The Trademarks of a Great Leader

The Trademarks of a Great Leader

Character: Great leaders do the right thing regardless of circumstances, situational context or other influencing factors. They will not compromise their value system and personal ethics for temporary gain. Without a consistent and enduring display of sound character you’ll find it difficult to earn the trust and respect of those you lead. While your character will be tested often as a leader, great leaders know there is no substitute for the truth.

Vision: 
Great leaders possess the ability to create a vision for the organizations they lead. They have the foresight to not only create a clear and well-defined vision, but also have the ability to articulately communicate the vision. Perhaps most importantly, they have the ability to align interests and evangelize the vision unifying leadership, management, staff and external stakeholders as well.

Strategy: 
Great leaders are strategic thinkers who have the ability to translate their vision into an actionable strategy to ensure its success. Strategically inclined leaders think in terms of creating leverage, anticipating & leading change, managing risk & opportunities, being customer focused, astutely deploying resources, always insuring the business model is in alignment with current market conditions, yet fluid enough to accommodate changes in market dynamics. Strategic leaders are keenly aware of items that create an advantage or defend a weakness.

Tactics: 
Great leaders tend to be tactical geniuses and display a strong bias to action. They understand the difference between raw data and useful information. Moreover they know how to leverage information and resources to achieve their objectives. They are focused, results driven and achievement oriented.

Focus: Great leaders are focused on the mission at hand. They don’t bite-off more than they can chew by falling prey to initiative overload. Great leaders do not major in the minors and understand that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Great leaders are committed to not losing focus and not giving-up.

Persuasiveness: Great leaders understand how to manage conflict and close positional and philosophical gaps. They tend to be contextual leaders who know which skill sets to draw upon based upon the circumstances at hand. They lead by serving as opposed to intimidating. Great leaders are masters of inspiration being able to take even the most critical skeptics and convert them into evangelists for the cause.

Likeability: 
Great leaders possess great interpersonal skills. They tend to be people-centric and understand the concept of servant leadership. People tend to like leaders who display good decision skills and high levels of integrity. While great leaders are typically very direct, they are also intuitive individuals who thrive on finesse and subtlety. They don’t expect or need to be liked to get the job done, but realize the value likeability can offer where it can be achieved without comprising trust or integrity.

Decision Ability: Great leaders possess the ability to consistently make good decisions. They thrive on making the tough call and are willing to be accountable for their actions. Great leaders also have the ability to make decisions quickly and often with incomplete data sets. Rarely do leaders have the luxury of being able to secure all of the information needed for a risk free decision. Rather they understand how to make a timely decision while managing any corresponding risks as others are still trying to connect the dots.

Team Building: Great leaders create great teams throughout the entire value chain. They understand the need for talent and are effective at recruiting, deployment, development and retention of tier-one talent. Great leaders also surround themselves with the best professional advisors possible and they openly seek the counsel of others in matters of importance. They are committed to both personal and professional growth. They tend to almost be addicted to increasing their knowledge base and sphere of influence. They are voracious learners always looking for better methods, different approaches, enhanced efficiencies, better technology and increased velocity. They are not afraid of change and growth – in fact, they tend to relish it.

Results: The proof of great leadership is ultimately found in the results being attained. Leaders can be extremely strong in any of the areas above, but if they are not leading effectively or productively, if they are not meeting performance expectations, then they have work to do. Great leaders get results…