Five ways to spot a leader

Since my last post was on four ways stop spot a bad leader I'd do the opposite this time and talk about the five ways to spot a good leader. In this particular article there are five ways instead of four for some reason. But, anyways here they are, a good leader is spotted when: They have followers, they have a bias to action, they are a better listener than talker, they have emotional talent, and they have a multiplier of their people's potential.

The first way stop a leader is when the leader has followers. Do people show up when a meeting is called? Do they pay attention to the leader? I think that is this is important because without followers, it may mean that they do not take this leader seriously enough.

The next, way to spot a leader is when they have a bias to action. This means they've executed, failed, and learned before and then succeed. The leaders help their team from chatting and talking and then brought them to action and doing work productively.

Leaders are also spotted when they are better at listening than talking. If a leader does not listen to their employees that may break trust. Leaders should be open to conversation and ideas from other employees. Leaders are not always necessarily right in every situation and listening to others can build a bond between one another.

Having an emotional talent is an attribute of a good leader. If a leader is in control of their emotions and respects others especially their employees, they will get the respect back and production and work will run more smoothly.

Finally, the last way to spot a leader is if they have a multiplier of their people' potential. A multiplier creates a place to grow and helps people reach their self-precieived potential.

This article was very different from the prior one I read. I did not expect these attributes to be the top five to spot a leader. Still a very interesting and I encourage all to read.

http://timsanders.com/five-ways-to-spot-a-good-leader/

Comments

  1. Mark BonicaMarch 7, 2017 at 11:07 AM

    Good article, and good traits. I like the "see if they have followers" test. That can be tricky to judge, but it's a good point to watch for. Sometimes followers don't have a choice, or they have another reason for being under a boss, and they are just enduring the boss to accomplish another goal, which is why i would say judging this measure is probably more complicated than it sounds.

    Regarding the journalistic technique of "5 Ways" or "4 ways", I think you will see as you get into reading management literature that there are all sorts of articles with a list of some number of things about leadership or mentorship or followership or success or whatever. Take those lists with a grain of salt. Some of these authors have some authority and can cite the literature and support their assertions, some cannot. But there is a huge management literature where people argue about these issues all the time. I would say that the one truth about the leadership literature is no one has THE list of what it takes to be a good leader or a bad leader. These articles are a good point of departure for a discussion and reflection about leadership, but don't let anyone tell you they know what the answers are. They don't.

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