Less celebrated leadership traits which make huge difference
Addapa Sharath Kumar
Board Member, Corporate Governance,, Sustainability, CSR-Biz Dev, Mktg, P&L, Strategy,-Mgmt Consulting, Startup Advisory-Success.Motivational Speaker. Impactful 30 yrs of inclusive/transformational/Growth leadership .
If you were to make a list of the attributes you would want on the members of your leadership team you would likely include such characteristics as:
Go-getter.
Someone who ‘makes it happen’.
High achiever.
Driven to perform.
Results oriented.
If you were to assemble a team with these qualities there’s a good chance this would be a group who could accomplish great things.
But recently I’ve been looking at the people with whom I place the greatest value, and I’ve consistently noticed a second set of qualities. Certainly I value the “make it happen” qualities. But I can’t escape the fact that there are other less obvious attributes I find that I look for.
On my dream team I love to see these 10 less celebrated leadership qualities:
They are seated, and ready to engage, before the stated starting time of the meeting.
In every conversation they focus on you, not their phone.
They are “thanking machines”- Gratitude oozes from them.
They stack the chairs and pick up trash.
They’re not ‘workaholics’, but they stay until the job is done.
They respond promptly to emails and voicemails.
They show the same courtesy and respect to the maintenance staff as they do the c.e.o.
They show genuine interest in the personal lives of colleagues.
They offer to help.
They stand up for their teammates.
As you build your team, by all means make sure you are finding leaders who are driven to achieve goals. But make sure they carry some of these less obvious qualities too.
Because when you combine these qualities with the results-oriented characteristics from the first list, you’ll be building a team with an unbeatable leadership combination.
Regards
Sharath Addapa