Leadership Attributes – Which Would You Choose?

Leadership Attributes – Which Would You Choose?

 
Which leadership attributes would you choose if you had to imbibe and develop one every month? Wouldn’t this task be difficult considering that there exists a vast array of leadership attributes and they all seem important? How do you decide which leadership qualities will shine through your work and bear fruits? 
 
These questions have baffled many a senior management who want to introduce leadership development programs, but don’t know what sort of leadership behavior should be encouraged. Should organizations stress on effective communication, consistency, power of character, or role modeling?
 
A ‘McKinsey Quarterly Report of 2015’ survey of 189,000 people across 81 organizations globally identified four leadership traits typically displayed by leaders at companies ranked in the top quartile of McKinsey’s Organizational Health Index. These four leadership behaviors accounted for 89% of leadership effectiveness. 
 
So which are these leadership traits?
 
Effective decision-making: Leadership isn’t just about making decisions. It’s about making decisions rationally and calmly, without freaking out. It’s also about making intelligent decisions after analyzing the pros and cons. Leaders need to be especially vary of taking short-term beneficial decisions that turn out to be costly in the long-run. 
 
Seeking different perspective or shunning the ‘know it all’ attitude: Successful leaders focus not only on external market developments, but also on suggestions and ideas of their workforce. Considering multiple points of views helps to reduce biases in decision-making. 
 
Result-oriented: No results = no leadership. It’s just that simple. Real leaders perform and get the job done.
 
Supporting Others: Leadership isn’t about achieving results by abusing power or mistreating/manipulating people. It’s about showing empathy and genuine care to those you lead, and is about enabling, empowering and supporting them to perform. Real leadership inspires trust and helps people get out of their comfort zones.
 
There is no one style that fits all in leadership. We, at MYB, believe that besides the above leadership traits, you should also focus on skills that best suit your organization’s needs. Perhaps, employees and management can also contribute towards this for a broader perspective. Leadership is many things, but you need to decide: how do you want to lead?
 
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