What Makes A Leader?

Leadership is based on experience; we learn to lead as challenges arise, and we develop skills to address them. Thus, in the process of leading, we learn to communicate, to compromise, and to collaborate so that others can help further our objectives. We experience our way to becoming a leader. Everyday leaders pick up the skills they need, often through trial and error and through a willingness to change course as circumstances change.

Thus, while leadership is not necessarily an adventure, it still may be full of surprise, tough going, and some hair-raising near-misses. That’s okay. The best leaders find a way to fight uphill battles and rearguard actions (even simultaneously!) because they must. Of course, they may panic and break a sweat. But they keep going, assimilating experience, refining their goals and their strategies.

Budding leaders perpetually ask: What still needs improvement? How can I compensate for mistakes I’ve made? Should I share more responsibility? They want to get to a place where they are credible as leaders. An uncertain leader, who displays uncertainty, rarely inspires confidence in his or her leadership. Such leaders try to find self-confidence, to develop their skills, and to believe in themselves as leaders. There are five interrelated qualities required for leadership:

Vision. You don’t have to be a visionary like Bill Gates, whose famous book, The Road Ahead, forecast how tech would transform how we live and work. But you do need a reasonably coherent goal and, more to the point, a sense of purpose. You need to recognize that any vision—though it guides your objectives—is malleable. It can change, and you should accept the change. You need to work with any vision that you develop, making the most of it based on your circumstances. A leader’s vision is very much like how sailors, pioneers, and everyday travelers used to determine their way forward. They knew where they wanted to go and understood that they might have to alter direction if a storm or other challenge arose. 

Determination and Flexibility. Flexibility is a necessary component of determination, since stubborn leaders (who may even take pride in their rigidity and unwillingness to bend) are never successful. Unbending leaders may think they seem strong, but, in fact, they just seem unimaginative, unable to seize opportunities that present themselves but then may disappear.

What’s required, therefore, is a 360-degree vision, so that you can adapt to circumstances as they develop. You need a type of strategic imagination, where you adhere to your sense of purpose but redefine how you pursue it. The best leaders learn to think around obstacles, which may entail a radical change in plans. Planning and Organisation. If you can’t devise a plan and then organize your way towards achieving it, you will never be a competent leader. Lots of people can concoct a vision, but unless they can follow through with the day-to-day nitty-gritty, they do not stand a chance.

Planning and organization require attention to detail and a type of consummate involvement that keeps track of problems before they develop into major headaches. It requires seeing (or, at least, thinking) around corners. It requires playing the long game. It also requires letting go, and an ability to delegate. The best leaders form great teams. They spot situations that need attention, and find people who can address them. So, from an attitudinal perspective, planning and organization require that you recognize talents in other people and deploy such people effectively.

Communication and Collaboration. Leaders must ensure that their actions are not interpreted in ways that undermine their interests. What a leader does, buttressed by what they say, must project honesty, and a concern for those whom it’s their responsibility to lead. They cannot come off as self-involved. In organisations, people work with others, either in formal or informal collaborations over short or extended periods. Leaders learn how to leverage collaboration so that their collaborators help further the leaders’ objectives. Collaboration is therefore instrumental, a strategic vehicle for engaging the talents of other people and turning them towards advantage. 

Responsibility. Leaders accept responsibility for mistakes and set about trying to fix them. They are candid and responsive to questions from people affected by their actions. Thus, they are aware of the stakeholders, both inside and external to their organization. They respond to their needs. They take responsibility for the organization as well as its penumbra of customers, clients, and anyone with an interest in how the organization operates. 

The best leaders are also proactive. They ensure that their organization adheres to the highest ethical standards. Why? Because taking responsibility—stepping up to do what’s right—is as much about one’s own equanimity as it is making some pubic gesture. Leaders need to feel like they are their best selves.

Psychology Today