Now that we live in a connected world great leaders are all around us. Therefore, you certainly heard or read about great leaders. People who were the face of championship teams, multi-billion businesses or successful political parties. Their information and philosophy how they got to where they are is accessible as it has ever been in history. Although that is great, great leaders do not have to be someone you’ve never met either. It can be someone from your community; a teacher, a volunteer, a counsellor. It doesn’t matter how many people know about them. If they are talked and loved by other people, regardless of their fame and fortune, they are leaders. All great leaders have a few things in common.
They lead by example. A great leader demonstrates the work ethic needed to succeed. They model the behaviour of success and teach it to their employees. They have the respect of their employees, peers and supervisors because they work hard and are always willing to help.
They have respect from their employees, peers and supervisors. Employees respect great leaders because more likely than not, they’ve seen the leader do the work themselves. Employees want to emulate that work ethic because they want to make their leader proud of them. By doing the work, leaders give permission to others to follow them. Peers respect great leaders because they support and help them when needed. They can be counted on when times are tough. Same with supervisors of great leaders. Their supervisor has confidence in them and can count on them to pull through.
A great leader will sacrifice their time to help an employee if they are struggling. They are empathetic and care about the employees. They will do the work for their employees in case of unforeseen emergencies. They understand not everyone has the same life situation and supports them in any way they can. They remember how it was being an employee and working for someone. Additionally, great leaders are humble. They do not forget where they came from. They will coach their employees to get better and be the best version of themselves.
Great leaders also know when to push employees and when to pull them in. They are not afraid to call out employees in a respectful manner when they are not giving their best effort. They deal with the situation head on, get to the root of the problem and take care of it as soon as possible. There is no time wasted when there is an issue. With that being said, they are accountable (link to article) and take responsibility if something is subpar from an employee. They understand it is their duty to review and ensure the employee was able to complete the report to satisfactory needs.
Great leaders value and respect the opinion of others regardless of the hierarchy. They value their employees challenging their ideas. A great leader realizes not all ideas are good, regardless of who it comes from and that’s where it is important for the employees surrounding the leader to be honest. No time is wasted when there is honesty amongst the employees and the leader. It eliminates the groupthink mentality.
It’s not easy being a leader. If you are in the presence of a great leader, do not hesitate to let them know. Great leaders are people like everyone else and they have feelings.
Take care.