The Top Three Traits Of A Great Leader

People don't leave businesses; they leave managers.

How often do we see that said?

And it's true. The relationship between the employee and manager is crucial to that employee's success and happiness at that business.

I was asked Friday when I posed the question, "what makes a great manager" whether I meant manager or leader, and it's a great question.

To me, they are intertwined - anybody working in a senior role and having employees must have excellent leadership skills (the ability to inspire, compel and create purpose, AND excellent management skills (organisation, operational fundamentals etc.) to succeed.

But what are the most critical skills & traits that the best leaders/managers must have and display in 2022?

And who on earth am I to dictate? Well, I have my opinions, and my views are forged from 10 years of being a manager and leader in tech recruitment, an incredibly intense industry,

I have generated immense success and overseen huge crashes, which, ultimately, I was accountable for.

I also have 13 years of being managed by a medley of managers and leaders, some bringing the best out of me and others bringing out the worst.

And I have nearly three years of experience interviewing the very best in People, Talent, Culture & HR, and more often than not, the topic of leadership comes up.

So that's my resume :)

So, what are the three most important traits and skills the modern manager must have?

I reveal all right after this message!

In just two days, on 19th October, we will host our first ever live?Talent & Growth ?event in London.

This is an event to make us all even better at hiring great people into our businesses.

You will come away with a TA toolkit you can start implementing immediately.

This is what we will cover:

Katrina Collier ?- How To Make The Business Partner With TA & Deliver A Better Experience For All!

Beckie Taylor ?- How To Diversify Your Hiring

Christine Ng ?- How To Build An Employer Brand To Attract Tech Talent

Rohan Kallicharan ?- How Your Existing Employees Can Help You Attract More Talent

Sign up here:?Talent & Growth Tickets, Wed 19 Oct 2022 at 18:00 | Eventbrite

The Top 3 Traits of Great Leader

1. They must be consistent. You cannot please everybody. Not everybody will always love your decisions because different decisions affect different people depending on their perspectives and place in the company. Still, they will respect you if you stick to what you do and broadly act the same with everybody. Now, the best managers/leaders also know that the caveat to this is that sometimes you need to communicate slightly differently to people depending on how you know they best respond and how they are best made to feel comfortable, so there is a thin line. But essentially, do what you say and allow everybody the same freedoms and trust. If you don't, you lose credibility and your people's trust!
2. They must make their people feel trusted. Nothing creates a culture of unrest or discontent more than one where people do not feel trusted. If you make your people feel empowered and trust them to take on the responsibility of their roles, then guess what? They will step up, be confident in their delivery and want to do their best work for you and your company. If they don't, they will be discontent and slowly grow resentment towards you. Do your people feel trusted?
3. They must display vulnerability. I used to pride myself on being somebody who showed no emotion, never let things rattle them and never brought any personal troubles to work. It came from a good place, but the effect is harmful because it filtered down into the business and means others did not feel they could be open about how they felt. By displaying vulnerability and admitting not always to be fighting fit, you create a culture of trust, empathy and compassion. Everything starts at the top, including exposure.

Those are my top three; what do you think? Have a great week, all :)