What makes an effective leader? This question has been the focus of much research. A study of 195 leaders in 15 countries over 30 global organizations were asked to choose the 15 most important leadership competencies from a list of 74. The top ones were grouped into five major themes that suggest a set of priorities for leaders and leadership development programs. The top two are:
Demonstrates strong ethics and provides a sense of safety
This theme combines two of the most highly rated attributes: “high ethical and moral standards” and “communicating clear expectations”. Taken together, these attributes are all about creating a safe and trusting environment. A leader with high ethical standards conveys a commitment to fairness, instilling confidence that both they and their employees will honor the rules of the game. Similarly, when leaders clearly communicate their expectations, they avoid blindsiding people and ensure that everyone is on the same page. In a safe environment employees can relax, invoking the brain’s higher capacity for social engagement, innovation, creativity, and ambition.
This competency is all about behaving in a way that is consistent with your values. If you find yourself making decisions that feel at odds with your principles or justifying actions in spite of a nagging sense of discomfort, you probably need to reconnect with your core values. An exercise is to ask people to envision their funeral and what people say about them in a eulogy. Is that what you want to hear? This exercise will give a clearer sense of what is important to you which will help guide daily decision making.
To increase feelings of safety, work on communicating with the specific intent of making people feel safe. One way to accomplish this is to acknowledge and neutralize feared results or consequences from the outset. This is “clearing the air.” You might approach a conversation about a project gone wrong by saying “I’m not trying to blame anyone, I just want to understand what happened.”
Empowers others to self-organize
Providing clear direction while allowing employees to organize their own time and work was identified as the next most important leadership competency.
No leader can do everything them self. Therefore, it’s critical to distribute power throughout the organization and to rely on decision making from those who are closest to action.
Empowered teams are more productive and proactive, provide better customer service and show higher levels of job satisfaction and commitment to their team and organization. Yet leaders struggle to let people self-organize. They resist because they are reluctant to allow others to make mistakes, and they fear facing negative consequences from subordinates’ decisions.
To overcome the feat of relinquishing power, start by increasing awareness of physical tension that arises when you feel your position is being challenged. Perceived threats activate a fight, flight or freeze response in the brain. The good news is that we can share the outcome we fear most with others instead of trying to hold on to control, and remember that giving power up is a great way to increase influence – which builds power over time.
There are three additional leadership traits:
- Fosters a sense of connection and belonging
- Shows openness to new ideas and fosters organizational learning
- Nurtures growth
If you’d like to learn more about these leadership traits and how to become the best leader you can be, call for an appointment at 931-456-4910 and we can talk in more detail.
