Leadership: what separates great leaders from mediocre ones?

Do you dislike your job? If so, you are not the only one. In fact, you are in the majority! Surveys conducted in the US exposed that 80% of American professionals are disengaged or dissatisfied with their job. Have you ever questioned yourself about the reason behind this statistic?

One of the great factors is not-prepared leaders. No one wants to face day after day of being led by someone who neither listens, extends trust nor thinks there is more than one way to do things.

There has to be a better and proper way to lead, right?

Well, the answer is YES! Leaders cannot only help their subordinates manage the nine-to-five; they must and can inspire them to solve problems and reach new levels of success and satisfaction with the job.

If you have been working long enough, it is only a matter of time before you end up with a not-prepared leader. But have you ever asked yourself what it is that makes some professionals so bad at leading people?

One trait common to bad leaders is that they believe they always know everything. Great leaders, in contrast, know that, especially in the current chaotic, fast-changing environment, it is impossible to know it all.

Michael Skelly, a fantastic leader, responsible for launching numerous successful organizations focused on renewable energy, while earning his MBA at an Ivy League school realized that, though his classmates were bright, they were often too scared to place questions, since asking could reveal a lack of knowledge.

At the same time, Michael found that these classmates all respected his willingness to speak up and admit his “ignorance”. Michael now incorporates this refreshing honesty into all his business dealings, and when asked about his greatest strength as a leader, he points to his ability to ask questions and admit when he does not understand something.

Michael’s example shows that being a humble leader is very important, especially today, when more companies are moving toward democratic and decentralized leadership structures.

Pharmaceutical and technology organizations are all favoring participatory leadership, which brings staff from every level into the decision-making process. Rather than adhering to the standard traditional model of having everyone obey orders passed down from on high, these companies are implementing more egalitarian and collaborative structures. It is within these democratically-run companies that know-it-all leaders are most resented.

Professors, software engineers and scientists lodge the most complaints about leaders who stick their noses in their work. So a great leader isn’t one who barks orders or thinks they have all the right answers. A good leader knows when to stand back and trust that his team has what it takes to make decisions and do the job they have been hired to do.

Great leaders also understand the power of meaningful communication.

Have you ever been in a meeting and suddenly realized that most participants are not really listening? Sure, no one is whispering to his neighbor or passing notes, but each pair of eyes is directed toward a laptop, a tablet or smartphones.

All great leaders know that good teamwork requires good communication among team members. And many recent studies have shown that smartphones can prevent your team from achieving the proper communication it needs to succeed.

One such study found that the mere presence of a smartphone – whether it is resting on the table or in a person’s hand – can adversely affect the way employees interact during a meeting, even if the phone is switched off! According to the researchers, the presence of a smartphone made employees more likely to keep discussions light and focused on non-controversial or insignificant topics. Not only that, but a visible smartphone also mitigates feelings of empathy among the participants.

So, if you wish to hold meaningful meetings and productive discussions, you should take control and make your conference room a kind of “smartphone-free zone”.

It is also advised that leaders keep their smartphones out of sight when they are in a negotiation situation. Researchers have found that, when leaders paid attention to their devices during important negotiations, they were seen as less trustworthy by their counterparts in the discussion.

But regardless of the pros and cons that technology can bring to the leader’s day-to-day, taking into consideration all the above exposed, you may wonder if the leaders of the free world – the people who epitomize leadership – share any common attributes, and when we take a closer look, we can pinpoint at least three main leadership attributes that we can learn from. In fact, these attributes were even valued during Plato and Aristotle’s time. And today, they continue to be understood as qualities that separate great leaders from mediocre ones.

• The first is self-confidence. Good leaders are calm under pressure, clear about their personal and professional beliefs and secure in their capability to get results.
• Second is an achiever spirit. This typically appears in leaders as optimism, enthusiasm and helpfulness. Likewise, good leaders are diligent and reliable, and when they say they will get something done, staff can trust that they will follow through. It means that they back up their words and intentions with action.
• The third attribute is the relational capacity. This one manifests itself in leaders as agreeableness, empathy and sensitivity to the demands of staff. As a result, the greatest leaders inspire a sense of loyalty and commitment in their team, who are not merely dedicated to the cause, or the organization, but to the leader as a person.

Now, just because a leader has one or two of these attributes does not make him a great leader. Indeed, the worst leaders tend to have too much self-confidence, otherwise known as hubris. This is often the result of their experiencing success in any other context, which then goes to their heads, fostering them to feel overconfident in their abilities. This hubris can have disastrous consequences.

In fact, hubris is what doomed the Russian invasions of both Napoleon and Hitler. Filled with an overinflated sense of pride, they simply ignored their advisors and doomed their armies to failure.

Wrapping all the already exposed in this article, the keys to successful leadership include being honest about your limitations, exhibiting self-confidence and creating strong bonds of trust. With these three attributes in mind, today’s leaders can take their team to new levels of achievement and success!

LITERATURE CITED

Bolman, L. G., Deal, T. E. 2017. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. 6th Edition. California: Jossey-Bass.

Hayzlett, J., Eber, J. 2018. The Hero Factor: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations and Create Winning Cultures. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press.

Irwin, T. 2018. Extraordinary Influence: How Great Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others. New Jersey: Wiley.

Kottler, J. A. 2018. What You Don’t Know about Leadership, But Probably Should: Applications to daily life. New York: Oxford University Press.

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