One of the challenges with the work that we do is that we often talk in terms of extremes. By this I mean we discuss, difficult leadership conversations, managing change and driving performance to hit goals, and whilst these are definitely topics that all leaders need to address. We sometimes forget the quiet times and mundane days when leadership can be, boring and maybe run of the mill.

So, I wanted to take at what I consider some of the core skills, attributes or mindsets that make for a successful leader in today’s world.

Understanding your role

This may seem like an obvious thing to do, surely its to achieve the company goals? 

Well yes, but that’s only part of the role of a leader at any level. The role leadership is to reach company goals and objectives through people. If I am being more specific its, support your people to achieve the company’s goals and objectives. 

The simple truth of Leadership is that, just like any profession the tools of your trade are precious, and the tools of leadership are the people that you lead. They should be your primary focus and if you lead effectively, they will perform effectively and the goals and objectives of the team you lead will, by default be achieved.

Now that does not mean you should ignore the business goals or task’s that your team have been assigned. Your role as a leader is one that requires a quick mind and an agile approach to every day. Your primary focus is to know your people, and by knowing them understand how they can function as a team. When you know how the component pieces of your team fit together like a jigsaw you can support the group approach to delivering on their goals and objectives. 

This free’s up your time to monitor for obstacles, delays, or challenges at an individual, team or output level and deal with it accordingly. It also frees your time to scan the horizon for future development for your individuals, your team, and yourself. 

The moment you deliver the objectives yourself, you elevate yourself to being the subject matter expert and your team become your assistants. A position you may like as it makes you important, and in some instances invaluable, but its not leadership. This is the creation of an empire with you as the ruling power who is adored for their knowledge and expertise, feared for the high standards you hold people too, and sometimes hated for the role of demigod. 

It is a great ego trip but its not leadership. 

Curious about your people

Continuing this focus on your people, curiosity is key. As a leader the more you know about your people the more you will understand them and the easier it will be to work with them and integrate them into the team. 

The world of humans is not binary good or bad, it is a world of variation, complication, and inconsistency. We, like many organisations use psychometric assessments to provide insight into the potential of individuals behaviour and thinking, however we always stress that these are merely tools to open discussions. They are not labels that define a person, nor are they fixed for life.   

I often hear people talk in terms of “my profile says I am…” with the result that they frame their future around being “ESTJ”, or “Red” when in fact they should be looking at how they feel about the profile and if they see any patterns of behaviour in their day to day life that supports their success or if they feel they want to work on their approach to certain situations in a way that will help them improve their relationships with others. 

Being curious about yourself and how you feel opens you to be curious about your team and how they feel, because how we feel in every moment of every day affects how we perform. If I continue my analogy of your team being the tools of your profession, if a tool malfunctioned for instance your Bluetooth keyboard started to intermittently disconnect from your computer so that you where unable to complete your report. You would not just throw it away; you would investigate what was wrong with it. 

First you would try to identify if the problem is the keyboard, the tool, or the computer, the system. 

• If it is the system that has changed due to a software update, they you may need to update the keyboards firmware to ensure its connection to the system is compatible.

In the same way if a member of staff that has been working effectively and delivering excellent results, suddenly starts to produce inconsistent results you need to check to see what has changed in their operating environment. Just like a computer system needs a software update, sometimes an organisation needs to change its operating environment to deal with external forces. This can potentially disrupt an individual’s mental connection to the company. As a leader it is your responsibility to help the individual reconfigure their view to reconnect with the organisation and return to peak performance. 

• If it is not the system that has changed then you would look at the keyboard to see if there has been any physical damage or changes to its structure. If there is nothing physically wrong, then you would check the batteries to see if they need replacing.

In the same way if a team member’s results begin to deteriorate and there have been no changes in the environment, then your focus must be on them and their health and wellbeing. This is where the world of humans becomes more complex and interesting than a Bluetooth keyboard, but the analogy still holds. As a leader you need to be curious about your team member and prepared to engage in observation and conversation to support them. Who knows it could be something as simple as their “internal batteries” are drained and they just need a break to recharge? 

Curious about yourself

We believe that emotional intelligence is one of the most important skills required in leadership today, and with emotional intelligence comes the knowledge to be self-aware.

Understanding your feelings will give you insight into your own performance as a leader and your ability to deal with the daily pressure that you will be subjected to. By listening to your thoughts and observing your emotions throughout the day you will not only have an insight into why some of your interactions are easier and more effective than others and how to improve your overall engagement and interactions to ensure you free your time to be more strategic.