Awesome leaders are the key to high-performance workplace culture.
They set the tone for the rest of the team, acting as motivators and inspirers. We’ve all heard the phrase “born leader”, but scientific studies show that most leadership traits aren’t hereditary.
Meaning: leadership traits can be learned and improved over time.
This offers an unrivalled opportunity for employers to upskill their leaders and transform their workforce. Let’s take a closer look at the most powerful leadership traits.
Why is good leadership important in the workplace?
Anyone involved in employee management knows that attracting and retaining talent is getting ridiculously hard, especially with The Great Resignation coming in after the pandemic.
A massive 29% of workers were considering quitting their jobs in 2021 –– and research shows that 79% of employees cite a lack of appreciation as a reason for leaving.
Encouraging good leadership in the workplace can lead to a massive reduction in employee turnover. Leaders can inspire their teams through employee recognition, their own behaviour, and communication with each other to establish a new culture of high performance in the workplace.
Ten powerful traits of awesome leaders
There are myriad ways that leaders can encourage their employees to go above and beyond in the workplace.
Disruptive leaders change how employees think, act, and feel to move the company forward. These game-changing leaders often possess the following traits:
1. Communication skills
You can’t be a good leader without possessing good communication skills.
While you can learn effective communication strategies, the best and most disruptive leaders are inherently good communicators.
Communication isn’t just about speaking and giving orders –– it’s also about listening. It’s about understanding how to communicate with a wide range of people across roles, geographies, and social identities, both inside and outside the organisation.
2. Integrity
Yes, you want to see integrity in employees across the board, but it’s also an essential trait for leaders. It’s hard to quantify, but when someone has integrity, you can’t miss it. In the workplace, integrity in leaders is about recognising employee accomplishments, admitting mistakes, and prioritising quality work.
Emphasise the importance of honesty and loyalty for your employees while hiring and training managers at all levels. Encourage a workplace community where integrity is celebrated and highlighted along with more measurable career wins.
3. Self-managing
It will be difficult to manage others if you can’t effectively manage yourself. Self-management is about prioritising your goals and being responsible for achieving them. As an effective leader, you also need to regulate your time, attention and emotions.
Exceptional leaders can handle stress and balance their work and personal lives but also understand the importance of compassion and responding to their team appropriately.
4. Genuine enthusiasm
No one wants to be led by someone who doesn’t really care about their actions. Influential leaders have a genuine enthusiasm for the organisation and what they’re working towards as a team.
Employees can sniff out fake enthusiasm from a mile away, but a leader’s energy that is sincerely enthusiastic and passionate is genuinely contagious.
5. Self-awareness
Having a good level of self-awareness is a trait found in most powerful leaders. It’s about knowing yourself and being able to recognise your flaws. How can you lead others if you don’t first understand your own inner workings? No one is great at absolutely everything. It takes a self-aware leader to know their own strengths and weaknesses and to ask for help in the areas where others can shine.
Good leaders know how their direct reports and higher-ups perceive them and can use this knowledge to shape their daily interactions in the workplace.
Your Ultimate Guide to Disruptive Leadership
Get a FREE copy of our Disruptive Leadership guide today to help you master the habits of high performing teams!
6. Ability to be vulnerable
Admitting mistakes is hard, especially for leaders in a corporate setting who are always expected to be switched on, but it’s a key trait for a powerful leader.
When a leader says to their team that they have screwed up, they are cultivating an environment of trust that makes it okay for others to be honest, try new things and learn from what happened together as a team.
7. Knowing how and when to delegate
How can you be a good leader if you’re doing too many things at once? This is where knowing how and when to delegate comes into play. No matter how much you want to, it’s impossible to be able to do everything you need to do by yourself.
Delegating out tasks to your team does more than just take some of the weight off your shoulders. It shows that you are confident in your team’s ability to do the job for you. This results in higher morale and loyalty and makes your employees feel trusted and appreciated.
8. Empowerment
A good leader knows their power. They know they can train and shape the employees under them and inspire them to do their best work.
The best leaders are a source of empowerment for their team. When employees are empowered, they are more likely to make decisions that are in the company’s best interest. A good leader doesn’t just congratulate a team on a good job once it’s done –– they empower them from the beginning to deliver results.
9. Charisma
It’s just a fact of human life that we’re going to be drawn to people we like. The best leaders are charismatic. They exude goodwill and are friendly and approachable. You simply can’t have a leader that no one in the team is comfortable talking with.
But charisma isn’t just how someone presents themselves. In a business setting, it’s about showing creativity and direction and being willing to think outside the box even when not explicitly asked to. This aspect of charisma will inspire and empower employees to do the same.
10. Gratitude
Everyone wants to work for a boss who appreciates them and their work. This isn’t just in the form of bonuses and tangible rewards. Employees also want social recognition– whether it’s a quick thank-you in the hallway, a callout during a meeting, or over Slack.
Don’t underestimate the power of social recognition.
Companies with a strong culture of recognition can achieve a 55% improvement in engagement across the board. The best leaders know how to demonstrate sincere gratitude in the workplace, which can significantly impact an organisation’s bottom line.
You know what makes a great leader, so what’s next?
Now that you understand what it takes to be a great leader, you’re one step closer to becoming one. Leadership traits are learnable, you just need to practice consistently.
Mo can also help with that!
Transform your culture with Mo
- Improve employee engagement scores
- Reduce employee churn
- Build a collaborative culture
Mo is a new kind of reward and recognition platform that makes it easy for busy managers to meaningfully recognise, engage and connect with their teams.
We equip managers with weekly suggestions to energise and connect with their people, help teams build habits of recognition into their day-to-day rhythms and go beyond simple rewards as a way to motivate staff.
Join companies like SHL, OVO Energy and William Hill in delivering meaningful improvement on engagement results with Mo. Book a free demo today!
