If you have chosen the career path of the manager the only way to truly stand out is to become an extraordinary leader. Here are 10 traits that you will need to embrace to move from mediocrity to mastery.
1. Great leaders are committed to becoming better leaders.
Leaders are committed to their personal growth and expect their teams to follow suit. They are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. They work on improving themselves both emotionally and mentally. They are proactive, not reactive. They work on expanding their circle of influence and building their confidence by stepping up, taking ownership and delivering results.
2. Great leaders have a transparent agenda.
Leaders know where they are going. They have a clear vision for what they want and what they (and their team) needs to do to achieve it. They focus on creating a transparent agenda that has it’s foundation on integrity and is aligned with ‘doing the right thing’. They do this by creating measurable and time-bounded goals for each of their 3 to 5 key areas of responsibility and they stay away from hidden agendas, office politics and/or building silos.
3. Great leaders are outstanding communicators.
Leaders know that the path to success lies with their ability to express and influence their agenda. They focus on sending a clear and consistent message to everyone. They believe that there is no such thing as over communication and they know that you have to say things 7 times for people to say there heard it once. They are always looking for ways to enhance their verbal, written and presentation skills.
4. Great leaders know their people.
Leaders know that the best way to get the most out of their team is to inspire greatness, not fear. They know that they must learn the strengths, weakness, goals and desires of everyone on their team. They discover what motivates their people and places them in roles that brings out their unique genius. They know that the most important meeting in their calendar that they MUST attend is the weekly one-on-one with each of their direct reports.
5. Great leaders are obsessed with performance.
Leaders focus on results. They deliver when the say they will deliver – no excuses. They set high standards for themselves and expect their team to follow suit. They implement key measures to monitor results. They look for ways to improve the processes that are required to get the work done and remove roadblocks so the team can deliver more effectively.
6. Great leaders grow and develop their team.
Leaders expect each member of their team to become masters of their particular craft. They equally provide positive feedback along with suggestions for improvement on a daily basis. They insist that each member of their team has a learning plan, helps each member of the team get better through coaching and gives them opportunities to grow through delegation.
7. Great leaders anticipate.
Leaders are proactive not reactive. They spend at least 1 hour per day planning. They take the time to step back and observe the bigger picture. They become experts at anticipating the behaviors of everyone around them. Once they identify a potential problem, they take immediate action and do whatever they can to influence a favourable outcome.
8. Great leaders lead by example.
Leaders are passionate about the work that they do and they expect everyone on their team to enjoy it as well. Everything they ask of others they must be willing to do themselves. They pitch in when they need to, not to do the work, but to give the team an example to follow. Once done they step back and coach the team on what needs to be done differently moving forward.
9. Great leaders hire exceptional talent.
Leaders know that they are only as good as their team. They are constantly on the look out for people that are also on the path to mastery. They are not afraid of hiring people that are different or smarter than they are. They know that the best way to achieve the goals of the company is to bring together a diverse and talented team.
10. Great leaders lead without title.
Leaders know they must go beyond the traditional positional power that is granted by a title or their role in a formal organizational structure. They know that they must stand for something bigger then themselves and regardless of their limited area of responsibility they must look to move this higher agenda forward. They know that they are becoming a better leader when people follow them because they want to, not because the have too.
Exceptional leaders are hard to find. If you are willing to develop and hone these rare skills, companies will reward you.
