Many years ago, I attended the Infantry Officers Basic Course at Fort Benning and began my journey of trying to understand leadership. While there, they taught me that Leadership is “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the objectives and improve the organization.”
Since that time, I have continued to better understand what makes a great leader. Based on my experiences, I have come to believe that great leaders consistently possess these five core traits:
Self -Awareness
Integrity
Empathy
Communication
Ability to Delegate
Let’s review each one of these core traits a little closer.
Self -Awareness: Great leaders understand self-awareness is chief in importance for leadership. They are aware that, knowing oneself allows them to discover their strengths and weaknesses. The better you understand yourself, the more effective you can be. Self-Improvement leads to both increased competence and the confidence people have in your leadership ability.
Integrity: The importance of integrity should be obvious. Integrity is essential for the organization and the individual. Great leaders recognize people want and need their leaders to be role models. No aspect of leadership is more powerful. People will imitate the leader’s behavior; therefore, it’s important for the leader to set high but attainable standards for performance. Great leaders fully understand that their personal example affects behavior more than any amount of instruction or policy edit.
Empathy: Great leaders get that it is not enough to just know the names and birth dates of their people. They fully understand what motivates them and what is important to them. Great leaders commit time and effort to listen and learn about their people. They get that showing genuine concern for their people builds trust and respect.
Communication: Great leaders are fully aware that effective leadership and effective communication are linked. They understand that people do best when they know why they are doing something. Great leaders know that keeping people informed helps them make decisions and execute plans within the intent, encourages initiative, enhances morale and improves teamwork.
Ability to Delegate: Great leaders know that delegating is one of the core responsibilities of a leader. They embrace that delegation indicates trust in their people and encourages them to seek responsibility. They know that you develop people by giving them challenges and opportunities that stretch them and more responsibility when they demonstrate they are ready.
While great leaders may exhibit these five leadership traits to varying degrees, all good leaders leverage at least some or most of these traits. If you don’t feel like these traits describe you, don’t panic, there are ways to improve your leadership traits. Leaders are developed through experience, continued study, and adaptation.
Do share what you have learned about leadership on your journey.
Recent Comments