The characteristics of good leaders
Thirteen qualities of good leaders, focusing on yourself, others and the organisation.
27 October 2020
Leadership can be a somewhat vague concept, so and this list outlines the main attributes of a good leader, and provides a point of reference to work towards.
It’s useful to compare your own behaviours and characteristics against this list as a way of uncovering which areas you need to work on, whether through self-assessment or by asking colleagues, team members and managers. What should you start, stop or continue?
Leading yourself
- Acting with integrity – Being professional and acting in the interests of all those involved.
- Being honest and consistent – Being, and being seen to be, fair
- Being decisive – Being prepared to take tough decisions and risks, as appropriate
- Resolving complex problems – Being creative in solving problems
Leading and developing others
- Enabling - Empowering people in a way that motivates and develops them
- Inspiring others – Being able to inspire others and to motivate them to achieve goals.
- Being accessible – Being approachable and not ‘status-conscious’ and making time to discuss people’s problems.
- Encouraging change – Being supportive to others in questioning traditional approaches and finding new ways to solve problems.
Leading the organisation
- Networking and achieving – Building and maintaining useful networks and achieving goals set.
- Supporting a developmental culture – Being supportive when mistakes are made, encouraging critical feedback about self and standards.
- Focusing effort – Being team oriented in problem-solving and decision-making
- Building a shared vision – Encouraging the team to contribute to the vision, seeking commitment and enthusiasm.
- Facilitating change sensitively – Considering the impact of change on a range of people.