What Makes a Good Leader?

August 5, 2008 · Filed Under Management Skills 

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What makes a good leader is often the first question asked on any management or leadership development programme. The real truth is nobody really  knows.
It’s all a matter of perception and what people  think you are capable of.  The current US elections are a great example of the power of  perception and how we can really impact what people think of us.

Apologies if I offend any of our American readers though I am sure I won’t.

Many researchers find it a challenge to come up with consistent traits of what a great leader “should” be like. This is a great shame because  if they did it would be so easy to copy and save ourselves endless days of courses and time reading books that don’t make sense.

Though researchers may not have the answers Joe public often does. Including probably yourself and people in your organisation.

General traits are identified such as:

Vision

Confidence

Good communication skills (umh and interesting one!)

Courage

Decision makers (with the help of a few hundred aides)

Truthful and honest (lets side step that one)

The televised debates in the US are a great show ground to put out the best persona possible. This is where many decisions are made by the US  Public. The message being even if your skills and talents may be a little underdeveloped at least you can look the part.

Act as if is a great  and underused strategy. More of that in another post.

So as a sales manager new to your post what is your equivalent to a US debate.

Like the future US president you are always on display. So any interaction with your team. Including team and  Company meetings along with of course one on one. Never miss an opportunity to demonstrate who you are and what you stand for.

The good news is that your values shine through you no matter what you do e.g. Honesty, integrity and consideration.

The even better news is  that lot of the skills can be developed as well. Great communication skills, confidence, courage, and decision making are just a few that with 
A desire to learn, some practise and application you will be able to excel at. This will shoot you up the ranks as someone your team perceive 
That they can respect. Because guess what most sales managers don’t bother developing themselves at this level. Through no fault of their own  they don’t realise how powerful some of these skills really are.

So what can you do now? Well make a list of your favourite top 5 leaders of all time (either in or out of your organisation)

Then write down what it is about them that inspires you. Then ask yourself:

So which of these do I have?

What would I really love to acquire?

Which are the skills I am already pretty good at and can develop even more ( Top tip great to start with these ones)

Comment on the blog and let us know the areas you want to work on for yourself and we will post some top tips to help?

To you and your teams success

Sharon

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