Leadership Traits 2.0

Leadership is a quality found within. Developing the traits required to become an effective leader starts with you. In this, the second in a four-part series of articles, I build from the foundational traits of hard work, a positive attitude, and discipline discussed in Part 1 of this series.

In order to build a cohesive team and to be a leader people will want to follow, the next logical concepts worth discussing are selflessness, honesty, and trustworthiness. These traits are so fundamental they could arguably be more important than your own technical competence within your role. A leader who can consistently demonstrate to their team that they put the interests of others and the team ahead of their own, that they are honest above all else, in both the good and the bad, and a leader who can demonstrate trust in their team and harness that trust, is a leader who can move mountains. Leaders who can utilize these three skills and make them cardinal points on their moral compass will set themselves and their followers up for certain success.

Selflessness: Leaders Eat Last 

I discuss the concept of leading from the front in more detail in a previous article, “Leadership in a Nutshell” (https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/leadership-nutshell-steven-hansen-cd-jd/) I like to use the example of soldiers at the meal line. In the army, we were always taught that the promotion of your subordinate’s welfare was the most critical way to ensure trust and faith in your leadership as much as anything else you may do. Leaders always took the time to serve the meals to the soldiers who worked for them whenever meals were served during training or operations, and they did it before they ate themselves. It was a simple way of showing that you put the soldier’s welfare first. Leaders should never put themselves in a position where they “take” from their people. In short: always put the needs of your subordinates before your own.

It seems like a simple concept, but it is missed on so many. After the recent financial crisis and wave of bailouts, how often did we see C-Suite executives paying themselves bonuses with those funds? How often do we see cases of political corruption in the media where personal profiteering got in the way of representing constituents? Those leaders lost sight of their purpose, which is to empower their people. Taking a step back and taking care of your subordinates, employees, colleagues, and constituents before you think of taking for yourself is difficult for some; however, once you give yourself over to the concept, it becomes very simple.

However, in order to be selfless, one must also be honest with one’s self and with others. Which leads me to my next point.

Honesty: The Truth Will Set You Free

Leaders are called upon to make difficult decisions frequently.

Not everything you do will be popular. Not everything you say will fall on ears that want to hear it. Remember, you aren’t paid to make decisions that make people feel better; you’re making them to do what’s right. Putting a spin on things to make it more palatable is often the wrong approach. For example, imagine in my role as Chief Legal Officer for our corporation that I became aware of a legal concern. Rather than informing those who required the information in a wholistic and honest way of the potential dangers and ramifications, I chose to sit on the information and do nothing, or painted a rosier picture in order for the problem to seem “not that bad.” The consequences of that sort of thinking could be dire.

The threat would be no less real by approaching it with honesty. The ability to deal with it in the best way possible given the circumstances, however, is much improved by simply informing those whose assistance, guidance and support in managing the issue would be brought to bear. Honest dialogue provided in a timely fashion is always a better idea than hiding problems until it’s too late to fix them. Never put yourself in a situation as a leader where you need to answer the question, “Why didn’t you inform us sooner?”

The same holds true for all decisions you will make as a leader. If you base them in honesty, you will find they are much easier to make; honesty in approaching issues that arise from outside of your sphere of control, and honesty when it comes to your own performance. There will be times where you make mistakes. Own that fact. Never be afraid to step up to the plate and say, “I made a mistake.” Leaders own their errors instead of pointing the finger elsewhere or simply denying they made a mistake in the first place. The people you work for or work for you are sure to be much more interested in assisting you to remedy the error if you are honest about it than if you deny any wrongdoing.

It’s ok to make mistakes; it’s not ok to hide them from others. Everyone needs to be on the same team, working towards the same goal line. A leader who obscures the view of the field makes it very difficult for the team to score.

Trustworthiness: Start by trusting your People

Honesty goes hand-in-hand with trust. As I write this, I find myself pausing to ensure I’m not repeating the same thoughts I just wrote. I’m not sure you can have one trait without the other. While they are different characteristics, they are equally important in your role as a leader.

If your team trusts you, they are more likely to work hard for you. They’ll also be more comfortable bringing ideas forward.

Leaders trust their people first. In order to build on their trust, you have to demonstrate your ability to trust in them. Give them the information they need, give them the training and tools to succeed, and then trust them to do what needs to be done.

The concept of Mission Command in the army is based on this idea. The Prussian army pioneered the idea, based on a centralized intent with a decentralized command structure. In essence, by providing your subordinates with the information required to understand the full picture of the task at hand, including the purpose you are attempting to achieve, you empower them to make better decisions in the face of ever-changing requirements. Ensure as a leader that you are providing your personnel with enough information and with your trust in their ability to use their own initiative to determine “how” to tackle the task at hand. Giving over to the idea that you need to tell them the task, not how to do it, and allowing them the freedom of maneuver to determine how to get the job done is critical in their development as the next generation of leaders.

Parting shots

A good leader builds trust in their people through the ability to empower them by providing them with the tools, information and latitude to do their jobs to the best of their ability. A great leader is one who can achieve trust by consistently being honest not only with their people, but their supervisors as well, regardless of how difficult that pill may be to swallow at times, and regardless of whether that means they must admit their own mistakes. An exceptional leader is one who can provide all of the above for their teams, before they even think of taking for themselves.