What Makes a Good Leader?

My father told me this joke when I was in high school, it went something like this: 

A man walks into a job interview and the  recruiter asks him: ‘What is your biggest strength?”

The interviewee replies “I’m a really great follower, and take direction very well!” 

The interviewer then replies “You’re hired! Everyone I met today was a leader, and I need a few good followers…”

Ok it’s a Dad joke, but I told you it was my Dad who told it to me, so what did you expect? 

This got me thinking about what makes a good leader? Daniel Goleman who is known for his writings on Emotional Intelligence stated that a “Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill”.

 Although this a text book definition of “good” leadership, I would agree that in my experience the best leaders I had were people who were aware, empathetic, and were able to instill a level of trust in them by their employees. The big question is, where do you learn those skills? Let’s be real, not everyone is born with those qualities, and very few people can exemplify them all the time. What I have always appreciated is a leader who tries, and who is willing to say “I don’t know the answer, let’s find out together.”

Sometimes individuals are promoted into management roles, and really do not know how to be great leaders. I will go out and say it- I don’t think everyone can be a great leader innately, and that’s ok! Maybe you just need a little guidance. What do you think makes a great leader?