6 Qualities of a Great Leader
Leadership Qualities and Characteristics Overview
There are certain attributes and behaviours that make a great leader, as well as common misconceptions about its role. However, there are only a few key points when it comes to characteristics of all leaders, the rest is situational and it is up to you as a leader to identify an appropriate and effective approach that suits the needs of your team and organisation.
- It is important for one to realise that there is no universal archetype of a leader and the traits and characteristics of successful leaders will differ enormously.
- Also, one needs to recognise that they will have been given the opportunity to become a leader in their organisation because of their specific personality and capabilities.
- If you can identify what these traits are and develop what it is that makes you a great leader, it will allow you to become a bigger and better version of yourself.
- Highlighting these skills will encourage not only a stronger personality but a strong sense of authenticity - an important trait in any organisation.
Characteristics a leader should practice are dependent on the leader’s vision, situation, team and organisation. The following are characteristics that have been successful traditionally, but all may not be necessarily appropriate for you to adopt. As a leader, it is up to you to identify what qualities will help your team prosper.
Good leadership demands emotional strengths and behavioural characteristics which can draw deeply on a leader's mental and spiritual reserves. Qualities needed for prosperous relationships between leaders and staff members include integrity, honesty, confidence and compassion.
The 6 Most Important Leadership Qualities
1. Adaptability
The adaptability of leadership style is an increasingly significant aspect of leadership because the world is increasingly complex and dynamic.
- Adaptability stems from objectivity, which in turn stems from emotional security and emotional maturity.
- Always adapt to new surroundings and different types of followers or teams. Take into account the level of risk, and how much effort you and the team need to contribute.
This is also known as situational or contingency
leadership.
2. Delegation
Delegating tasks to the appropriate person or department is an important skill for any leader to master.
- Trusting your team with your idea is a sign of ultimate strength, not weakness and will enable your company to develop by creating a circle of trust.
- Capitalise on the strength of others.
- Give responsibility to your team.
- Prioritise your own tasks.
3. Communication
Although the goals you have for your company may seem obvious in your mind, you need to communicate these ideas clearly and concisely.
- This is important as if there are communication problems, then collectively, you and your team will most likely not be working towards the same goal.
- Be an approachable leader with an open door policy. Be specific and eliminate jargon and most importantly listen.
4. Confidence
There will be a constant stream of threats towards your organisation, whether that might be new industry standards and training, new technologies or even a new competitor determined to drive away your customers, but it’s important not to panic.
- Show your confidence, particularly in your team, and they will follow suit.
5. Determination
Determination and motivation go hand in hand and what better way to motivate than to actively get involved alongside your team.
- By doing so, you demonstrate your own commitment to your organisation and your excitement for the collaborative efforts of the team.
- This will encourage others to do the same.
- Earn the respect of your team. Reward them for their efforts. Boost determination with your own determination.
6. Intuition
Accepting and facing challenges head-on is a large part of leadership, meaning that intuition is a key skill to master. There may be times when there is no clear route to take, especially when the stakes are high.
- Find the energy to remain calm so that this is reflected in your team and use your knowledge and integrity to develop a strategic plan of action.
- Trust your intuition when determining the best course of action.
- Take your team through the process. Communicate your decisions. Learn to trust yourself.
Practising these qualities will enhance your performance as a leader, but, as previously mentioned, each situation may require a different approach.
Leadership Behaviour Continuum – Tannenbaum and Schmidt
What is the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum?
Tannenbaum and Schmidt's Continuum is a highly significant body of work in the field of management and leadership.
The material below offers a different perspective on the earlier narrative. It explores the model in the context of other leadership theories.
Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt first presented their Leadership Behaviour Continuum in a 1958 article in the Harvard Business Review, titled 'How to Choose a Leadership Pattern '.
- Tannenbaum and Schmidt explained the choices that leaders have in decision-making, and the pressures arising from these options.
They suggested that a leader has seven decision-making options when leading a group, which the diagram below shows:
Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum Overview
The diagram and terminology are adapted from Tannenbaum and Schmidt's original, for improved presentation purposes.
- 'Use of authority by manager' = 'Area of Power retained by the leader' (T&S terminology)
- 'Area of freedom for subordinates' = 'Amount of power held by the whole group (including the leader)' (T&S terminology)
From a group development standpoint, moving from left to right along the continuum, the leader gives up his or her power in making solo decisions so that he/she progressively involves the group, until the group effectively becomes self-managing.
At the far left, the leader sets goals, makes decisions and then tells the others what they are going to do. At the opposite end of the continuum, the leader permits (perhaps encourages) the group to define the issues they are facing and share the decision-making.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt's model is oriented notably towards decision-making and ignores other aspects of leadership.
Nevertheless, the model is powerful and insightful. It's a wonderfully concise and easily applicable tool, showing leaders the many choices they have.
The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum model also reminds us that all (seven) options are available to leaders depending on the situation. The 'situation' is most commonly a combination of:
- The capability of the group (in various respects - skills, experience, workload, etc), and
- The nature of the task or project (again in various respects - complexity, difficulty, risk, value, timescale, relevance to group capability, etc).
- The leader of an inexperienced army platoon under enemy fire will tend to be more effective at stage 1 on the Continuum, whereas,
- the head of a product innovation team, under no great pressure, leading an experienced and capable group, will tend to be more effective acting at stage 7 on the Continuum.
Tannenbaum and Schmidt - Three Pressures Faced by Leaders
Tannenbaum and Schmidt further explained that when leaders choose decision-making options they should consider especially three sets of pressures which will be outlined in more detail below:
- Situational pressures
- Inner psychological pressures
- Pressures coming from subordinates
1. Situational Pressures
- The complexity of the problem.
- The importance of the decision.
- The time pressure.
2. The Leader's Inner Pressures
- The leader's preferences around decision-making (his values, beliefs, behavioural habits).
- The leader's confidence in his or her team colleagues' knowledge and experience.
- How important or risky the decision is to him/her or her personally.
3. Pressures Coming From Subordinates
- The leader's colleagues' (the group members') desire to 'have a say' in the decision.
- The group's willingness to take responsibility for the outcomes.
- The group's ability to reach decisions together.
- The group's readiness and ability to accept and follow orders.
Summary
Tannenbaum and Schmidt's model demonstrates and provides seven ways of approaching group leadership decisions.
- It also defines and predicts typical related internal and external pressures that leaders must consider when choosing a decision-making position.
- The underlying teaching is that the leader must have the necessary self-awareness, presence of mind, and wisdom, to consider the three sets of pressures (and the ten component forces) before choosing the most effective behaviour.
As with Kurt Lewin's Three Styles model, The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum offers and advocates a flexible approach to leadership; that the effective leader varies his/her behaviour at will, according to circumstances.
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