Great leaders
“Choose good bosses” is a piece of career advice that I received many years ago. Admittedly, at the time, it felt a bit strange. I didn’t feel like it was something that was really in my control. But ever since, it’s had a profound impact on the decisions I have made. Throughout my career, I have come across my fair share of bosses, both good and bad. I am sure you have too.
I have worked with very charismatic and likeable individuals but who ultimately turned out to be poor leaders. Conversely, I have worked for bosses that didn’t seem very leader-like at all, who turned out to be some of the most influential people I’ve had the privilege to work with.
Who are the individuals that you’ve worked with that you consider to be good leaders? Who are the bad ones? And what are the attributes that set them apart?
The other day, I reflected on my personal experience and captured some of the things that came to mind. Of course, it’s not an exhaustive list, but just a comparison of a few traits that felt important to me.
I’ve come to realise that we often don’t get to see the important attributes immediately. It takes time (sometimes years) before we can tell the good from the bad. The job of the leader is to take us to where we need to go. That path is not always pleasant. It can be painful. The path can be murky.
It is not so much their traits that make them good leaders – it is about the decisions they make and how those choices play out over the long term.
Ultimately, I believe that the basis of good leadership is the ability to make good decisions.
Poor decisions are those that fail to adequately consider all stakeholder groups or those that favour the short-term at the expense of the long-term. Leaders need to be able to make well-considered choices that consider all angles. Poor decisions are those that fail to adapt to changing environments. A leader needs to be able to unlearn and find new paths.
We aren’t born good decision-makers. Good decision making is something that requires experience. It is the willingness to take risks, work hard, persevere, learn from errors, take on feedback and admit mistakes.
The good news is that decision-making and learning from feedback is something we can practice. We can create risk-free learning environments that allow us to test our responses to various challenges and future-focused scenarios. Through practice, we develop analytical, problem-solving, communication and implementation skills. The same skillsets we need to deal with the complex challenges of the real world.
We don’t have the answers for a future that is uncertain, but we can develop the skillsets needed to expertly navigate an unclear path.
In uncertain and fast-changing environments, the need for good leadership is more critical than ever.
Some food for thought:
· Are our leaders practising enough?
· What is the cost of learning from mistakes in the real world?
· How long does “learning from experience” take? Can we afford to wait?