Good Leadership Skills

Below you'll find a list of what many organizations believe are good leadership skills. This list was collated from a review of Performance Evaluation Programs from approximately 20 different organizations that I have been involved with over the years.

These were the recurring set of traits, characteristics and qualities of good leadership skills that these organizations looked for in their leaders.

As we discussed in the Skills Analysis please do not expect to excel in all these leadership qualities. Firstly it's impossible, secondly you'll place too much stress on yourself and thirdly remember that leaders with a wide variety of skills and characteristics have shone over the years. It all depends upon the context and situation as to which of these skills are needed for a given point in time.

Think of leaders like Richard Branson, Condalisa Rice, Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa ... all very different leaders ... all very successful and all of whom may very well failed as leaders if they had been put in each others situation. Defining a set of good leadership skills is easy. Defining when to make best use of the skills, to what degree and how ... well that takes intuition and experience.

A List of Qualities and Characteristics of Good Leadership Skills

THINKING Critically evaluating data Looking for problems Solving problems analytically Innovating through creativity Making decisions Judgment even under uncertainty	DEVELOPING OTHERS Appraising performance Coaching and mentoring Establishing learning climates Guiding reflection Offering and asking for assistance Preparing others for change
MANAGING Time Meetings and discussions Projects and priorities Finances and budgets Hiring and staffing Leveraging technology Disseminating information	COMMUNICATING Writing Presenting Public Speaking Actively Listening Clarifying Messages Giving Feedback Receiving Feedback
DEVELOPING TEAMS Understanding group development Fostering team building Utilizing diversity Debriefing experience Celebrating success Handling team changes Planning for input Delegating work tasks	DEVELOPING SELF Caring for personal needs Balancing work and life Being self-directed and self-motivated Showing self-awareness Emotional intelligence Planning own performance improvements Having solid boundaries Improving interaction with others Values and principle driven
CHANGE Dealing with ambiguity Coping with complexity Identifying global and local trends Being a catalyst for change Willingness to take sensible risks	LEADING Flexing style Resolving conflicts Dealing with difficult people effectively Working from service perspective Interpreting the vision Setting new directions Planning strategy Leading by example

So ... it is a rather long list of good leadership skills. Please don't let it cause you to think you need to own all of these characteristics in order to be a terrific leader. In fact current research suggests that you are better off sticking with developing your strengths and create systems and strategies to overcome your weaknesses. At the Align-Lead-Inspire club you can you can discover whether you are in a job, career or calling using your strengths and take the self-assessment.