Three Neglected Leadership Traits for 2022

Consensus is that leaders need to have a vision, communicate effectively, inspire their organization, set ambitious targets, drive success, track performance, make the necessary decisions and execute corrective actions. This and more requires ability to absorb and process huge amounts of information, prioritize rigorously, live with unconditional integrity, follow through and… be likeable at the same time.?Many expectations and a lot of pressure to maintain peak performance, while keeping the inner balance, the peace of mind, and the needle to the North. Let us remind ourselves to expand three sometimes neglected leadership traits for a prosperous New Year:

1.????Stillness

Stop fiddling with a gadget, find a time without a meeting. Only so we can absorb, interpret and decide based on information while staying focused. As the?wise woodcutter occasionally stops chopping wood to sharpen his axe, the effective business leader sits and thinks.

2.????Silence

Are we already witnessing too much talk, too much noise, too little content, not enough listening? Words define us, and a simple joke, a phrase out of context, a message twisted in bad faith, can each land us in hot water. Silence is important, powerful, sends a signal, invites to reflect, allows cooling down, enables listening….and can be awkward for some. Let us find the path between saying nothing and wisely picking our words, spoken and written, softly.

3.????Solitude

By definition, a leader gets things done through others and the focus is on execution. Yet, solitude is essential to pause and reflect, to rest, to find peace, to strengthen, refresh, to listen to our thoughts and reach new levels of wisdom. How else to work through our questions, develop and formulate our own ideas that will have the strongest impact?

Seems that now, more than ever, stillness, silence and solitude are precious to help us navigate through the choppy waters that are affecting every aspect of our lives. A bit more of them, and we’ll be more effective and 2022 is going to be even better.

Happy New Year!