What is great leadership? Most definitions tend to include a leader who displays emotional intelligence (EI), a leader who positively influences those around them, and one who demonstrates compassion and empathy. But let's go further than that and examine what it means to be a great leader, along with actionable steps you can take today to become one.
THE POWER OF EMOTION | CHAPTER 28 | LEADERSHIP
Leadership Redefined: A Contemporary Look at Great Leadership
What is great leadership? Many of us strive to be great leaders. Most definitions tend to include a leader who displays emotional intelligence (EI), a leader who positively influences those around them and one who demonstrates compassion and empathy. But let's go further than that and examine what it means to be a great leader, along with actionable steps you can take today to become one.
What Do Leaders Do?
A leader's typical role is to support individuals and encourage them to achieve a common goal. They must influence their team, demonstrate compassion, empathy, and listen actively to their workforce.
Additionally, they recognize the value of investing in their employees and focusing on team development to enhance their performance and overall organizational productivity. Here are several more characteristics of exceptional leaders:
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Motivate and inspire their teams, fostering a shared vision and purpose.
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Set high standards and demonstrate the behaviour and work ethic they expect from others.
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Are skilled communicators, conveying ideas clearly and fostering open dialogue within the team.
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Trust their team members, empowering them with responsibilities and delegating tasks according to individual strengths.
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Make informed and timely decisions, considering the team's or organization's best interests.
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Are flexible and adaptive, navigating change with resilience and guiding their teams through uncertainties.
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Take responsibility for their actions and decisions, setting an example for accountability within the team.
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Prioritize relationship-building, fostering a positive and collaborative environment.
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Embrace a mindset of continuous learning, seeking opportunities to improve and staying informed about industry trends.
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Have a long-term vision, and think strategically, aligning actions with organizational goals.
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Encourage creativity and innovation, fostering an environment where new ideas are valued.
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Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence and understand and manage their emotions and their teams, promoting a positive and supportive workplace culture.
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Are resilient and bounce back from setbacks, maintaining composure and focus during challenging times.
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Recognize the value of diversity and actively promote an inclusive culture within the organization.
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Empathize with their team members, understand their perspectives, and support their personal and professional development.
Emotionally Effective Leaders
Emotionally effective leaders consider employee appreciation part of the work culture. They have impeccable social skills and are empathetic, self-aware, able to self-regulate, and highly motivated. They are known to "walk the talk" and are great role models who respect others by showing an interest in them and their work.
(Read more about why empathy is the foundation of emotional intelligence in this post)
Building Emotionally Intelligent Leaders
Being proactive and improving your emotional intelligence is worth investing in enhancing ongoing development. We can focus on improving our emotional intelligence in all kinds of ways. But one of the quickest ways is to become aware of your EQ level to develop a baseline of your abilities with an EI assessment. You can identify your EQ and social functioning level based on your EI Assessment.
Looking In The Mirror: Questions To Reflect On About Great Leadership
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Which leadership style are you most comfortable with?
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What leader from your past resonates with you, and why?
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What leadership skills do you possess?
(Visit this post next to read what leaders across Canada had to say about emotional intelligence expertise)
Leadership Strategies
If you're feeling motivated to increase your leadership skills, practise these strategies to influence others positively:
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Act with integrity
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Listen actively
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Keep team members informed
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Show the team, you care
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Be empathetic
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Lead with compassion
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Practise humility
Want to learn even more about putting these strategies to work for you? We've just scratched the surface here, but you'll learn all about them (and so much more) in my book, The Power of Emotion, A Practical Guide to Making The Most Of Your Emotional Intelligence. Click here to order your paperback or eBook copy today.
Do you want to talk more about outstanding leadership or the strategies for becoming a great leader? Use this link to reach out. Or, if you're looking for different ways to enhance or increase business success with emotional intelligence training for your team or organization, visit Marshall Connects.
Did you learn more about great leadership from this post? Here are three more to read next:
- What Kind of a Problem Solver Are You?
- Is Your Mindset Providing You With Optimum Results?
- Understanding The Downside of Perfectionism
This article was originally published on November 23, 2021, and has been updated (January 2024).
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