What makes an effective leader? These are the qualities frequently cited throughout discussions in group discussions at our Leadership Essentials workshop:
Strong communicator
Good listener
Empathetic
High emotional intelligence
These are all softer skills essentially boiling down to a manager who cares about their people, understands the way they work, knows how to work well with them, and knows they way they like to communicate.
Strategic
Goal-oriented
Skilled and effective at their job
Employees see these technical skills as equally important. They want a leader who is a visionary, who’s inspirational, but who is also close to the work or at least understands the work – someone who not only knows where the organization is going but exactly how the organization is going to get there.
Trustworthy
Trusting
Not a micromanager
Employees want to not only be able to trust a leader, but also feel trusted by that leader.
Stable
Self-aware
Open to feedback
A leader who isn’t volatile, and open to feedback. An effective leader understands their own personality, their triggers, is aware of their impact on others, and is able to manage their on behaviors. Molly Kelley, Senior HR Business Partner at Xenium, says, “We often have people who say, Well that’s just how I am. I’m a direct communicator. Well, you’ve got people in tears! How direct do you truly need to be?”
More than anything, though, as a leader it’s important to be able to flex your communication style, especially if you are not all of the above qualities naturally. Taking a DISC assessment and understanding your personality type is a great way to better understand your tendencies and where you should focus your development.
