Six Qualities of a Good Leader

It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of a company or heading a mid-level project—each and every employee at your company has countless opportunities to lead. But what’s the difference between someone who is simply in a leadership role and someone who in their bones is a galvanizing, thoughtful leader (regardless of their position)? Someone who offers such a meaningful presence could certainly be in a role like that, but the role itself doesn’t inherently make you a good leader. The key gap that so-so leaders have to bridge to become great is building their commitment, and not in the cliched “first to arrive in the morning, last to leave at night” sense. 

At EGL, we’ve outlined six key “commitments” that all leaders need to incorporate into their daily lives. In this blog, we’ll emphasize those crucial areas, and how our 360 Assessment tool can help you determine how effectively you’re leading your team.

Leadership Qualities All True Leaders Share

We all know how easily our schedules can boil over and become impossible to manage. And when your schedule is already chock-full of meetings and your inbox is filled to the brim, who has time for more? That’s the beauty of our six commitments—as you incorporate them into your daily work schedule and make them part of your everyday behavior, everything else falls into place. 

• Commitment to vision: What does the road ahead look like for your company? The sooner you outline exactly where you want to go, how you want to get there, and what you expect from the people working for you, the easier that vision will be to fully realize.    
• Commitment to collaboration: Are you bringing in all your team members and putting them in a position to contribute in a meaningful way? The sooner you find a way to share the ball, the easier it will be for your team to score. 
• Commitment to action: No one likes working for someone who’s indecisive. Whether a decision will be popular might not be up to you, but the time frame in which you deliver that decision matters tremendously. 
• Commitment to developing (and empowering) others: You can only get the best from your team if they feel they’re in a position to deliver their best. Give them the necessary encouragement and support, and the results will speak for themselves. 
• Commitment to self: You can’t just worry about everyone around you—just like on a plane, you have to put on your oxygen mask before you help anyone else. Identify areas for self-improvement, self-control, and self-management. 
• Commitment to developing (and maintaining) presence: How can you make an impact if you’re not even around? Make yourself available when you can. Provide feedback if others ask it of you. Make sure that when your team needs an answer, they can count on you to be there.