"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on." - Walter Lippman
What skills and behaviors do you think the ideal leader exhibits? Knowledge? Strategic thinking? Strong communication skills? Technically savvy? Sense of self awareness?
All of these traits certainly lend themselves to being a successful leader but this is a very small subset of possibilities. Gregory Deming, author, trainer, and sales specialist, conducted a poll asking individuals to supply information about the best leader they ever worked for.
He found that "visionary" was the word most commonly mentioned when discussing the best leader, with the ideal traits being technical competency, leadership competency, character, composure, and care for people. The following key words supplemented these ideal traits: inspirational, empowering and mentoring, honest, humble, trustworthy, caring, supporting,compassionate, passionate, listens and follows up.
That's a lot to process much less possess!
One surprise was composure - it seems that being calm under pressure is an appreciated leadership trait especially during times of change.
Jonathan Farrington, business coach and author, conducted a survey from a differing perspective. He chose to obtain information on areas of weakness and found the five weakest areas of the less successful leaders were that:
1. they failed to be sensitive to people's feelings
2. failed to recognize other people's stress
3. failed to develop and guide their staff
4. failed to encourage feedback on their own performance
5. and failed to consult those affected before making decisions.
So as leaders what can we learn from this? The first step is to do a personal assessment of the positive and negative traits - which do we have in common? Which would we like to have in common? And lastly, which do we have in common that are not serving us well?
Start with no more than 5 traits that you wish to address, add them to your development plan and share them with your team. This takes courage, but by engaging your team you are showing your willingness to grow (and change), and respect them enough to request they provide you with feedback on your progress.
Take the step and be a courageous leader!
RECAP OF DESIRABLE TRAITS:
Visionary
Technical competency
Leadership competency
Character
Composure
Caring
Inspirational
Empowering
Mentoring
Honest
Humble
Trustworthy
Supporting
Compassionate
Passionate
Listens
Follows up
How many of these traits do you display? Which would you like to incorporate to enhance your leadership presence?
"In order for people to follow someone willingly, the majority of constituents believe the leader must be: Honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring". -- James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
What skills and behaviors do you think the ideal leader exhibits? Knowledge? Strategic thinking? Strong communication skills? Technically savvy? Sense of self awareness?
All of these traits certainly lend themselves to being a successful leader but this is a very small subset of possibilities. Gregory Deming, author, trainer, and sales specialist, conducted a poll asking individuals to supply information about the best leader they ever worked for.
He found that "visionary" was the word most commonly mentioned when discussing the best leader, with the ideal traits being technical competency, leadership competency, character, composure, and care for people. The following key words supplemented these ideal traits: inspirational, empowering and mentoring, honest, humble, trustworthy, caring, supporting,compassionate, passionate, listens and follows up.
That's a lot to process much less possess!
One surprise was composure - it seems that being calm under pressure is an appreciated leadership trait especially during times of change.
Jonathan Farrington, business coach and author, conducted a survey from a differing perspective. He chose to obtain information on areas of weakness and found the five weakest areas of the less successful leaders were that:
1. they failed to be sensitive to people's feelings
2. failed to recognize other people's stress
3. failed to develop and guide their staff
4. failed to encourage feedback on their own performance
5. and failed to consult those affected before making decisions.
So as leaders what can we learn from this? The first step is to do a personal assessment of the positive and negative traits - which do we have in common? Which would we like to have in common? And lastly, which do we have in common that are not serving us well?
Start with no more than 5 traits that you wish to address, add them to your development plan and share them with your team. This takes courage, but by engaging your team you are showing your willingness to grow (and change), and respect them enough to request they provide you with feedback on your progress.
Take the step and be a courageous leader!
RECAP OF DESIRABLE TRAITS:
Visionary
Technical competency
Leadership competency
Character
Composure
Caring
Inspirational
Empowering
Mentoring
Honest
Humble
Trustworthy
Supporting
Compassionate
Passionate
Listens
Follows up
How many of these traits do you display? Which would you like to incorporate to enhance your leadership presence?
"In order for people to follow someone willingly, the majority of constituents believe the leader must be: Honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring". -- James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
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