The Ten Traits of Legendary Leaders

What is the difference between leaders that are great and other leaders?  This is an area that has been studied by many writers like John Kotter in The General Managers, Warren Bennis in On Becoming a Leader, and Burt Nanus in Visionary Leadership.  But after consulting with dozens of CEO’s and executives in fortune 500 companies, here are the ten traits that we have seen most often with great leaders.  Legendary leaders:

1. Seek significance (people) rather than success (money).  Great leaders are focused on people; their families, employees, and customers.  They evaluate each initiative, plan and decision as to the impact on these key stakeholders.  People are consistently put first at work and at home.

2. Serve a purpose rather than achieve results.  In a corporate world where quarterly results and profits are the barometer of success, effective leaders resist the pressure for immediate gratification and focus on long term purpose.  They evaluate new product and services based on the needs in the marketplace and how they can improve the lives of the users.

3. Focus on “what can I give?” rather than “what can I get?”  Great leaders follow a philosophy of abundance.  They know that the more they give, the more that returns.  Instead of fighting to get a bigger piece of the pie, they work to make the pie larger.

4. Do the right thing regardless of the outcome.  Legendary leaders listen to their guts and follow a moral compass.  With a high value on creativity and intuition, great leaders take time each day for reflection and meditation.  They know that creativity does not take place in a cluttered mind.

5. Expect in advance for things to go wrong.  Problems are not only anticipated they are sought out by great leaders.  They know that every computer conversion, new product launch and corporate initiative will result in glitches.  They openly communicate this to staff so all are comfortable with change and, at times, ambiguity.

6. Redefine failure for learning.  When things do go wrong, effective leaders view these times as opportunities for learning.  They analyze and evaluate what could be improved, re-designed, or scrapped.  They actively encourage those around them to also participate in a “learning” process and recognize that experimenting is essential for knowledge.

7. Resist “urgency addiction.”  The bane of multi-taskers, great leaders resist the addictive tendency to run around putting out brush fires rather than staying focused on what’s important.  They avoid the caffeinated tyranny of the urgent to follow through and complete what is truly significant.  They guide others in the organization to resist the “hop-scotching” that decreases productivity.

8. Stay focused on vision.  Like a rudder for a ship, vision guides effective leaders each day, week, and month.  They communicate the vision for the organization frequently so all employees understand and can implement what is important.  They have employees and customers participate in the vision and direction of where the organization is going to increase loyalty and commitment.

9. Do not take rejection personally.  Great leaders don’t spend time keeping score or worrying about their popularity.  They know that the key to success is the recognition that they will never please everyone.  With careful consideration they listen to feedback, especially unpopular opinions.  They know that this may offer some of the most valuable insights.

10. Keep a sense of humor.  A healthy funny bone allows the great leader to maintain balance, reduce stress and enjoy each day.  They communicate the humor to their team and employees which set a positive tone in the organization.  The legendary leader knows that happy employees provide effective customer service, are likely to stay long-term, and recruit other positive employees to join the team.

Barbara Bartlein is The People Pro.  She provides executive coaching, teambuilding, and leadership development to Fortune 500 companies.  She can be reached at barb@thepeoplepro.com.

Is Your Workplace Toxic to People?

 Feeling stressed at work?  It could be your rude co-workers.  Incivility is a growing problem at work, according to recent surveys.   The Civility in America 2011 poll of 1,000 adults found 43% of Americans say they’ve experienced incivility at work, and 38% believe the workplace is increasingly disrespectful.

Workplace incivility is defined “as a form of organizational deviance often characterized by low-intensity behaviors that violate respectful workplace norms appearing vague as to intent to harm.”  Over four in 10 Americans, 43%, have experienced incivility at work.  A nearly equal number, 38%, believe that the workplace is becoming increasingly uncivil and disrespectful.

Workplace leadership, or lack of, is blamed for this decline by almost two-thirds of those who perceive greater incivility in the workplace.  This perception has been further fueled by the cynicism towards CEOs brought on by the recession and financial crisis.  Other reasons for workplace incivility include the economy and competitiveness in the workplace.

There are many who feel that the workplace reflects the erosion of civility in human interactions.  According to a study of 1,000 adults conducted by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate in partnership with KRC Research, an overwhelming majority of Americans feel incivility has dramatically increased in recent years.  Daily occurrences of cyber bullying, online “flaming,” the bickering taking place on reality TV shows, and the mudslinging among politicians all point to a less civil society.

Whatever the cause, the outcome for workers is the same; stress, job dissatisfaction, and decreased productivity.  Employees report that they begin to feel a sense of dread by Sunday afternoon as they know that they have to go to work on Monday. They often have difficulty sleeping and experience feelings of anxiety or even panic attacks.

Combating incivility has become a mission for many companies and their employees.  Some things employers can do:

• Start with the CEO.  Americans rate civility among company CEOs fairly low-only 28% regard CEOs as civil while 49% consider them uncivil.  Nearly eight in 10 Americans (79%) hold businesses and companies responsible for improving civility in society.  Corporate boards need to hold CEO’s accountable for their behavior and the culture of the organization.  Using tools such as Leadership 360 where employees evaluate the leadership can give valuable information for performance reviews.
• Boycott the bullies.  A full three-quarters (75%) of Americans believe that companies that are uncivil should be boycotted.  Many advocates are using online reports to advise others not to buy products or services because they felt the company or its representatives were rude or uncivil.  We should not have to beg someone to take our money.
• Turn off the tube or radio.  News organizations, television and talk radio are losing their audiences as rudeness and abusive conversations continue.  If you see or hear something uncivil, let the station know that you will no longer be viewing or listening to their programming.
• Hold the advertising.  Research carefully where you are spending advertising dollars to make sure that your organization is not supporting or tolerating bad behavior.  Make sure the media you support displays integrity and ethical behavior.
• Encourage core values in the workplace.  Many organizations have established and posted key values that employees are expected to embrace on a daily basis.  For example, Acuity Insurance of Sheboygan, WI, promotes that employees treat each other with respect, build trust, act with honesty and integrity, encourage teamwork and others.  Not only does this make expectations clear to employees, it gives a framework to deal with uncivil behavior when it occurs.
• Monitor your own behavior.  You don’t have to be perfect but it sure is nice to try.  Take care of your own stress level and make sure that you take time to recharge your batteries from time to time.  If you do have a temporary civility lapse, make sure you apologize and make amends.  People respect those of us that can admit mistakes.

Barbara Bartlein, RN, CSP, is The People Pro.  For executive coaching, training and customized teambuilding programs,  call 414-747-1842 or barb@thepeoplepro.com.