Are you leading a team to the best of your ability?

In my years of working, which has been MANY, as I was hired to cut my Grandfather’s grass at the ripe old age of six, I’ve learned and noted what makes good leaders, and then what can make a good one GREAT!

The following good leadership qualities should be in place:

L:  A GOOD LISTENER is always well thought of and attracts people.  Everyone enjoys being around a good listener and feels very special to be listened to intently… especially by an important person.  My client and friend Ann Sabbag is CEO of a company called Health Design’s, and was voted U.S. Small Business Administration 2012 Florida Small Business Person of Year and Small Business Leader of the Year 2012 with the Jacksonville Chamber. She offers a listening ear that makes the speaker feel as if they are the most important person in the world at that moment.

E:  A good Leader is generally an EXPERT in their field or at least their profession. This expertise can be from education, practical experience or trained experience.

A:  A good ATTITUDE can be decided upon awakening and before you know it 10:00 a.m. has past and the rest of the day will take care of itself.  Taking responsibility for your attitude – recognizing that it can change how you live, managing it every day – then your attitude can be your greatest asset and people thrive on being around positive people and working for leaders with a good attitude.  It can become the “difference maker” in your life, opening doors and helping you and others around you overcome great obstacles.

D: Good leaders offer DIRECTION.  French general Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Leaders are dealers in hope.” They intentionally connect with those they lead, and give them the inspiration, insight and direction they need. Good Leaders also exhibit DISCERNMENT which is the ability to find the root of the matter, and it relies on intuition as well as rational thought.  Discernment is an indispensable quality for any leader who desires to maximize effectiveness.

E:  ENLARGERS are leaders who work to make themselves better, not only because it benefits them personally, but also because it helps them to help others.  Teri Coutu, a friend and colleague and CEO of Teric Enterprise Solutions, LLC has a special way of doing this. When confronted with a question, she will give part of the answer, and then she inspires the person asking for guidance to look for the rest of the answer themselves. She does this in a very subtle way that is matched by no other I’ve ever encountered.  Do you make others better than they are alone through inspiration and contribution?

 R:  A true leader takes RESPONSIBILITY.  A leader faces whatever life and business throw their way and gives it their best.  “When an archer misses the mark he turns and looks for the fault within himself.  Failure to hit the bull’s-eye is never the fault of the target.  To improve your aim, improve yourself.”  Remember a leader can delegate anything, except responsibility! The best example I can think of is Joe Crozier the CEO of Community Health Charities.  He would always take responsibility for anything that went wrong, even when it was, the fault of someone else, because he was “the leader of the pack” I ran with.  And that is taking RESPONSIBILTY!

So, look inside yourself and identify which of the qualities you exemplify, and which you need to work on. Becoming a GREAT leader is an on-going process so just keep striving towards your goals!

 Forbes suggests: The Most Successful Leaders Do 15 Things Automatically, Every Day