Weekly Success Tips

2009-07-13 | How to Know if You're a Good Leader

"The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?;
-- Max De Pree (1924 - ) Former Chairman, Herman Miller Furniture

Consider This:

Ask anyone to define good leadership and it's likely you'll get a list of traits. It usually includes things such as effective communicator, strategic thinker, visionary, smart, charismatic, and straightforward among many others. These characteristics are good at describing a leader, but they miss the mark on one important point. They don't tell you how effectively the leader is actually leading.

Just because you exhibit "leadership traits" doesn't make you a good leader. If you really want to know how well you lead, look at your followers. How are they behaving? What are they producing? How have they grown? Traits are good at predicting leadership success, but only followers' actions can demonstrate it.

Try This:

1. On a scale of 1-10 rate your leadership abilities based solely on your followers' actions.
2. Write down where on the scale you'd like to be.
3. If there's a gap, what can you be doing better?
4. If you're not sure, check in with some colleagues or staff members.
5. To be a good leader, stay focused on creating an environment in which others can excel.