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Six Traits Found in Today’s Most Effective Leaders
What are the core traits of an effective leader? There are thousands of books and articles seeking to answer that question, with more appearing every day. This flood of information can be overwhelming to executives who are looking for clear cut answers on how they can be an effective leader. After all, you can only slice and dice the subject in so many ways.
Having said that, I’ve found that the combined research and findings of Warren Bennis, James Kouzes, and Barry Posner have stood the test of time. The core traits of effective leadership found in their research serves as a solid foundation to build your own leadership ideals on. They are as follows:
1. Gaining Trust
Executives are more suspect now than ever before, so it’s important to put extra effort into building trust through ethical actions. Aligning your words and actions is a key pillar for building trust in the workplace. Remember that building this trust will take time; it’s not an overnight process. Bennis’s truism can (and should) be used as a guiding principle, while Kouzes’ and Posner’s five dimensions, which follow, provide the legs that support that principle.
