What Makes A Good Leader

What makes a good leader? Phew ... that's the million dollar question!

For far more years than I'm willing to admit, I've been fascinated by great leadership. This fascination compels me to analzye leaders I admire ... to try and figure out - what is it that makes them special?

Why would I walk over hot coals for this guy? What is it that she says and does that seems to enable her to so easily influence others to change their mindset or see something differently?

I've got pages and pages of notes in my journal from, (I guess you could almost call it reverse-engineering), trying to figure out what are those qualities, characteristics, traits ... those 'X factors' ... that make that person special? What can I learn and discover from him or her, so that I can use them as a role model in my journey toward being the best possible version of me and then share that knowledge with others.

Over on the qualities of good leadership page I shared my Top 5 list of high performance leadership qualities. Here are the next five that that set apart the High Performance Breakthrough Leader from the everyday manager and defines just what it is that makes a good leader!

What Makes A Good Leader - The Next Five

6. Is Accountable.When something goes wrong great leaders step up and acknowledge their part in it and don't fall into the trap of trying to shift blame elsewhere. They'll focus on fixing the problem not fixing blame

7. Refuses To Gossip. The best leaders are loyal to those who aren't there. They don't engage in workplace gossip ... ever. No matter how well justified or frustrated they may feel!

8. Grows Their People.They build teams of superstars by being exceptional delegators of challenging work. They ensure that their people are regularly being challenged to grow and learn. They create the systems and structures that ensure people are always pushing the envelope of their potential. They fully 'get' that if people are bored they become de-motivated. Poor motivation leads to low morale which leads to poor performance.

9. Has An Open Office. What makes a good leader are those people who make it easy for their people to interact with them. Great leaders aren't into the power trip of having to have an office where others must come to them. They understand that having open plan offices enables them to be in the hub with their finger on the pulse ... providing far better results in terms of communication and camaraderie.

10. Engages And Energizes. The very best of leaders help people to see that what they do makes a difference. They put into place the structures, systems and principles that enable people to feel challenged by what they do, a sense of ownership in their part of the process and they regularly make use of their innate talents and strengths.

What Makes a Good Leader?
      Here's What Pulls It All Together ...

Acts From A Place Of Alignment. For me, this is ultimately what makes a good leader. A leader who takes the time to align with their source energy (whether you call it God, Universe or some other name) and fully gets what it means to take inspired action. A leader who listens to their inner voice - will always be guided to take the right action.