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Characteristics of Good and Great Leaders

 

 

~By Walter Muzangaza

 

So, we've had a lot of moments when we ask ourselves, "Am I a good leader? or were I were in a leadership position, how would I do? On the leadership road, we are never given a blueprint rubric that says, these are the markers of a good/great leaders.

 

Are leaders born leaders?

 

Sometimes, yes... The Art and Skills of Leadership come very naturally to some people while they do not come so readily to most others. For the rest of us we have to learn how to be a leader by first being a student, a learner and a reader of people, times and situations and the skill itself. Some people find themselves plunged in situations where out of necessity, they have to turn into and become leaders. 

 

However, even as we become leaders by choice, there is still that undeniable anxiety that comes with assuming a place where we are dealing with uncertainties and negotiating with possible realities to create the best outcomes.

 

Realizing this problem we are asking today what are the characteristics that you might be a good or even great leader? 

 

We want to know what makes a leader a good leader and what makes them a great leader?

 

In our previous article we talked about good versus bad leaders. And when we discussed good versus bad leaders, we discussed the things that would be able to classify someone as a good leader and those that would make you a bad leader. If you have not done, so please check it out here.

 

So, What are the characteristics that you might be a good leader? 

 

For us to be able to talk about what makes you a good or great leader, we need to first understand what is leadership? What is leadership in its very essence. Leadership, comprises of two things:

 

The first is the capacity to be able to understand the context of what is going on? For you to do this properly, you need to ask the right questions like the following:

• What is going on? - do you understand what's going on around you currently right now? 
• Where is it happening? - Context matters. Frame your questions in a context, this narrows and clears your capacity to focus 
• When is it happening? The flow of time and sequence of events sometimes reveals insights into trends and patterns that would not otherwise be visible when we look at events in isolation. look at the past, present and possible futures to stem from this event.
• Why is it happening? Understanding why some things happen may reveal a cause effect relationship that may not have otherwise been seen before
• How is it happening? Understanding how something happens may allow you to repeat it at will or cut off the root cause or causes that result in its manifestation.

 

Leading is about moving and changing from one reality to another, effecting change, from one where there is a problem to one where the problem has been solved. Asking the right questions gives you a clearer insight in  understanding the situation better and exploring the possibilities of what needs to happen and frame your mind along the paths you need to be thinking along.

 

Now that you have gathered useful information with the aid of assisting questions, you then have to decide what alternative reality would you want to create after which you will need to start building executional capacity that will allow you to solve the problem you see and create the alternative reality.

 

The second part gathering knowledge and other executional resources that will allow you to map and realise realise your vision.

 

1. Look at the big picture and break it into manageable pieces by setting SMART goals. Your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Bound.
2. Assign appropriate people who are experts in key areas to take responsibility of the completion of certain tasks. 
3. Determine the resources needed from start to finish.
4. Create efficient reporting relationships that give appropriate authority to the people on the ground to make necessary quick decisions in situations where time may be of essence.
5. Put in place systems that record and monitor the progress against expectations to see whether they match of if adjustments need to be made.

 

Great Leaders Now!

A great leader listens first

 

Leadership is understanding and having the perspective to understand what has happened, what is going on? But even more importantly than those two essential parts is understanding where the current reality needs to go in which direction the current reality needs to go. 

 

Beyond the title position of just a person being a leader you need to have an understanding of what people want and what do they need? You need to be listening. Who is saying what? Where, Why? What is the culture trying to avoid? What is the culture needing? Will this desired change satisfy and make happy a lot of the stakeholders? You need to be able to ask these questions as a leader? What kind of reality needs to be created?

 

 

Leadership, sometimes is a matter getting people from point A to point B. Prepare.

 

Suppose we need to walk from Johannesburg to Durban. The leader is a person who be able to say. "Let us take this road instead of this one for these reasons. On this intersection, let us take the right option instead of the left option. When we get to this / point, we need to have such amounts of money and identification etc for us to be able to pass. We need not move into the jungles because we'll be eaten by wild animals. We need to walk with our shoes on because there might be stones or snakes. Pack enough food, we will walk for 10days." 

 

It is preparation and understanding what is involved in moving from point A to point B. So the leader needs to firstly know what is happening now, what has happened in the past?, and what needs to happen in the future?

 

A great leader because they are leading other people, they need to understand themselves.

 

Who are you? Why should you be the one that guides? These people from this point of where they are to where they want to go. What are the specialized skills, knowledge, resources  do you possess that are of material importance to the achievement of the success of this vision/mission?

 

Great leaders don't just jump into situations, simply because the crowd says we want this. They don't simply agree with certain narratives because it's popular at the time. Leadership sometimes comes with the challenges of navigating moral and ethical issues that we are oftentimes uncomfortable with. They think and reflect on it on multiple levels first before action.

 

If you are able to objectively, look at and reflect on your own principles and values and know exactly what is right and what is wrong. Not only on an individual level, but also on a societal level, and being able to communicate that. Consulting on experts and with your team, thinking deeply on issues and exploring angles that other people might not have considered before and making the hard decisions.

 

Sometimes you will be praised, sometimes you will not be popular. But make no mistake if your decision was made out of a deep consideration of what is in the long term health and success of the led, they will respect you for it.That is what will make you a great leader - taking the time to invest thought, energy, emotional energy in insights and wisdom in how to best guide your people. That is what great leaders do. The foolish ones they just say, "For as long as I'm on Top." Why expend extra effort than I have to. Their legacies often do not last. 

 

"I need not be bothered by the specifics of knowing how certain things should be done. I'll just let another person do it after I am gone" - Bad Leaders Abdicate Responsibility of Their Duty, To Guide, Protect, Lead and Solve Problems.

 

But the great leaders are always on a constant hunt for learning and knowledge and improving themselves in what value they can give. The more value they're able to give to their society. The more they'll be looked on and referred to say, "please guide us to this particular reality". True Great leaders are always learning something new and improving their innate abilities. And because of that, we are able to recognize the true leaders from the imposters. Their legacies easily live on in glory for centuries.

 

 

A great leader is generally A master of a particular skill, trade or instict.

 

 

Good/Great Leaders see the World through a particular lens that is very clear for them more than other people may be able to see through it. It can be Law, Science, Commerce, Governance etc it doesn't matter. 

 

Suppose we want to solve the problem of unemployment. For us to be able to solve the problem of unemployment. We need to create jobs. How do we create jobs? For us to be able to create jobs, we have to create businesses, because businesses create jobs. 

 

But how do we create businesses? We find people that studied how to create businesses, or turnkey consultancies like Thought Masters that can create those businesses. You empower them, you give them resources and you give them the reach and an enabling environment. Through that environment, They'll be able to create the the businesses and the businesses will be able to create jobs and ultimately solve the problem of unemployment by creating more jobs. In this case, clear thinking is your skill

 

Great leaders are humble not arrogant, They listen first before they speak.

 

They're not going to insist on a particular viewpoint because it is the one that they know. They are going to be open to other people's perspectives before they are able to offer their own. They hear what other people have to say. They evaluate the validity of other people's viewpoints. And when they have listened to as much as they need to in a particular time, they're not afraid to close the door and say opinions over insights over. Now. It's time to take a decision if we make a right one, great!, If we don't, we will need to be able to consult some more so that we can be able to take better actions going forward.

 

This is what it means to be a good leader. This is what it means to be a great leader! Leaders are always listening. They're always learning about themselves about the world around them about the mission about the lessons that each mission brings, and through this learning and continual Insight generation through questions and openness to improve. They are able to become of more value to the people that depend on them. What other qualities of Good/great leaders did we miss. Share in the comments.