What makes a Great Leader? … an interview with Jonathan

This post about great Leadership, is a recent interview in response to many of your questions…it’s great to get these - please keep them coming!

1.      Jonathan, your speciality is in Leadership?

Right …helping successful people get even better and achieve long term change in behaviour – that can be around themselves, their team or individuals in a team.

2.      Your work has inspired many great global leaders, including Royalty, and yet unlike many of them to an extent your name remains in the shadows. Without naming people, thinking about some of the great leaders you have worked with, what does it take to be a great leader?

Leadership is about making things happen for the greater good. A strong leader is someone others want to follow, to take charge and provide the vision, direct the course of future events and inspire them to success… then follow this through to activation.

A leader represents, shares and influences the group ideology. They are effectively the driver on the journey to success.

A great leader inspires hope and demonstrates humility, self-awareness and sense of purpose. They listen to and understand everyone in their team, with a focus on how they make their people feel while guiding them towards realisation of the organisations vision. They can relate to every colleague at every level and empower them to be the best they can be, recognising and valuing the contributions and efforts of everyone. Building this close collaborative community, where they role-model winning behaviours and best practice, they encourage everyone to strive to achieve the vision.  

3.      Would you say leaders are born or made?

Anyone who chooses to commit to it can be a leader. Leadership is a winning combination of personal traits and the ability to think and act as a leader.

While there are people who seem to naturally possess more Leadership abilities than others, people can learn to become leaders by improving particular skills and behaviours. There are certain qualities that make it easier to become a good leader, and may naturally lead people into Leadership roles, such as being assertive, emphatic and having strong social intelligence that allows a person to accurately understand social situations and tune in to what makes other people tick.

Self-leadership is important for everyone. It’s vital to understand current strengths and gaps, be clear what type of leader you want to become and the desired outcomes and benefits for you personally, your teams and the organisation, then galvanise your plan of action and involve others in your journey.

Different Leadership roles require different traits and skills so there isn’t one size fits all. The combination of natural Leadership skills and nurture through Leadership development defines your Leadership style and impact.

History is full of people who, while having no previous Leadership experience, have stepped to the fore in crisis situations and persuaded others to follow their suggested course of action.

4.      So, you say anyone that decides to can become a great leader, what do they need to do?

Great leaders are top performers with meaningful experience and a deep understanding of their business nad their people.

Great leaders develop themselves first, equipping themselves with the appropriate skills, before enabling their people to ensure their followers have the required skills and mind-set for success to achieve their goals. It starts with having a clear reason why, seeking feedback from relevant others to identify areas to strengthen and develop, modelling excellence– this can be others in your company or external ‘heroes’, and extracting elements that help you shape your unique leadership style.

A great leader will listen first and seek different perspectives…

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”    S Covey

·        They understand each person at a forensic level and what matters to them so they can tune into their motivation strategy, support and develop their people and help them overcome challenges. This builds trust and commitment, as well as inspiring them. The difference a great leader brings is people ‘choose’ to go there.

·        Great leaders prioritise– they focus on the highest value work and efficiency. They can see different perspectives and swap lenses to apply the best strategy. They sense and seize opprtunities

·        Great leaders are innovative – They spot opportunities and new ways of doing things.

As Steve Jobs says “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower

They are agile and practice intellectual curiosity – they understand the present and navigate the organisation's future, challenging themselves to creatively move the people and the organisation closer to its vision.

A great leader can develop an idea, share the vision, effectively plan for its implementation and execute it with excellence consistently, inspiring others to grow.

They create an inspiring vision of the future, inspire people to engage with that vision, manage delivery of the vision and steer the course along the journey to success, motivating through performance and purpose… not process, compliance and control.

A great leader clarifies the questions of the people… Where are we going?" "How are we going to get there?" "What is my role? What is in it for me/us?

5.      Would you say Leadership is an art or a science?

It’s a combination of both. A leader makes things happen. It’s the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. Effective Leadership is based upon ideas but won't happen unless those ideas can be communicated to others in a compelling way that engages them enough to act as the leader wants them to act.

The leader is the catalyst and director of the action. They are the person in the group that has the combination of personality and Leadership skills that makes others want to follow their direction and play their part. To understand, motivate and empower others calls upon the skills of psychology and behavioural science.

6.      Jonathan, you work with leaders from all walks of life, in retail and manufacturing, with all levels from CEO & the board to the frontline…would you say the principles of Leadership are the same across the board.

The fundamental skills of Leadership are the same across sectors and roles, that said adaptations are obviously required appropriate to the specific situation. A brilliant leader in one situation does not necessarily perform as well in another and they may need to adapt, sense, decode and flex and develop different skills as a company changes over time.

The key areas of focus are people, capabilities & behaviours and customers – when these are optimised organisational performance follows. Company culture also has a strong influence on how Leadership is received. In high performance cultures, where everyone is united and committed to a common purpose high performance Leadership follows.

Flexibility and resilience are important, particularly in our fast-paced society or when leaders move roles or company 

7.      What skills can a leader develop to improve their Leadership ability?

Leadership involves communicating, inspiring, coaching and supervising, so there are a wide number of skill areas that can be developed and this will vary by individual and company, depending where they currently are on their journey. Leadership is a journey, not a destination - strong performance over time requires that Leaders constantly develop their capability and don’t become complacent.

Learning and work are integrated throughout their lifetime. Great Leaders strive for continuous improvement, building on strengths and closing gaps in the rapidly and constantly changing market.

8.      How can Leaders develop the required skills?

Leadership style is learned on-the- job, from mentors/peers, in seminars - it’s part of a person's innate personal Leadership skill set developed over years, building on natural personality traits.

Specific skills can be developed through workshops or 1 to 1 coaching or listening to good material on u-tube and Ted talks, followed by an activation plan to ensure new ways of working and more effective habits are transferred into the workplace. This is the biggest challenge of all, as under pressure people can revert to old habits because it’s easier.You learn from the challenges you tackle.Applying learnings and becoming stronger takes discipline and self-leadership. It’s different for everyone…it’s about taking what you have and building on it and becoming stronger in the areas appropriate for your priorities.

9.      65% of companies say Leadership development and succession management are a priority. Why do Leadership development programmes fail?

Too many development programmes are one size fits all and don’t take into account Leadership style, strategy, organisational culture or CEO mandate. It’s important to be clear on exactly what you want an initiative to achieve and Leadership capabilities essential for success in that particular business, for example stronger coaching skills, high quality decision making, talent development. Also, it is crucial to listen to colleagues and customers for evidence to build insight, recognise what you are doing well, gaps to close and areas to build on.

To become a more effective leader often requires changes in behaviour and moving out of the comfort zone. One of the critical things that underpins success is mind-set – if leaders buy into the approach and own it then they get into the driving seat and make it successful. They have to make it happen by living it and exuding the leadership characteristics that others choose to follow.

Another crucial factor is transferring learning experiences into new habits, behaviours and ways of working on the front line and integrating Leadership development into real work.

10.  What are the key Leadership success secrets that set the great leaders apart?

Strong performance over time requires that companies, and their leaders, both create and respond to change – this necessitates innovation, focus on priorities, involvement of the people and making things happen.

Based on personal experience, I will define the characteristics of Leadership that distinguishes the great leaders. …it involves a series of interlinked aspects of Leadership.

• Decide to be the person others choose to follow. Believe in yourself and develop the skills that will deserve the respect from others.
• Do the right thing for the greater good …behave ethically and true to values (own & company)       
• Appreciate others, recognise their wins and make them feel important
• Set the pace and standards through expectations and lead by example – role-model success.
• Establish an environment of continuous improvement...and lead by example
• Provide opportunities for people to grow, both personally and professionally.
• Recognise and value the strengths and differences of individuals– display empathy and compassion
• Commit to make a difference every day
• Provide and share inspirational vision for the future
• Celebrate wins along the journey to reinforce desired behaviours and fuel motivation  

I’m always impressed with the leaders who can blend all of these things seamlessly and make going to work a pleasure for everyone every day…engaged cultures where people are well led and thrive not survive!

The best way to predict the future is to create it,” Peter Drucker.

Great leaders prepare …Success is a Choice. They ask great questions of themselves and their teams "Do you deserve to win?" and "Have you done the work?" “Do you have the skills required?”

11.      How can business leaders navigate the future in a constantly changing world?

The best leaders are the best learners.

Leadership is defined through action.

It takes a conscious commitment and consistent effort to develop Leadership skills and stay relevant in today’s dynamic market. Great leaders combat complexity and change with learning. The key to success is overcoming challenges and capitalising on the strengths yourself and your people can bring to create new value.

In a nutshell it’s about courage, conviction and commitment.

To achieve the extraordinary they combine commercial savvy with humanism and take the team with them. They develop themselves and their people to reach their full potential and create long term succession. Great leaders create great organisations with high performance culture where people feel valued inspired to learn and grow. 

I’d like to thank everyone in the group who fed in questions and insights …it’s fantastic to share these and become stronger together.

Be great to hear more of your thoughts on great leadership and demonstrated examples of this.

Please join the discussion by leaving a comment below.

Jonathan

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Jonathan Streeton is the CEO of KGS Partners in the UK. Ex-P&G Sales and Marketing, and Sainsbury’s,he’s a leadership expert and management coach. Jonathan works all over the world delivering transformational change and building high performing collaborative teams.

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