Qualities of a leader – based on validated research
Qualities of a leader. Instead of compiling a random list of leadership qualities, I will discuss fifteen leadership qualities based on research on real leaders in large organizations across the six continents.
A leader’s two primary responsibilities
To understand the qualities of a leader, let us first think about a leader’s job.
Any leader has basically primary responsibilities – and both are interrelated.
- Deliver results by getting work done to achieve the organizational goals
- To retain those people by looking after their wellbeing.
Task & people focus
The first point refers to the qualities of leaders to deliver results or task competencies. The second point refers to the leadership qualities and competencies to engage, inspire and retain people. In other words – people competencies. If a leader only focuses on results, she may lose people. It is a short-term gain for a long-term loss. If a leader only focuses on people at the cost of business outcomes, the leader is not doing her job and may not remain a leader for long.
Think about some of the best leaders you have worked for or worked with. What did they do? Think about some of the worst leaders you have worked with or worked for. What did they do? The chances are that they struck the right balance between caring for people and focusing on business results. Good leaders support and empower people, hold them accountable, and inspire them to achieve business goals.
The 15 qualities of today’s global leader
This list is not a random compilation of the miscellaneous qualities of a leader. These qualities come from our Global Leadership Assessment GLA 360, which measures today’s global leaders’ essential competencies. These qualities of a leader are based on research on real leaders in actual companies.
The research included actual leaders in real companies. The study included CEOs of Fortune 100 companies. It also included global thought leaders in the area of leadership. It included geographically diverse leaders and executives on six continents. You can safely say this list includes real-life leadership qualities and real-life competencies required for success in today’s global business world.
These 15 qualities are grouped into 5 clusters.
1. Qualities of a leader: The Communication cluster
The first cluster of leadership qualities is about communication and includes three competencies.
1. Integrity
To quote Warren Buffet – I look for three things when hiring people. Integrity, intelligence, and energy. But if they don’t have the first – don’t bother about the other two.
People are constantly assessing whether the leader is trustworthy and reliable. If the leader doesn’t have integrity, people won’t trust the leader. If they don’t trust the leader, they won’t believe in what the leader says.
Integrity is a fundamental leadership quality. It is timeless. A hundred years ago, people expected their leaders to have integrity.
Decades ago, Dwight D. Eisenhower called integrity the supreme leadership quality.
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
I am willing to bet that integrity will be an essential leadership quality even a hundred years from now.
Leaders themselves have to be honest and ethical in dealing with people at all levels and all the time. They have to clarify their values and lead by example to live their values. They are willing to take a stand for what they believe in. They also have to hold others to high levels of integrity.
2. Vision
Vision is what separates a leader from a competent manager. Leaders have a clear picture in their minds for where they want to take people. They want to bring followers to a place that is much better than the current place. Leaders share and articulate this vision so that it inspires followers to sign up for this arduous journey. A good vision influences people to put in the hard work needed to achieve the vision for the greater good of all. A good leader creates a strategy and prioritizes the tasks to make the dream a reality.
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Warren G. Bennis
3. Communication
Effective communication is an essential leadership quality. Often people think that communication is about speaking. Communication is a lot more about genuine listening. It is about understanding others’ perspectives, even when leaders disagree with that perspective. Good leaders also have an excellent quality of asking people for feedback on how they can get better and then act on that feedback. They don’t get defensive when someone criticizes them. They keep an open mind and consider everyone’s ideas, opinions, and perspectives.
“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” James Humes
Read: How to become a better leader? What does it take?
2. Qualities of a leader: Engaging people cluster
The second cluster of leadership qualities is about engaging and inspiring people and includes three competencies.
1. Supporting people
A good leader inclusive and treats people with dignity. Good leadership quality treats everyone with respect irrespective of their gender, race, age, or culture. Good leaders ask people what they need to do their best work. They provide all the tools and training required for people to do their jobs well. They provide timely and constructive feedback, coach and mentor people to lead them to a path of continuous improvement. They give credit, praise people, and recognize good work.
“You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.” – Zig Ziglar.
Good leaders have a positive energy that charges people up. They never miss a moment to support people and develop their confidence.
2. Collaboration
Most of the work done today requires the diverse expertise of multiple employees. Good leaders have a collaborative approach, not a competitive one. Good leaders view co-workers, suppliers, and customers as partners. They build cohesive teams, both within the organization as well as with external parties. They reprimand behaviors that undermine teamwork and collaboration.
The term frenemy describes today’s business environment very well. A frenemy is a friend plus enemy. Many companies today are competing in certain areas while collaborating in other areas. One such example is Apple and Samsung. While they compete for patents, technology, and customers in some areas, Apple is also the largest Samsung customer for smartphone screens. Good leaders build partnerships and create a network of relationships within and outside of the organization to achieve the current business goals and steer the company in the right direction for future growth.
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Michael Jordan
The 20th-century paradigm of leadership was power and control. Leaders have to share power and authority with others in today’s flatter organizations that need to be nimble and agile. Good leaders defer to others who have more expertise and technical knowledge. They keep an eye on the greater good of all instead of hoarding power for themselves.
They work with others instead of having a silo mentality of getting into fiefdoms. They take inputs from all to arrive at a decision instead of steamrolling their way. They work on breaking silos and creating opportunities for cross-functional teams to work together.
“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader.
Read: Your Executive Leadership Development – Sink, Swim or Setup for Success
3. Qualities of a leader: Inclusion cluster
The third cluster of leadership qualities is about people inclusion and has three competencies.
1. Empower others
The primary job of a leader is to get work done through others. Good leaders make it easier for others to do their best work. They build people’s competence and confidence. They give people space and the freedom to do their work in a way that best suits them. They provide enough authority for people to make their own decisions. They have faith in their people. They allow them to make mistakes and learn from them instead of jumping in and micromanaging people.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” —Jack Welch.
2. Global mindset
Today we live in a flat world that is hyper-connected. Advances in technology and supply chain have made it possible for companies to produce goods and services anywhere in the world. It is cost-effective and sells it anywhere in the world where it is most profitable.
Globalization impacts all businesses. A good leader continuously makes an effort to look outside of the organization, look at the larger picture, gain the experiences and exposure needed to succeed in a global and interconnected world. They understand trends, incorporate them into decisions, and help others understand the threats and opportunities created by globalization.
Globalization is a fact, because of technology, because of an integrated global supply chain, because of changes in transportation. And we’re not going to be able to build a wall around that. Barack Obama
3. Appreciate diversity
Good leaders appreciate the contribution of a diverse workforce. They celebrate diversity of age, gender, ethnicity, ideas, and personalities. They can make people valued and appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the organization. They value the importance of diversity of ideas and opinions. They have the uncanny ability to motivate people from all backgrounds. They make a concerted effort to understand and engage with diverse groups of people.
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. ~Audre Lorde
4. Qualities of a leader: Delivering results cluster
The fourth cluster of leadership qualities is about achieving business outcomes and includes three competencies.
1. Leverage technology
Technology has transformed how business gets done. It has drastically changed how we live and work. Today, a successful leader has to keep up with technology and leverage it to improve productivity, speed, and service. They have to hire and empower people who have the right technological expertise.
Jeff Bezos at Amazon is one example of a leader who understands technology and leverages it to help the organization succeed.
“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” Stewart Brand
2. Customer focus
Any business that does not focus on satisfying customers will soon be out of business. Good leaders see the organization and its operation from the perspective of customer’s needs. They inspire others to attain high levels of customer satisfaction. They listen to the customer’s voice. They understand that customers do have other options and value their inputs to deliver better products and services.
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Sam Walton
3. Deliver results
Leaders are ultimately accountable for delivering business results. A good leader has a get things done contagious attitude. There is a continuous focus on reducing costs and cycle time, improving customer satisfaction, and delivering better products and services. Good leaders focus on providing value to all stakeholders – customers, employees, vendors, and investors.
“Results matter! They matter to your credibility.” Stephen R. Covey
“Whether it’s Google or Apple or free software, we’ve got some fantastic competitors, and it keeps us on our toes.” Bill Gates
5. Qualities of a leader: Managing change cluster
The fifth and final leadership qualities cluster is about managing change and includes three competencies.
1. Personal Growth
A good leader understands their own strengths and improvement areas. They focus on continuous learning and self-improvement. Learning and development are part of the job. Good leaders are humble enough to know that they don’t know everything. They involve others who complement their improvement areas to get things done. In a world where the change is rapid, and the half-life of many education programs are five years or less, continuous learning and personal growth are essential leadership qualities. Good leaders role model learning and personal growth.
Improvement begins with I. Arnold H. Glasow.
2. Anticipating Opportunities
While a leader’s job is to deliver present results, they also have to anticipate future growth. They have to “see around the corners” and see trends and inflection points ahead of time to avoid threats and exploit opportunities. Good leaders invest time, money, and effort to keep updated with future trends. They also inspire other people to do the same. They develop new ideas and plans to stay ahead of trends and take advantage of opportunities.
Kodak and Nokia are an example of companies where leaders could not anticipate future opportunities despite tell-tale signs.
“Opportunity is everywhere. The key is to develop the vision to see it.” Anonymous
3. Managing Change
Change and disruptions are part of the 21st century globally-connected and technology-enabled business world. Hence managing change is a critical leadership quality for today’s leaders. Instead of embracing the status quo, the leader should challenge the status quo. Change is the only constant. A leader should see the change as an opportunity and not a problem. A good leader inspires employees to drive change and innovation continuously. New ideas, experimentation, and implementation are how the leader ensures to manage and utilize change.
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Will Rodgers
In Conclusion
These are the 15 qualities of a global leader today. How do you or the leaders in your organization rate on these top 15 qualities of a leader? A straightforward way to find out is to administer a 360-degree feedback assessment. We offer GLA 360, which is multi-rater feedback of the leader on these 15 qualities. It compares the leader’s scores with a norm group of global leaders for benchmarking the leader’s qualities.
GLA 360 allows the leaders to know about their strengths and improvement areas. We offer leadership coaching to help the leader leverage their strengths and develop in their improvement areas.
NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching
We offer our New Age Leadership Triple advantage coaching that delivers guaranteed and measurable leadership growth. It is based on a stakeholder-centered coaching process with a 95% effectiveness rate (in a study or 11000 leaders on 4 continents). It is used by companies ranging from startups to 150 of the Fortune 500 companies to develop their leaders.
Here are some of the salient benefits of NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching
Time and resource-efficient: The leader does not have to leave work to attend training programs. We go to the leader and her team. And it only takes 1.5 hours per month. The rest of the time, the leader is working to implement with her team.
Separate and customized improvement areas for each leader: Every leader is different. One size fits all approach doesn’t work. Individual development areas for each leader aligned to the business strategy.
Involves entire team: Unlike most leadership programs, NAL Triple Advantage Leadership Coaching involves the leader’s entire team, and it has a cascading effect – increasing the team effectiveness and improving organizational culture.
The leader becomes the coach: for continuous improvement for leaders themselves and their teams. It is like kaizen for your leadership development.
Cost-Effective: Our entire one-year coaching engagement often costs less than sending the leader to a short-duration leadership program at any reputed B school.
Guaranteed and measurable leadership growth: as assessed – not by us – but anonymously rated by the leader’s own team members.
Pay us only after we deliver results! : We work with many of our clients on a pay for results basis. What does it mean? If the leaders don’t improve, you simply don’t have to pay us.
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