LEADERSHIP
MODULE CODE:
U3520LP
SEMESTER 0
BY: NANGOLO & KANDJOU
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024
What Good Leadership Looks
Like: 10 Essential Leadership
Traits
1. Integrity
Integrity is an essential leadership trait for the individual and the
organization. It’s especially important for top-level executives who are
charting the organization’s course and making countless other
significant decisions. Our research has found that integrity may actually
be a potential blind spot for organizations, so make sure your
organization reinforces the importance of honesty and integrity to
leaders at various levels.
2. Delegation
Delegating is one of the core responsibilities of a leader, but it can be
tricky to delegate effectively. The goal isn’t just to free yourself up — it’s
also to enable your direct reports to grow, facilitate teamwork, provide
autonomy, and lead to better decision-making. The best leaders build
trust in the workplace and on their teams through effective delegation.
3. Communication
Effective leadership and effective communication are intertwined. The
best leaders are skilled communicators who are able to communicate in
a variety of ways, from transmitting information to inspiring others to
coaching direct reports. And you must be able to listen to, and
communicate with, a wide range of people across roles, geographies,
social identities, and more. The quality and effectiveness of
communication among leaders across your organization directly affects
the success of your business strategy, too. Learn how effective
communication and better conversations can actually improve your
organizational culture.
4. Self-Awareness
While this is a more inwardly focused trait, self-awareness and humility
are paramount for leadership. The better you understand yourself and
recognize your own strengths and weaknesses, the more effective you
can be as a leader.
Do you know how other people view you or how you show up at work?
Take the time to learn about the 4 aspects of self-awareness and how
to strengthen each component.
5. Gratitude
• Being thankful can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression and
anxiety, and better sleep. Gratitude can even make you a better leader. Yet
few people regularly say “thank you” in work settings, even though most
people say they’d be willing to work harder for an appreciative boss. The
best leaders know how to show gratitude in the workplace.
6. Learning Agility
Learning agility is the ability to know what to do when you don’t know
what to do. If you’re a “quick study” or are able to excel in unfamiliar
circumstances, you might already be learning agile. But anybody can
foster and increase learning agility through practice, experience, and
effort. After all, great leaders are really great learners.
7. Influence
For some people, “influence” feels like a dirty word. But being able to
convince people through the influencing tactics of logical, emotional, or
cooperative appeals is an important trait of inspiring, effective leaders.
Influence is quite different from manipulation, and it needs to be done
authentically and transparently. It requires emotional intelligence and
trust. Learn more about how effective influencing can be a game-
changer.
8. Empathy
Empathy is correlated with job performance and is a critical part of
emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness. If you show more
inclusive leadership and empathetic behaviors toward your direct
reports, our research shows you’re more likely to be viewed as a better
performer by your boss. Plus, empathy and inclusion are imperatives
for improving workplace conditions for those around you.
9. Courage
It can be hard to speak up at work, whether you want to voice a new
idea, provide feedback to a direct report, or flag a concern for someone
above you. That’s part of the reason courage is a key trait of good
leaders. Rather than avoiding problems or allowing conflicts to fester,
having courage enables leaders to step up and move things in the right
direction. A workplace with high levels of psychological safety and
strong conversational skills across the organization will foster a
coaching culture that supports courage and truth-telling.
10. Respect
Treating people with respect on a daily basis is one of the most
important things a leader can do. It will ease tensions and conflict,
create trust, and improve effectiveness. Creating a culture of respect is
about more than the absence of disrespect. Respectfulness can be
shown in many different ways, but it often starts with simply being a
good listener who truly seeks to understand the perspectives of others.
THANK YOU
