Through all this I’ve walked away with a ton of lessons about what makes a great leader and I take this opportunity to write about many of them today.
So what makes a great leader?
You won't be able to attract and retain great people if they don't feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you don't give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they won't stay."
As a leader, one of my primary goals is to attract and keep motivated workers. Here are few key traits of a great leader.
Key Trait #1: You must have a vision. We've all heard the saying "You must stand for something, or you'll fall for everything." But what does that really mean? Standing firm when it comes to your company's policies and procedures is all well and good, but it doesn't speak to having a vision. As a leader, you have to learn to communicate your vision or the vision of your company to the people you want to follow you. But how can you do that?
· Learn to paint a picture with words. Speak it, write it, draw it, touch it. Whatever methods you can use to create a picture, do it. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
· Ask each of the other managers in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. How close is it to what you thought they understood? Is your team on the same page as you?
· As you work, your company's vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. And remember, your staff needs to be just as involved as you in keeping it up to date if you truly want them to buy in on the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved.
Key Trait #2: You must have passion. Your employees want passion; in fact, they'll go to the ends of earth because of it, live and die for it. Think of the sailors who traveled with Christopher Columbus or Leif Ericsson to explore uncharted territory. Their leaders' passion inspired them to take on new and very dangerous challenges.
To build an extraordinary management team, you've got to light the "fire in their bellies," to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you don't have it, you simply can't be a great leader. Think of all the great leaders throughout the ages and try to name one that did not have passion.
And passion is infectious: When you talk about your vision for the company, let your passion for your vision shine through. Others will feel it and want to get on board with you. If you don't have passion for your vision, you need to recreate your vision or reframe your description of your vision so it's connected to your passion.
Key Trait #3: You must learn to be a great decision maker. How are major decisions made in your company? What is your process for making them? For instance, do you talk to your management team and create a list of pros and cons to help you make the best decision? Maybe you conduct a cost analysis. Or do you create a timeline for the implementation strategy, process and timing?
Some leaders have a set process, and others fly by the seat of their pants. But you don't want to be one of those leaders who consults no one before making a decision, announces the change the next day and then gets frustrated when no one follows it. If you're one of those, I urge you to implement a set process.
In fact, here's a system you can use to become a better decision maker. It's called the Q-CAT:
· Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
· C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
· A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.)
· T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive.
When you use the Q-CAT, it'll help you to decide when to bring others into the process and what steps need to be taken to help you make better decisions.
Key Trait #4: You must be a team builder. To become a great leader, you must develop a great team or, one might say, a well-oiled machine. But how do you do that? You can start by handing off responsibility to your team and letting your team to run with it. Don't breathe down their necks and don't micromanage, but make yourself available if questions or problems come up. Teach your team to use the Q-CAT decision-making system and give them the freedom to work through their own decisions.
When projects aren't on track or your team is falling behind on deadline, it serves no one if you start pointing fingers. This is when you need to rise to the occasion and inspire confidence in your employees, to let them know you support them and ready to help. Be ready to alter plans and make new ones. Don't forget to use humor to keep your team's spirits up during a crisis. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you to be a tower of strength and endurance.
Key Trait #5: You must have character. Without character, all the other "keys" are for naught. That's because your innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.
So what's your leadership style? If you don't know, there are many leadership style assessments available on the market. Two popular ones that have been around for many years are the Myers-Briggs assessment and the "360-Degree Feedback" model. There are dozens of other to choose from--the important part is that you "Just do it," as the Nike ad would say, and see how you rate. It's a good way to do a "character check" on yourself and your leadership skills.
Then, once you've done the assessment, the question to ask yourself is, do you feel your character matches what the assessments are pointing out to you?
If you feel the traits don't match who you think you are, then look a little deeper and be honest with yourself. Sometimes our first response is defensive. You might want to assess yourself with a different type of profile and then compare the results. Within the 360 Degree Feedback model, there's an opportunity to see how your employees and peers view you, too. In learning to be a great leader, the first step is to be open to feedback about yourself as a leader and separate it from you the person.
So are you a great leader? Or do you have the desire to become one? Remember, a great leader is someone who has a clear vision and can turn that vision into a vivid picture that others can see. When you speak about your vision, it should be with a passion you feel in your heart, a passion that creates so much enthusiasm that your team will want to jump on board. When major decisions need to be made, you should encourage everyone to use the Q-CAT system and be responsible for his or her own actions. And you should be continually assessing your own character and never stop growing, personally or professionally.
If you can apply the five keys to great leadership, you'll be well on your way to becoming a great leader surrounded by great employees!
LEADERSHIP’S “TOP 10 things a “must have” in every great leader.
1. SELF-AWARENESS- First and foremost great leaders must know who they are
2. PERSONAL CONVICTION - Leadership stems not just from who people are, but from what they believe,
3. COURAGE - Great leaders will always face resistance to change, they must have the courage to act on their beliefs no matter what the circumstance
4. CREATIVITY - Leaders must be hands-on, and their decisions are often environmentally driven. They constantly have to ask, ‘Here I am. What do I do now?’
5. CURIOSITY - Great leaders have an inherent curiosity that drives them to ask questions and try new things, just to see what happens. Leadership requires regularly thinking of the questions that affect the world we live in.
6. ABILITY TO INSPIRE - When you look at leaders who have changed the world, they have some kind of internal spirit that has led them to do it.
7. ABILITY TO LISTEN - Great leaders often do their best when they stop communicating and start listening.
8. ABILITY TO INNOVATE - It has been said that the difference between management and leadership is the difference between keeping the status quo and innovating to drive change. They need to know not just how to lead, but how to drive change in an organization and convince an entire organization to do things differently. Most leaders are often not good at teaching that particular skill.”
9. EAGERNESS TO EXPERIENCE – A great leader learns by doing and then reflecting on what they’ve done.
10. WILLINGNESS TO REFLECT – A great leader must understand how important it is to take time to reflect on an experience.
