3 Qualities for better leadership

Image of leader followed by 3 smaller versions representing qualitiesWell-known author and speaker, John C Maxwell quoted, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them”. This statement echoes the balancing act that many leaders I regularly work with find difficult to overcome. When I stumbled upon Stephanie Chung’s article 3 traits that make a great leader, I was compelled to repurpose it to reflect my own values and thoughts:

1. Future-focused – Effective leaders provide a clear vision of the future; they think ahead and they ensure the right people are in the right positions at the right time.  Leaders need to be clear about where it is they want the organisation to be in the future and then set very clear goals on how they will achieve these objectives.  They also need to ensure that they have hired the right people and empowered them to deliver on the organisational objectives.  Here at Full Circle Feedback, our vision is to “Help good people become great”. We developed this vision with the entire team to ensure we all had a say in the destination and we remain focussed on how we are going to get there.  We all now have some skin in this game. Your job is to find out how to achieve this with your team.

2. Compassionate – Effective leaders need to be able to connect with their people. This requires them to be both emotionally and socially intelligent.  Having emotional intelligence and the ability to work with a variety of people allows you to better connect with your team and to grow as a leader. Being compassionate will improve both your personal and professional development, and in turn build stronger relationships with your team.  This can only lead to better business outcomes.

3. Effective communication – One skill that comes up time and again as an imperative for leaders is their ability to communicate effectively. However, one element of communication that many forget, or in some cases disregard, is the capability to actively listen to what others have to say. Leaders who recognise that there is a time to talk and a time to listen, will ultimately be seen as a more well-rounded leader and individual. For more information on effective communication, have a read of a previous blog post written by my colleague Bill Lang.

If you can focus on developing these three traits, you will be well on your way to becoming an even greater leader!  Happy leading!