I am convinced that if you think about the bosses you have had throughout your professional career, probably you don’t want to work again for most of them. I’m convinced that the majority of professionals would only wish to work again for “a few” of their previous bosses. In most cases, our experience with our superiors has not been positive.
Gallup, has spent more than 5 decades of research to discover what great leaders are like. One of the main discoveries has been that around 50% of the characteristics of a great leader come from his innate talent, that is, from his genetic heritage. The other 50% comes from their professional experiences and their training and professional development. It has also found that, unfortunately, most managers who manage teams lack the talents to do so. For this reason, most of the bosses you have had have not lived up to it.
After analyzing many leaders and many followers, Gallup has scientifically identified the 5 characteristics that great team leaders have in common:
- Great leaders can inspire and motivate their teams to do an excellent job. Great leaders are undoubtedly great motivators.
- Work style. Another common characteristic of great leaders is their ability to create a distinctive work style. And this style is marked by the ability to set goals and, above all, manage team resources to achieve the desired results.
- They act. Great leaders succeed in taking their teams into action. They do not remain only in ideas and strategies. They lead their teams to initiate planned activities and successfully overcome difficulties and resistance they encounter along the way. Good leaders are true catalysts.
- Collaboration: To achieve great results, great leaders get really committed teams. They foster collaboration among team members and mobilize them to work in a coordinated way to achieve the common goal. There is no true leadership without getting great teamwork.
- Analysis: The best leaders are not only motivators and action people. They are also professionals with a high capacity for analysis. A common characteristic of great leaders is their ability to analyze the available data, and with this information decide the best strategy to follow to achieve the expected results. Great leaders make great decisions, after having analyzed in detail the whole situation.
In short, 5 fundamental characteristics that explain, in a scientific way, what features in common have great leaders.
I end with a quote I love and that perfectly describes what a great leader is. As John Quincy Adams, who was President of the United States in the 19th century, said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and grow, then you are a leader”.