Current Thoughts on Leadership
By Joe Maginnis
I believe the opinions of those that are junior in any organizational hierarchy should matter to those further up the hierarchical chain. From my perspective, the two measurements of any leader are the material successes s/he produces, be it a physical product or an achievement, and the opinions of those who work with him/her. Taken independently, neither measurement gives a full picture of a person’s skills, but together they are useful tools for measuring the traits of our leaders. Outside of these measurements, any claim about the competence of a leader is entirely subjective and not based on real experience.
Having recently graduated college and being in an industry where it’s unusual to not have a college degree, I’m in a unique position in my career – one where everybody around me is senior to me. Although most people would likely say that they would prefer to be in those positions of power, I think being a junior team member gives me an interesting perspective on leadership. More importantly, it is a perspective that will only last so long as I remain a junior team member in my organizational hierarchies, which will hopefully not be forever. As such, I think it’s important that I get some of my current thoughts about leadership out now so that others and I may look back on them later and take away meaningful conclusions. Here are what I consider to be the characteristics of a good leader:
A good leader has done it before
It’s clear to me that experience is irreplaceable. A good leader has seen the many challenges that can come up on the job and knows how to respond when they do.
A good leader is patient
A good leader knows that there are limits to what s/he can accomplish in one day and will be careful not to stretch too thin. A person who tries to juggle too many tasks at once will have difficulty giving adequate attention to any individual task at hand. A good leader knows when to let projects or opportunities pass by in order to stay focused on the team’s goals.
A good leader is disciplined
S/he is guided by a set of principles that s/he never breaks, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. A leader without a full set of principles to guide his/her decisions tends to give inconsistent feedback that can be confusing to junior team members.
A good leader can lead from behind
A good leader knows his/her team’s skillset and knows when to take a back seat. S/he is comfortable taking up supporting roles, guiding and giving constructive feedback along the way. In this way, s/he relinquishes control of the final result to others on the team. This is something that is crucial to retaining top talent on a team. Making a hire is more than buying another set of hands to a good leader. When s/he brings new members on-board, s/he gives them freedom to work on projects that stir their passions and shape the output of the team in their own unique way.
A good leader has grit
This covers everything from work ethic to lifestyle. A good leader takes pride in the team’s output and works just as hard as his/her junior team members to generate positive results. A good leader is not outwardly comfortable with the way things are. S/he arrives at work early, is rarely seen lounging about and avoids wearing flashy things in the work place.
A good leader gives credit to others
It’s a cliche, but I can’t stress enough how inspiring it is to be given credit for a positive outcome that the team achieves. A good leader takes responsibility for failures and gives all credit to the team for victories. It’s a mindset that is contagious.
A good leader has a team
Finally, I’ve found that the best leaders always have a team with them, while the poorest leaders have a hard time getting others to take up their cause. The leader of a team of one can hardly call him/herself a leader.
