7 Qualities That Predict Leadership Success

Last week, I participated on a T&D Magazine webcast with Bill Byham, the CEO of Development Dimensions International,  a leading human resources consulting firm.  It got me thinking about a great DDI white paper I saw recently written a white paper on the qualities that predict leadership success.  According to DDI, effective leaders:

• Are masters at managing through ambiguity: The modern workplace is fraught with chaos. These leaders possess the ability to stay calm amid turmoil and to be convincingly reassuring. They keep their people focused with clear direction and goals, and view change through the lens of opportunity.

• Inspire confidence and believe in the future: Leaders who make it a priority to understand and address employee needs, who can differentiate those things that are important from those that are not, and who can communicate a long-term vision that attains the buy-in of employees and customers alike, are the ones who find their organizations rewarded with long-term customer relationships and loyal, engaged employees.

• Have a passion for results: These leaders place emphasis on those activities, initiatives, programs, and processes that produce the best ROI. They are able to stay the course, overcoming any obstacle thrown in their way, because they believe their focus will truly bring about the outcomes they are seeking.

• Are marked by unwavering integrity: Good leaders must earn trust every day. Their values must be visible through their actions, and they must be both able and willing to be held up as an example to others. Bad news, such as the need for layoffs or budget cuts, or the failure of the organization to meet financial targets, must not be hidden or sugarcoated.

• Set others up for success: Leaders who are true talent advocates understand that feeling successful is a prerequisite for ongoing engagement and that successful people are more, not less likely to stay. But they also understand that success is about more than praise. It’s about developing people, giving them room to grow (even if it means giving them the opportunity to fail), and coaching them to be their best, so the organization can be its best.

• Have strong, rather than big, egos: Leaders with big egos, so good at tearing others down, often are terribly insecure themselves. They lack the self-confidence that leadership demands.  On the other hand, those with strong egos have a positive self-image but at the same time are able to acknowledge and value the thoughts and contributions of others—including those at lower levels of the organization.

• Have the courage to make decisions: When faced with making tough choices, the best leaders do not shy away from taking prompt action. They know that indecisiveness can lead to the paralysis, and that popular decisions are not always the best decisions. And they understand that too many compromise decisions, while usually less painful to reach, breed mediocrity and lead to results that, in the end, please nobody.

Comments

[Erika]

I think leaders truly do have a fine line to tread in that they have to embody so many seemingly contradictory qualities. They have to lead with authority yet be open to ideas, they have to have confidence but not ego, they need to be committed to results but not willing to smush co-workers to get them.

I think this might be why there are so precious few genuinely excellent leaders.

[Alexandra Levit]

Hi Erika, I agree. I think I embody some of the qualities, but not enough to successfully run a multi-million dollar organization, that's for sure!