In my study on leadership and team development, I make it a point of call to ask this question in one way or the other: What do you expect of the leaders you want to or are willing to follow? What are the major characteristics of these leaders – as opposed to leaders you are forced to follow through their positional authority? In every case, the answers have always been about certain character traits that these leaders possessed. These character traits empowered the leaders to develop four very distinctive capabilities and one personal quality (authenticity) that inspired people’s willingness to follow them. These are the five essentials for successful leadership.
- Leaders have vision:
Leaders must have the capacity to envision a new and better possible future for the organization or constituency they lead. It must also be clear that they have a strong belief in that future and a strong intention and commitment to create that future. This is made clear with how clearly the communicate the vision and mission to the team. Having a vision is the starting point for a follower’s willingness to be fully invested in someone else’s dream.
- Leaders engage:
A leader that doesn’t engage with and inspire others to embrace and share in the vision, would soon find him or herself walking alone. When a leader engages, they are help their followers find their place in the big picture. The get the team fired up about the possibilities, and to contribute to finding strategies and solutions for realizing that vision. To do this effectively requires a huge amount of face to face communication – it cannot be achieved by written documents. Psychologist Albert Merabian has shown that when communicating a general message 93% of the impact of the message is due to body language, facial expression and voice qualities, and only 7% to the words chosen. Face to face communication, using both inspirational monologue and much two-way dialogue, is very essential.
“If you wish to build a ship, do not divide the men into teams and send them to the forest to cut wood. Instead, teach them to long for the vast and endless sea.
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men and women to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” – Antoine de Saint Exupery
- Leaders build cultures:
Whether acquiring a previously existing team, network or organization, or starting one from scratch, it must be built on the foundation of a culture that undergirds the vision and mission of the organization and a shared set of values for the company.
Culture is the single most important factor in determining long term success for any team, and the type of culture that is built is based on the things the leader of that organization nurtures.
- Leaders lead by example:
Leaders who manage themselves effectively, have a higher success rate of inspiring others to adhere to do the same. This is not to say a leader has to be perfect or a jack of all trades. A leader that leads by example strives to do what they know best with excellence while encouraging vetted team members to excel in their blind spots for the greater good of the vision of the organization. Having the capacity to manage themselves well is especially important when under pressure which often brings up intense emotions.
- Leaders are Authentic:
An authentic leader possesses two qualities; integrity and honesty. Having integrity includes good values and advocate high ethical standards in all that they do. Secondly, authentic leaders are honest; they say what they believe or value is exactly what they believe or value. Their motives and intentions are exactly what they say they are; they do (or at least attempt to do) what they say they will do. Authenticity is the fundamental underpinning of the other four qualities – and is essential in winning people over as willing and enthusiastic followers.