A few days ago I enjoyed a fascinating conversation with a colleague in relation to Leadership, and what actually makes a great leader – how do they think & act, what qualities and attributes do they possess, and what separates a Leader from a Manager? It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect back on the last 20 years and really look closely at the people who had a level of influence over our career and our own leadership, either directly or through observation . We talked about Leaders who lead by example, leaders who were charismatic, who were able to influence people to align around a common objective and lead them forward, leaders who sought to serve others as their default, who would be the first to stand up and take responsibility when things went awry, and would be the first to give others credit for a job done well.
It also presented the opportunity to reflect on Managers who did not demonstrate some of the above qualities and attributes – Managers who would focus their attention on specific kpi’s and metrics, who would micro manage people on tasks to drive outcomes to meet the kpi’s, and certainly would not create an environment where people could come together and align around a common purpose or objective. And the results these Managers achieved through their teams were often erratic, and the culture somewhat stifled.
As the conversation continued, I started to contemplate what was the quality or attribute that made a great leader great, and then it hit me – it was consistency. Interestingly, many people will have a different opinion as to what they consider to be the most important leadership quality, and they are probably going to be right – it is their perspective. For me, it is consistency, and it was reinforced to me very strongly through working with and observing a very successful leader over the last 3 years. This leader has built an extremely successful Australian company over the last 11 years, and has had a direct positive impact on the lives of thousands of people both in Australia and around the world. She has had to work extremely hard to create the success she is now enjoying, and faced many challenges along the way, especially over the last 12 months. In fact, it was during the last 12 months where she faced her greatest challenge that her consistency stood out above anything else, and reinforced in me the extreme power of this attribute. She maintained laser focus on her vision, on serving others, being there to set the example & the pace for her team, maintaining the highest standards of excellence, taking full responsibility for the challenges in the business, and she demonstrated a level of calmness and certainty that provided her team with the confidence that this challenge would be overcome. Each time I met with her, she was always the same – friendly, welcoming, encouraging and continuing to raise the bar for herself, and through this, empowering others to raise the bar for themselves as well. It was this consistency she demonstrated all the time, irrespective of what was ‘happening’ around her, that hit me between the eyes as the most endearing, and often under rated qualities of leadership. Consistency is an attribute that I have often overlooked in my leadership career, but now I realise that it is one of, if not, the most important qualities of a great Leader, and is now on the top of my Leadership list!
What do you think? I would love your thoughts on what you consider to be the most important quality of a great Leader.
To your leadership success.
Darren