What Makes a Great Leader?
Batur Volcano, Bali, Indonesia
What makes a great leader? Why can great leadership prove to be so elusive? Are great leaders born or can a great leader be trained into his or her position? There are as many opinions out there on the topic of leadership as there are individuals vying for leadership positions in various fields in every city across every country on this planet. A phrase popularised in the Spider Man Comicbook series, “With great power comes great responsibility”, otherwise known as the Peter Parker principle sums it up perfectly. A leader has the power to help create or help destroy. On a global scale in recent history we have unfortunately witnessed quite a bit of the latter.
In his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Psychologist Daniel Goleman found that truly effective leaders are distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence. Without emotional intelligence an individual can possess “first class training”, great ideas, an incisive mind but they will not make a great leader. Emotional intelligence may be the deciding factor between decent and great leadership. The chief components of emotional intelligence according to Goleman’s research are self-awareness, self-management, motivation and empathy.
Self-Awareness. Knowing thyself intimately on an emotional level. A leader who is effective is aware of their unique strengths and weaknesses. They are aware of when to push and when to rest. The knowledge of capabilities and limitations allows a leader to reach goals without burning themselves out.
Self-Management. The capability to self-direct in an effective manner, achieve goals, organize tasks and avoid procrastination. The capacity to get projects off the ground and produce energy to keep them running while maintaining a relaxed state. The capacity to make quick decisions as well as having the endurance and reasoning skills to consider their long term effects.
Motivation. Having strong values to use as fuel and demonstrating strong problemsolving skills. Great leaders inspire people to achieve common goals without having to force direction. This is achieved by maintaining a focus on the wellbeing of all members of the team.
Empathy. Having the ability to relate to the experiences and thoughts of others on an emotional level. Empathy is a non negotiable asset for leadership, as a good leader must look out for his or her team’s best interests at all times while leading to accomplish a common goal.
And a necessary bonus …
Social Skills. The capacity to interact with and understand social networks and key influencers within a particular social network is integral in good leadership. Great leaders possess an innate ability to put personal agendas aside and concentrate all efforts on furthering the goals of the team they are leading.
I have previously worked in many industries and experienced great leadership firsthand. A great leader gets things done, while simultaneously inspiring their team to give their best. Great leaders are remembered. Several months ago a good friend of mine invited me out for dinner at a new high end vegan restaurant he helped open on the territory of one of the biggest beach clubs on the island. He had acted as the general manager of said beach club until his resignation at the end of the previous year. As we walked onto the premises of the beach club staff started appearing left and right with giant smiles on their faces, coming up to shake my friend’s hand, some on the verge of happy tears. Throughout the following three hours I bore witness to the legacy of great leadership. I had never seen a man so beloved by the members of his staff as I did my friend that evening. As I sat in awe of witnessing such a display of respect and affection I took mental notes. What is it about my friend’s leadership skills that inspired such admiration in all these people? I personally know my friend to be highly intelligent, both in business and emotionally, respectful and strong. I have never seen him perform on the field, but I imagined that these are the exact qualities he brought to his position as a manager. This is the kind of leader one must aspire to be.
On the other side of the coin we all know what terrible leadership looks like: an individual or a group of individuals abusing their position to benefit their own interest while failing miserably at achieving team goals or inspiring anyone to do anything of value. In an organisation with poor leadership you will often see high levels of chaos on both a personal and collective level, hear a lot of gossip - a passive aggressive and insiduous sign of disingagement and discord. The morale of the team will be down because the needs of the team will not have been met.
A great leader fuels the team, a bad leader drains it of resources emotional, mental and physical.
I believe that some people are innately better equipped to lead than others, but that is not to say that good leadership cannot be learned. When I was in my first year of University at Queens I took a Business Management course which completely changed my outlook on leadership. There is so much to consider when leading a team and so many little and big tactics you can employ to create an optimally functioning, healthy, driven community of individuals working towards a common purpose. It is possible to be a leader who inspires, who is well respected and looked up to, but it takes work and dedication on the part of the leader to ensure that the needs of his or her team are consistently considered and met. A great leader must have vision and the capability to stand anchored firm in integrity to be able to wield his or her power effectively.