10 Traits of a Great Leader
Have you ever been asked if you’re a leader or a follower? I certainly have, but I’ve realized that the premise of this question is off. It assumes that you’re somehow automatically one or the other — born a leader or a follower and destined to stay that way.
The truth is, leadership is not an innate ability or trait. Yes, some natural tendencies skew toward leadership, and some personalities find leadership easier, more exciting, or more comfortable than others.
Great leadership can be learned, just like any other skill. This is fantastic news, especially if you’ve ever found yourself out of your element when it comes to leading a team. Maybe you were suddenly promoted, or maybe you started your own company without any formal managing experience.
No matter how you got there, you can be a leader that inspires trust, makes progress, and creates a culture of fulfillment — if you’re willing to develop your skills.
What are the 10 traits of a great leader?
1. They Have Integrity
Integrity means consistently acting according to your ethics. Leaders with integrity are trustworthy to stakeholders, clients, and employees. Their judgment is dependable and sound.
Leaders who lack integrity make inconsistent decisions and may behave dishonestly. Not only does this destroy trust, but it compromises the company’s mission and values.
When it comes to leaders without integrity…
Stakeholders don’t trust their judgment and wonder if new leadership is required.
Clients grow frustrated with broken promises and take their business elsewhere.
Employees realize honesty isn’t valued and either look for new work or adopt a dishonest mentality.
Integrity creates unwavering leaders who never take the easy way out, harm the company’s mission, or use dishonesty to get ahead. Their decisions can be counted on and their words trusted.
2. They Are Inquisitive
Great leaders are continually curious. They understand that they don’t know everything, and they must commit themselves to always learning and growing. This is especially important in today’s world, with technology pushing innovation faster and faster each year. If you stop learning, you’ll soon fall behind.
Becoming a leader — getting hired, getting promoted, or starting a business — is only the beginning. It’s not just a milestone, but a stepping stone. The next step is growth: asking questions, expanding your knowledge, and learning something new each day.
The best leaders consider themselves lifelong students as well as teachers.
3. They Know How to Delegate
Great leaders are self-aware, realizing their strengths and weaknesses. They also recognize their team’s strengths and understand how to harness them through delegation.
We’ve all had managers who didn’t know how to delegate, keeping tight control over every decision. This usually leads to a burnt-out leader — and disengaged employees. On the other hand, effective delegation is more complex than simply handing off tasks to any team member.
The best kind of delegation is strategic, offering targeted opportunities for your team to grow. It facilitates collaboration and teaches great decision-making skills. Plus, delegation shows your employees that you trust them and are invested in their potential.
4. They Are Great Communicators
Communication is a key component of quality leadership. Leaders must learn how to communicate the organization’s vision, as well as the strategies that must be implemented in pursuit of progress. Their ideas must be clear, compelling, and empowering.
Leaders have to communicate across all platforms and roles. From written to oral, from client to employee to stakeholder, and from congratulatory announcements to difficult 1-on-1s. Plus, they have to understand how to communicate with people from all backgrounds and perspectives.
At the end of the day, communication is what makes companies work. Without clear communication, progress is impossible.
5. They Are Passionate About the Work
Passion is infectious and motivating. Leaders with obvious passion for the company’s mission and goals inspire their teams to feel the same. Passion, one of the main drivers of fulfillment, making each day feel exciting and worthwhile.
Employees are their most driven, most creative, and most innovative selves when they have passion. But have you ever worked for a boss that lacks passion? One that’s just there for the paycheck? Nothing is more demotivating.
Passion starts at the top. Leaders, trust me when I say you want a team of passionate workers. But that passion begins with you.
6. They Empower Their Teams
Leaders shouldn’t be dictators, simply giving orders and expecting their employees to follow every command to the T. Instead, effective leaders empower each team member to use their strengths and improve their weaknesses.
Great leaders see their team’s best qualities and skills, then demonstrate trust. The result? Confident decision-makers and progress-pushers. An autonomous team that is committed to the company’s mission and knows how to bring it to life.
When you trust your team and empower their best work, motivation and growth abound.
7. They Are Great Decision Makers
Being a leader is not easy. The pressure is on, especially when it comes to tough decisions. But great leaders must be great decision-makers.
They must have the problem-solving skills to determine the best course of action — and the self-confidence to make the call and face the outcome. And today, good decision-making requires agility: the ability to assess and react quickly, even in unfamiliar circumstances.
True, there is a time and place for collaboration, but leaders can’t always rely on team input to make the final decision. Sometimes more voices just complicate the process. Ultimately, the decisions are in the leader’s hands.
8. They Are Committed to Developing Their Teams
The best leaders are coaches. They don’t tell you what to do, but recognize your strengths and develop them through training, feedback, and motivation. They give you a framework for success, harnessing the potential that already exists inside you.
Great leaders are fully committed to developing successful employees. They understand that progress is a team effort, and that fulfilled workers who make progress don’t just appear out of thin air. In fact, being a leader means seeing each team member as an investment. Every hour spent on 1-on-1s, or offering feedback, or giving guidance is a contribution to the future.
9. They Encourage Innovation
Innovation is how we achieve progress. Innovative ideas and actions brought us the light bulb. The car. The internet. Without innovation, we’d never get to experience new products, services, or methods.
But innovation is scary. It requires thinking outside our comfort zones. Every innovation was a risk, and every innovator has experienced countless failures on their road to breakthrough.
Great leaders understand this risk — and encourage it. They strive to build a team of out-of-the-box thinkers and creative problem-solvers. To be an effective leader, you must make room for failure and treat each misstep as a learning experience. You must encourage innovation.
10. They Are Resilient
Resiliency is the ability to overcome obstacles — a key trait for great leaders. Running a team or an entire company comes with many challenges and significant pressure, but a resilient leader knows how to work through each difficulty with grace.
Non-resilient leaders become overwhelmed by hardship. They may lash out at others, cave under pressure, or make decisions that harm the company’s mission.
True resilience requires understanding yourself, including your strengths, limits, and values. It also requires understanding what you can and cannot control.
The Capacity for Great Leadership is Already Inside You
You already have what it takes, no matter your background, personality, or experience. The traits of great leadership can be practiced and honed. In fact, the best leaders are often the people who never considered themselves leaders to begin with — perhaps because they are willing to put in the work and develop their leadership skills.
Are you a new leader, or looking to level-up your leadership capabilities? Start with the top 10 traits and you’ll be well on your way.