I recently read an article by Peter Economy about the traits that great leaders have, which got me thinking. As he notes, those who strive to embody these traits can grow from competent to remarkable leaders.
While I agree with the traits he lists — and that leaders can learn and develop these qualities — it got me pondering what we could add to this topic after more than 10 years of leadership development with leaders across North America.
The Origin of Great Leaders
Some of our coaching clients are well aware of their strengths and challenges, and they are confident in their leadership acumen, while others acknowledge that they worry they don’t have what it takes to be inspiring, memorable leaders. They struggle with imposter syndrome.
At one time, particularly in certain sectors, a certain style of didactic leadership was the norm. Bosses were powerful because of their position in the hierarchy — and they required compliance.
Times have changed, and successful organizations value leadership that encourages innovation, healthy conflict and commitment to shared goals. In other words, nowadays, there is a big difference between being a boss or a leader.
Learning to be an effective leader is a journey. While some people may have certain leadership traits innately, there are factors that help to shape great leaders and develop leadership traits. These include:
- experience dealing with different personality styles and situations
- intentional practice to develop leadership skills in the workplace
- mentorship and other support for leaders to help learn from challenges
- opportunities for ongoing professional development, including peer-to-peer learning and coaching
- ongoing study, for example reading leadership books (our coaches shared their top leadership book picks if you’re looking for inspiration)
The learning and development never stops because there are always new people, projects and situations for leaders to navigate. Being an effective leader requires agility in dealing with different personalities, conflicts and problems.
The Quintessential Traits of Great Leaders
As executive coaches, we help folks from across all industries and levels become better leaders. By nurturing certain qualities and adding to your leadership toolkit, you can inspire team members to do their best, innovate and problem-solve.
Here is our top ten list of leadership traits to develop:
- Executive presence. When you see a leader with this, you know it. You feel it. Executive presence is having a combination of traits that includes being connected, charismatic, confident (without sacrificing compassion), curious, respectful, calm and consistent. It’s having situational awareness so that you can be objective about what’s happening in the organization, and the ability to balance vision with focus. When you develop your executive presence, you’ll inspire confidence in your leadership.
- Self-awareness. Those with this trait can assess their own strengths and weaknesses accurately, which allows for much more effective self-improvement. Additionally, if you are very self-aware, you can capitalize on what makes you strong and different.
- Informed decisiveness. As leaders, there are times you have to make timely, tough decisions. Effective leaders are good listeners, and they seek the honest input of team members when making a decision, and then they make it. Being able to hear bad news and handle criticism means you’ll have more information to make good decisions.
- High emotional intelligence. A common trait among great leaders is high emotional intelligence (EQ) in leadership. Not only can leaders with high EQ articulate and manage their own emotions, they can respond to the emotional and interpersonal needs of those around them. This includes not just empathy (understanding the feelings of others), but tough empathy (giving people what they need and not just what they want). For example, with tough empathy, you are able to actively listen to and observe team members so that you understand their strengths, weaknesses, goals and challenges. Then, when a team member is struggling, you can validate their worry but encourage them to meet a project deadline — perhaps offering some tools or resources. Leaders with high emotional intelligence usually have much better engagement with their team members.
- Unwavering accountability. Leaders who are accountable (assign tasks, review them, and take accountability for the outcomes) rather than responsible (do the work to complete an assigned task), succeed when they’re able to delegate effectively and oversee the work of their team members. Pro tip: You can use the RASCI Matrix to assign tasks effectively.
- Confident (but not arrogant). Having confidence means leaders are secure in their abilities, knowledge, intuition and hard work. However, they can find the emotional courage to make mistakes and learn from them, or admit when they’re wrong. This inspires others and enhances trust.
- Optimistic. In terms of leadership, this is broader than having a positive outlook. It’s being able to find creative ways to solve challenges and encourage folks to stretch and grow. Having an abundant mindset allows leaders to push away fears and embrace new opportunities.
- Honest (with reasonable transparency). By putting values into action, you can lead with integrity and authenticity. You can admit when you don’t know something and commit to giving team members the appropriate level of information.
- Agility. In today’s fast-paced global marketplace, great leaders are extremely agile. They’re able to see change as an opportunity, react quickly and get buy-in from team members. It’s a critical leadership trait to ensure organizations are future ready.
- Resilience. Stress is inevitable for leaders. How folks handle challenges is what matters. Building resilience in ourselves and others drives growth and innovation (and mitigates the risk of burnout).
These leadership traits can be learned and developed at all levels of the organization. Developing these qualities makes good managers into great leaders. The good news is that each of these traits is a habit you can build, or knowledge and skills you can learn. Not one characteristic on this list falls into the category of “either you have it, or you don’t.”
Coach’s Questions
Are there gaps in how you see yourself and how others see you? Do team members who report to you see you differently than those more senior to you? What traits do you recognize in yourself? Where do you want to develop?
