Being a good leader

What does it take to become a good leader?

We’ve all experienced good and perhaps not so good leadership in our lives and careers. Most of us are quick to call out the behaviours of leaders we don’t rate, but what are the distinctive qualities and attributes of a successful leader?

Think of a leader you respect and admire. Perhaps someone from the world of business, sport or politics comes to mind. What is it about that leader that makes them so memorable?

Maybe you instantly think of their strong decision-making, ease of communication and empathy towards others. Or do you think of their impact and legacy? In truth, good leadership is a mixture of all these things and more.

The Rise and Fall of leadership

In the Channel 4 reality show, Rise and Fall, viewers were introduced to 16 people on a mission to win £100k. To play the game and achieve their prize, the group had to allocate the roles of Rulers and Grafters. The Rulers became the group’s leaders and lived in a luxury penthouse. The Grafters (their teams) had to live in a dingy basement.

To live in the penthouse the Rulers had to consistently demonstrate a range of leadership skills: recruiting and motivating a team, setting objectives, making tough decisions, and ultimately, dismissing team members. The premise of the show is built on trust. Without trust leaders cannot lead because people will not follow them. Creating a culture of trust is a key component of being a good leader.

3 Pillars of Creating Trust as a Leader

Consider these three pillars to help you build trust as a leader: -

1. Transparency

How much do you share with your team? A lack of trust is often the result of information not being shared with a team. If information isn’t being shared it can leave people feeling uncertain, doubtful or even sceptical. Try being more open and share more information, whether it’s financial results, business performance or salary bands.  Trust develops when teams feel they are aware of the full picture and therefore more valued.

1. Consistency

Most people enjoy certainty and stability. As a leader, it’s important to provide this to your team. One of the ways you can do this is to show consistency, e.g. putting regular (immovable) team meetings in the diary. A consistent approach will bring certainty and stability, helping you build trust with your team.

1. Vulnerability

Sometimes you might feel as though you have to be perfect or always have the answers, however that’s not actually the case. Vulnerability is easy to relate to because we’ve all been there. If you make a mistake or you’re struggling with a dilemma, don’t be afraid to share and show you are human. It will help build rapport and show your team they can trust you.

The characteristics of a good leader

While trust is arguably the foundation of good leadership, it’s not the only characteristic of a strong leader. Let’s take a look at four other common traits and see how many you can identify in the leader you were thinking about earlier.

Strategic thinking

A good leader has the ability to interpret complex, high level information, to determine priorities, and develop plans and strategies to achieve them. Being a strategic thinker means you’re aware of the bigger picture and the role your team must play to achieve it. Where some people run away from challenges, strong leaders are good at analysing problems, focusing on how to resolve them and coming up with creative solutions. Where choices need to be made, a strategic thinker acts swiftly and decisively.

Effective communication

Good leaders are skilled communicators. They have an innate ability to communicate goals, expectations, and feedback clearly and concisely to their team. The strategy we talked about earlier? They can also simplify and break it down into bite-sized chunks, so their team can easily understand it. Listening to others is another of their valuable communication skills. They’re always open to feedback and listening to team members’ concerns and challenges, able to respond appropriately.

Emotional intelligence

Good leaders understand their own emotions. What’s more, they know how to manage them, as well as those of their team members. Self-awareness and being able to handle your emotions, particularly when you might disagree with what’s being communicated, is a specific leadership trait. Strong emotional intelligence helps leaders to build strong working relationships and foster a positive, motivational work environment.

Delivering results

Good leaders are results driven with a laser focus on achieving the goals and targets set. Delivering results complements their strategic focus as they have the ability to identify and implement strategies that drive performance and success. When things don’t go to plan and problems arise, a good leader acts decisively. They are courageous, unafraid to change their plans and follow a different path if things aren’t working out.

Leadership training for high performing managers

It is vital that organisations support current and future managers with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively lead teams if you expect them to deliver results.

Our learning and development team has designed two brand new training programmes to develop strong leadership skills and behaviours. It’s called High Performing Manager.

The CPD certified training covers a comprehensive syllabus, including all the key areas we’ve touched on in this article. At the end of the training, managers will:

• Have the tools and confidence to lead successful teams

• Understand how to create a positive, supportive work environment

• Be in a position to make a positive impact on their team and organisation

• Be better equipped to deliver results in line with expectations.

The training is suitable for managers and leaders at all levels, including:

• Those currently in management roles or aspiring to become a manager.

• Employees with a desire to develop their skills and knowledge in areas such as management, communication, strategy, and performance management.

• Leaders looking to gain confidence in their unique abilities as a manager.

• Employees interested in pursuing a career in management or wanting to increase their career prospects by developing their leadership and management skills.

• People who want to make a positive impact on their team and organization.

The flexible, accessible training can be accessed online or in person, with dates available across the year. Our first Level 1 Accelerator day kicks off on Tuesday 23 May 2023. We’ll be running monthly Accelerator workshops, so if you can’t make this one please ask us about future dates. Chloë Bisson is your contact for course bookings and further information: chloe@p3pm.co.uk

Further reading

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy reading Influencing and Motivating Teams or our eBook - The Importance of Learning and Development, which examines the benefits of a learning and development strategy in more detail.