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Dec 13, 2023 · In this article, the author outlines the eight most essential leadership qualities, according to Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership.
- Self-Awareness
- Respect
- Compassion
- Vision
- Communication
- Learning Agility
- Collaboration
- Influence
- Integrity
- Courage
Self-awareness is the understanding of yourself, including personality traits, behaviors, anxieties, and emotions. While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility are paramount qualities of leadership. The better you understand yourself and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, the more effective you can be as a lead...
Respect, when demonstrated consistently, is one of the most important things a leader can do. It helps ease tensions and conflict, fosters trust, and improves your effectiveness. Creating a culture of respect is about more than just the absence of disrespect. Respectfulness can be shown in many different ways, but it often starts with showing you t...
Compassion is more than simply showing empathy or even listening and seeking to understand. Compassion requires leaders to act on what they learn. After someone shares a concern or speaks up about something, they won’t feel truly heard if their leader doesn’t then take some type of meaningful action on the information, our researchers have found. T...
Vision is your aspiration for the future. Motivating others and garnering commitment toward that vision are essential parts of leadership. Purpose-driven leaders ensure they connect their team’s daily tasks and the values of individual team members to the overall direction of the organization. This can help employees find meaning in their work — wh...
Communication shows up in many ways, from transmitting information and storytelling to soliciting input and using active listening techniques. Effective leadership and effective communication are intertwined. The best leaders are skilled communicators who can communicate in a variety of ways, both orally and in writing, and with a wide range of peo...
Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can foster and increase learning agilitythrough intentional practice and effort. After all, great leaders are really great learners.
Collaboration is a characteristic shown when leaders work effectively with a variety of colleagues of different social identities, locations, roles, and experiences. As the world has become more complex and interconnected, good leaders find themselves spanning boundariesand learning to work across various types of divides and organizational silos. ...
Influence, or being able to persuade people through thoughtful use of appropriate influencing tactics, is an important trait of inspiring, effective leaders. For some people, “influence” may sound unseemly. But as a leader, you must be able to influence others to get the work done — you cannot do it all alone. Influence is quite different from mani...
Integrity is being consistent, honest, moral, and trustworthy, and it’s an essential leadership trait for the individual and the organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are charting the organization’s course and making countless other significant decisions. Our research has found that leader integrity is a potential bli...
Courage enables both team members and leaders to take bold actions that move things in the right direction. It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key leadership trait — it takes courage to do what’...
Aug 7, 2024 · A good leader sets a practical vision and suitable, achievable targets. They know how to set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Using the SMART goal framework can establish a strong foundation for achieving success.
- Drive. Great leaders aren’t passive. They’re highly motivated, and they truly believe in the vision of the organization. This passion is contagious. Employees with a driven leader are motivated to work harder themselves.
- Resilience. Being the one in charge isn’t easy. 37% of managers report that they felt a lot of stress on their most recent workday. But when you’re a leader, you can’t let the non-stop challenges dishearten you — adaptability and resiliency are key.
- Integrity. It’s essential for leaders to act with authenticity, honesty, integrity, and reliability. Employees need to know that a leader will behave ethically.
- A desire to learn. If you’re promoted into a leadership position, you probably already know a lot. You’ve developed your skills and gained experience in your field.
- Walden University
- They communicate clearly. Managing a group, especially in the workplace, starts with good communication. Whether writing an e-mail or providing face-to-face employee feedback, good leaders say what they mean and mean what they say.
- They’re passionate about their work. Many good leaders love what they do, and they’re not afraid to show it. Of course, you can still be a good leader even if your professional and personal interests aren’t a perfect match.
- They don’t care about being popular. In fact, if your first concern is whether everyone likes you, you may be less effective. Whether it’s giving tough criticism or pointing out a practice you believe is unethical, learning how to be a good leader means getting comfortable doing or saying things that are best for your team and your organization, even if it makes you temporarily unpopular.
- They keep their minds open. Another characteristic of a good leader: Remaining receptive to new ideas. Instead of resisting change, good leaders are flexible and highly adaptable.
Sep 19, 2022 · Learn how tomorrow's leaders master three key roles — architect, bridger, and catalyst — to drive innovation and impact. See how Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga applied these roles to transform the payments industry and achieve financial inclusion.
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Discover the key traits of effective leadership, learn to develop leadership skills, differentiate between leadership and management, and build successful teams.
