recognize the interconnectivity of people and processes, and at crucial junctures where decisions are necessary they decisively take action to move things forward.
Communication is critical to leadership, but not just the ability to talk with someone else. Leadership communication is plain, simple and straightforward. It’s much more than honesty. Being honest is a given. Plain straightforward talk is communicating with frankness, openness and clarity. It covers all constituents, be they employees, customers or partners, and it is a two-way street.
Learning is another characteristic prevalent in the most successful individuals. Not everything works. Leaders recognize this, and keep adjusting and learning despite failures or setbacks. They learn not to make the same mistakes repeatedly.
Great leaders are confident in themselves and their own capabilities, but also have faith in the capabilities of others. Great leaders recognize that their success is due to others, and they work to find the best people out there, and then motivate them and enable them to build and share in success.
Ken Cook is managing director of Peer to Peer Advisors, an organization that facilitates business leaders helping each other. You can reach him at kcook@peertopeeradvisors.com.
