Great leaders make a significant difference in the quality of organizations, communities, and nations. With the executive leadership consultation I have done for twenty five years I consistently see similar qualities among the best leaders regardless of the setting.
The great leaders demonstrate five core qualities: vision, courage, passion, humility, and caring. Other skills, knowledge, and qualities are also necessary, yet, these five core qualities must be present and growing before anyone can become a great leader.
Many leaders are average, some are weak, a few are good, and a rare few are great.The best leaders learn through training, coaching, mentoring, and self-discovery. They develop their leadership abilities over time, through trial and error, an open mind, and a high degree of motivation. They typically don’t seek power, fame, privilege or money just for the sake of having it.
Vision means you know where you’re going and how to get there. As an effective and strong leader you regularly communicate a clear vision of direction. You use the vision to inspire others and demonstrate through your behavior a clear connection to the stated vision, with a willingness to adjust the vision as needed. You suggest clear ideas for how to achieve the vision which others can build on and develop, yet, you also seek advice and ideas from others who represent a variety of opinions.
Courage means you live by your core values and stand up for what you believe in ethically no matter what factors try to make you conform or bend. You have the ability to recognize pressures as social, political, internal, judgmental, financial, mental, or emotional in nature and to calibrate an appropriate, open minded, and strong response. You demonstrate your courage through actions that show the clarity of your convictions without the need to appear self-righteous, arrogant, or ideological. People learn to trust you because you walk the talk.
Passion means you bring energy, fervor, and commitment to your work that keeps you going in spite of obstacles, barriers, problems, and imperfections. Your passion shows forth like a bright flame and moves others to find their own sense of passion. You express a range of feelings when the going gets tough, which might include fear, anger, frustration, or confusion, but you have the ability to use these uneasy feelings to feed
your passion for the work you are doing. Your display of authentic passion kindles the passion others feel and want to express more openly.
Humility means you don’t take yourself too seriously or believe that as one person all success depends on you. It also means you know how much you need other people as peers, friends, and collaborators to have any chance of success. You clearly believe in yourself and your abilities but show no need to appear “better” than others. Your style of relating to and working with others clearly expresses your desire to work as equals with those who may each have different strengths to offer.
Caring means you pay attention to how you impact other people and the varying circumstances of their lives. It means you understand and care about the barriers to opportunity and success some people experience more than others. You show compassion for others and yourself through proactive behavior that does not wait for a crisis to express your care or take action.
Of course great leaders will have faults and weaknesses both personal and professional. We can and must accept that reality about ourselves and others no matter what their level of status, fame, power, or money. We don’t need saints or perfect people as leaders. We need people with vision, courage, passion, humility, and caring. We need leaders who have taken the time to develop these qualities from within. Let’s help and support them. Are you one?
