Do You Have What it Takes (Leadership Characteristics you need!)?

What are the leadership characteristics you believe set great leaders apart?

Are there some that come to mind immediately?

Leadership itself has been studied and analyzed for years through various theories, models and  and assessments.

Unfortunately however, we seem to make the concept of great leadership an unattainable target.

Fortunately there are a few that stand out above the rest.

Over the years I’ve compiled a list having worked with leaders of various Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies.

There are six key leadership characteristics that any great leader has (and that you can have too!).

Keep in mind, these are based on my observations from working with Global Executives and leaders at all levels.

This is not theory.

Six Characteristics of Highly Effective Leaders

1. Action Oriented: Great leaders do not wait to take action, they seize the moment.

2. Process Driven: Speed in execution comes from having clear and nimble processes.

3. Success Oriented: Delivering results of any kind demonstrate success; greater leaders do not engage in analysis paralysis.

4. Priority Focus: They have complete clarity around the priorities for the week; the day; even the hour.

5. Flexibility: New information can impact outcomes; Flexibility in managing is key.

6. Internally Motivated: They have a burning desire that drives their performance despite obstacles and challenges that might present themselves.

Learn more in this post on Employee Buy-in.

Now comes the difficult part, assessing yourself.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How do you measure up against these leadership characteristics?
2. How do your employees or team members think you measure up?
3. What is your evidence to support your conclusions?

The results might just surprise you.

© Shawn Casemore 2013. All rights reserved.