Not many years ago being a good leader was a matter of results. If the company was not “in the red”, if it had projects and worked responsibly, if it achieved success in its field, etc. their number one was considered a leader to be admired.
The idea of what is be a good leader began to change when people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobsamong others, began to raise the rod.
After the fall from grace of many more traditional companies such as banks, with deep financial bubbles in which people and companies lost all their capital, these leaders emerged who were characterized by being innovative, disruptive, having an entrepreneurial spirit and a purpose of change the world before just making money.
The following change in that rod with which what is measured is be a good leader came from the least expected place: the employee expectations.
Today, what talents expect from their leaders is not the top-down budget of yesteryear, but flexibility, confidence, empathy, among other characteristics that have been enhanced by the pandemic.
What is being a good leader?
How to be a good leader is a question that does not have and has never had an unequivocal answer. There is not a good leader to dry, but the best for each company, each situation and project. Even, it would be said, for the dynamics of each work team.
When analyzing what What does it mean to be a good leader?, the master coach specializing in CEOs and directors, Daniel Colombo, discards the “Command and Control” model that existed only three decades ago. He says there was a move first to a coaching and employee development model, as the HR function grew, and then to a influence modelin which the leader is able to Motivate people and build consensus.
These different models and ideas of what it is to be a good leader, says Colombo, coexist in this era, although only the last ones adapt to the expectations of the talents. Prima or arises as emergent a collaborative leadership.
Being a good leader: today collaborative leadership that builds together with talents prevails
As we mentioned, the world of work underwent such a radical change with the pandemic that companies realized that the leaders who had in many cases they were not the ones they needed for the new context. The skills to be the head of a distributed team that only meets periodically, to trust that everyone will do their job without the physical supervision of a boss looking over their shoulder, is not something that everyone with people to enjoy will enjoy. office.
Which are the qualities that companies need today to be a good leader? The following are some of those that are repeated in the most recent articles published on the matter:
- coherence between saying and doing
- assertiveness o Ability to express points of view and make requests in a friendly manner,
- resilience o ability to adapt to problematic situations;
- capacity of give constructive feedback and have conversations with content,
- Emotional intelligence to manage one’s own emotions and recognize those of the environment
- effectiveness in communication.
- offer recognition when appropriate
- empathy to feel the pulse of what is happening in the organization, to put yourself in the shoes of the other
Ultimately, what a person can do to be a good leader, or at least not a bad one, is to follow his instinct but at the same time never stop get trained in this matter.
You can periodically ask yourself the questions:
- Am I being the best leader for my team?
- How would I want to be treated by a superior?
- How would you like decisions to be made for the benefit of the company?
What should a leader not do?
Being a good leader: acts of violence, harassment, mobbing, etc. must be avoided.
There’s a lot attitudes that a person should never take towards their company or their collaborators if what they want is to be a good leader.
Beyond obvious issues cordial, equitable treatment, complying with the law, avoiding abuse, respecting the rules of work ethics, etc. there is more that a person can do to be a good leader than a bad one.
For now, as we already mentioned, the top-down systems where a higher-up person gave orders to his subordinates and expected things to happen just because he or she said so, are leadership models that no longer work with current talent. Having these anachronistic expectations is the first thing a good leader should not do if he wants to have good results and get the best out of his people.
On the other hand, something that at least everyone in a senior position should try is to offer transparency and what is called in English “accountability”.
That is, taking responsibility for decisions and their results, giving credit where it is due, and allowing people to fully understand why things are done the way they are done in the company. This avoids misunderstandings, or that collaborators think that decisions occur on a whim or privilege.
The expert consultancy in climate measurement Great Place to Work is one of those that recently measured in Argentina the feeling of thousands of workers towards the leadership of the companies in which they work.
“He leader focused on the work of the future He is clear that flexibility is crucial to creating successful teams made up of motivated people and that his management will set the pulse of his people. And, therefore, of the results of the organization. The active and dynamic communication is key to the work of the future and will determine whether or not a boss is a good leader,” they stated in their 2023 report.
What do talented people expect today and what does it mean for them to be a good leader?
The consultant measures variables such as credibility, trust, respect and the ability to convey the purpose of the job to understand what is meant today by being a good leader.
“The starting point for every good leader is to be clear that everyone has different needs and that, in order to motivate them, they must be able to respond to all of them while maintaining the cohesion of their teams. To give an example: some will prefer the remote work, others hybrid, for some collaborators the priority will be to reconcile their working life with their maternity or paternity, etc. Knowing the employee’s pain point will be decisive in increasing their commitment to the company,” they added.
How can I know if I am a good leader?
The organization that also evaluates the organizational climate in multinational companies is Top Employers, and one of the recommendations they make to answer this question about being a good leader is ask the team for feedback.
Employees can be directly consulted and directly reported on how they view the leader’s taskbut it is also appropriate ask him to the pares already the superiors to know what is the way to be a good leader.
Being a good leader involves asking for feedback and keeping the lines of conversation open.
His analysis in 2023 indicates that to be a good leader, people must be on a “double screen”, with an eye on the long term but also feeling the pulse of what happens in the day to day of the organization.
For Top Employers today companies require leaders with active listeningcon ability to nurture, arrest emotional commitment with their equipment and the purpose of the company, etc. Being a good leader today means having deep connections and conversations with people that are constant or at least more frequent than previously expected.
“A culture of leadership based on solicit, give and build on feedback is being reinforced. Organizations encourage leaders to receive feedback from their teams on their own performance, and provide resources and guidance to help them build their confidence and grow.”
