7 Attributes of a Great Leader

Those who know me well are aware I am obsessed with the sport of football – also known as soccer to my U.S. friends. I started playing at a young age in Egypt, continued until my knees decided I was done, and now I count myself as one of the estimated 5 billion fans tuning in for FIFA World Cup 2022 matches – sometimes before the sun rises in my hometown of Toronto.

The World Cup, and sports in general, offers many lessons that can be carried over to business. Chief among them is the importance of effective leadership, which is on display daily during this tournament.

It’s a topic many of us in business think about a lot, particularly at the end of the year as we strive to finish strong. So I wanted to share my perspective on what makes a great leader, in just seven alliterative words. To be clear, this isn’t a list I can take credit for. These are attributes I have assembled through three decades of observing and learning from some of the best leaders in the world, with a sprinkling of my own trial and error for good measure.

1. Confident A great leader has confidence in themselves, the team they lead, the organization they are part of, and the strategy of that organization. They exude confidence in every interaction they have, extending to body language. Our teams read us like an open book, and if confidence and conviction isn’t there, they're going to notice it, react to it, and emulate it.

2. Calm While a great leader has a sense of urgency and an understanding of the challenges, they have a demeanor that brings calmness to their team, colleagues, and clients. I’ve witnessed time and time again that it is very difficult to throw calm leaders off their game. No matter what crisis emerges, calm, clear-headed decision making always wins. ?

3. Committed An effective leader is “all in” through the good AND challenging times. They're not just committed when the pipeline is strong, when their team is all A players, or when they’re on a winning streak. There’s no question they are committed all the time, no matter the circumstances. ?

4. Consistent Great leaders are consistent and stable forces for their teams. They don't change who they are or what the core focus is for them and for their team. If guidance and priorities are a constantly moving target, teams will zigzag and ultimately lose trust in their leadership.

5. Clarity Effective leaders communicate with precision and are very clear. They think about how best to communicate for impact, which means making sure they stay on message and keep it straight forward and simple. ?Many times, simplicity is what brings the clarity.

6. Constructive When great leaders coach and give feedback, they do it with a purpose, with the clear intent to help the people they are coaching become better at what they do, whether it is to be even more efficient, effective, or impactful. I find the most successful coaching comes when leaders use fact-based conversations, rather than making it personal.

7. Compassionate Effective leaders care and they care genuinely. ?I learned a long time ago from a mentor that when someone is having a rough experience or a fantastic experience, don’t take the easy path of texting/emailing. Pick up the phone and call so the person can hear the compassion in your voice, in your tone, and in your demeanor.

So those are what I’ve come to view as the seven attributes of an effective leader. I’m sure many of you have your own set of attributes as well, so please feel free to share in the comments section.

I'll leave you with a final thought -- there's no such thing as perfect leadership, but there is such a thing as effective leadership. And while I won’t publicly speculate who will win the World Cup, I can assure you the winning team will be hoisting the cup largely because they exhibit effective leadership, on and off the pitch.