3 Defining Strengths of Great Leaders

It is easy to think that great leadership comes from the most charismatic, gregarious, or even intelligent. After all, we hear the inspiring speeches of the greats, and think, wow, what a leader. Very often those moments of greatness are built on something much simpler: faithfulness to the not-very-flashy, others-focused principles of leadership.

Many years ago, business coach Jim Palzewicz taught me that to have, you must do, and to do, you must first become the person capable of doing. Some of you might know the formula: BE x DO = HAVE. We must focus on who we are to be able to do the things we need to do to lead well.

If we want to improve our leadership, we must focus on our BE, and it has to go deeper than trying harder or pushing more; it comes down to our core belief. It requires a true change of heart, which is one of the most difficult things to change. We have self-serving wired into our being, and becoming a great leader requires a shift outward, to focus on others.

With that in mind, here are three leadership strengths that I think are essential to becoming a truly great leader.

1) HUMILITY

This word is mostly one of the past, so it is worth defining in today’s language. Humility is about having an accurate view of yourself. It is not arrogant but confident. It does not need to defend, justify, or prove itself.  It is about thinking of others first.  It focuses on the welfare of team members over that of oneself.

The humble leader becomes a good listener. They value the opinions of others and listen to understand, not to speak. They value those around them and work to involve them in growth and decision-making. Their teams are constantly called to be better, to do more, to stretch a bit further.  The humble leader promotes his people also to be great leaders.

Developing humility does not often happen as simply as we would like it to. This is an identity change, kind of like the person who needs to get fit choosing to identify as someone healthy. The identity change comes in choosing to see yourself as a humble person.  You change your standards: I am a healthy person; therefore, I work out at 6:00 AM daily. I am a humble person; therefore, I focus on caring for and respecting others daily. I am humble; therefore, I lift others, rather than myself. Choosing to change your identity is long and hard work, but choosing humility as your identity is worth the climb.

2) ENCOURAGEMENT

I’ve studied others in my life who have an impact on others, who lead well, and who use their influence to help others succeed. And, I am still learning from them, but this is one key element of the people whose leadership I admire the most.

Great leaders encourage and inspire others with sincerity.  People can smell insincere praise easily, and it hurts relationships. The leader who is a true encourager is invested in the growth of the people around them. This investment fuels true encouragement. The leader is dedicated to the success of the team, so their encouragement comes from that devoted heart.  When we truly see our mission as one of helping others succeed, encouragement flows naturally from that outward-focused heart.

Encouragement like humility must flow from your identity, but encouragement is a little easier to practice. We can learn to speak words that are meaningful to others. Good encouragement is specific.  “I really appreciate the way you ___!”, “You are really good at ___!” “The way you handled that tough conversation was really good!”

Encouragement helps people flourish. As the saying goes, “What you focus on grows.” I’ve also noticed that the best encouragers do it regularly. It is a constant part of who they are, every day.

3) SELF-DISCIPLINE

The Merriam-Webster short definition of self-discipline is “the ability to make yourself do things that should be done”.  The expanded version is that self-discipline is the ability to consistently direct your time, attention, and actions toward what matters most, even when distractions, emotions, or competing priorities pull you elsewhere.

The interesting thing is that we often have good intentions to follow through, but we fall short. Developing self-discipline is based on three relatively simple things:

• Developing a system for work that ensures you do not lose track of what is next and what is a priority.
• Not overcommitting to do more than your capacity.
• Having the grit to protect your time, push through, and get things done.

These are simple concepts, but like so many things, they are NOT easy. Few character traits are harder to build than self-discipline, yet few have a greater impact on our effectiveness as leaders. Without the ability to move things forward, we as leaders lose respect from those around us. If we set the example by making things happen, then others will be accountable to do so as well.

We all know that leadership is not a title to achieve. It does not come from position, but from who we are. The leaders I admire the most are not usually the ones in the news. I respect that leader who is in the background, working humbly, encouraging others to grow, and working in a disciplined way to make things happen!