What makes a great leader?
This deceptively simple question keeps generating as many perspectives as there are leaders on the planet!
And these views keep evolving as you gain experience, make mistakes, and grow from these.
Let me re-share my story on it.
For a long time, I’ve cultivated a particular idea of leadership.
It started with my first official leading role as a marketing director at Adobe back in the nineties.
I was then fascinated by famous leaders – from historical statesmen or stateswomen to tech entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and how their charisma could motivate and energize the masses.
I read numerous books and biographies about them and tried to replicate a path to success.
Boy, I was wrong!
It took me years of trying – and a bruised ego – to realize that outstanding leadership wasn’t about obsessing over being a great leader.
It also wasn’t about charisma or the capacity to mesmerize the crowds.
Their ability to build and nurture the highest-performing teams made the strongest leaders stand out.
You know, the kind of team where everyone feels appreciated, valued, and heard. Each player understands their role and knows you have their back.
A team where accountability is found at every level, with no sacred cows, where open conversations replace “feedback,” and people discover and grow their greatness.
Once I got it, I understood my role as a leader was to explore everyone’s natural potential and be an enabler for them to develop their talent.
You might still wonder how to do it.
Here are the areas I’ve learned to pay specific attention to. They’re not the only ones, but they can form a solid foundation to build from:
#1 – A genuinely shared vision
I cannot state enough how critical it is for everyone on your team to embrace your desired destination. It takes specific skills to build a bold yet credible business vision. Importantly, you should enlist your team’s talent to co-create and own it. One of my 2020 articles covered the seven steps to do it right: How To Define Your Best Business Vision Ever.
#2 – Honest Communication and Trust
Building trust started with honesty and transparency about my intentions and actions—no hidden agenda. Then, through rational compassion, I’ve genuinely tried to understand how we’d succeed. Done consistently, it helped establish a rapport with shared interests and experiences. To learn more about building trust, read the article: Lack of Respect? Do This One Thing.
#3 – Accountability in the right place
The first step was letting my team know how important it was to work collaboratively towards their goals, share responsibility, and pool resources. I’ve also learned to ensure that everyone wholly owns their actions and results while holding each other accountable for commitments. For more details, here’s a link to another of my articles about the 3 Secrets To Outstanding Team Accountability.
Building a high-performing team is tough, even with these fundamental principles in mind. Keeping it that way over time is even harder!
I don’t think I fully succeeded there.
Just like there’s no permanent product/market fit, the dynamics that make the team perform will break eventually. And you’ll need to reinvent it all. Be ready to reflect, admit your mistakes, and adapt.
Do all of this while not having the spotlight on yourself as a leader, and you’ll be able to focus on what truly matters: your team’s performance.