Leadership Types
When I began developing young leaders, I started with a group exercise to identify the key characteristics of effective leaders. The format was:
Step 1: Brainstorm a list of leader characteristics.
The results were usually the same: communication, decision making, integrity, motivation, team building, fairness, charisma, ability to delegate, job knowledge, etc.
REFLECT: What characteristics would you list?
Note: most often, we list the characteristics (1) we value the most (2) we think are true for us. (I always listed fairness close to the top, as it is a high value / purposeful characteristic of mine).
Step 2: Identify 5 leaders.
Years ago, the identified leaders were historical and political figures. As the groups changed, the list of leaders changed, moving to sports figures and then to stars, musicians, and media figures. I used “professor privilege” to add 2 names: Hitler and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Step 3:Assess the leaders in relation to the list of characteristics.
Focusing on one leader at a time, the group voted yes / no if the leader had the characteristic, and gave the characteristic 1 point for each leader that had it. We were assessing the leader characteristics, not the leaders.
Step 4: Highlight the characteristics that ALL leaders had. Discuss. Step 5: