Dr. Ian A. Roberts - The Defining Qualities of Effective Leadership

Leadership qualities are qualities that characterize effective leadership. What are these qualities?

Let I lay it out clearly.

For starters, effective leaders are . . .

1. Humble

2. Decisive

3. Selfless and self-sacrificing

4. Empathetic

5. Disciplined

6. Good communicators (they communicate the agenda clearly and effectively)

7. Fair and unprejudiced

Effective leaders . . .

8. Maximize the potential of their people by empowering them

9. Surround themselves with people smarter than they are

10. Do not care who takes the credit

11. Admit that they are infallible and admit mistakes when they make them

12. Have a burning desire to make a difference . . . a positive difference

This the list is by no means exhaustive. In fact, I can go on and on.

But no matter how long the list of leadership qualities is, Dr. Ian A. Roberts can tell you honestly that without three of these leadership qualities you will inevitably fail as a leader.

What are these four uncompromising qualities of effective leadership?

1. Surround yourself with people smarter than you

2. Acknowledge mistakes when you make them. Take corrective actions, learn from them, and move on

3. Maximize the potential of your people and

4. Be selfless. Serve your people and your organization. Abhor personal gain.

The desire for personal gain will color your judgment and will ultimately lead you to the path of failure.

To illustrate, consider what happened recently in the company where I work.

So, what went wrong? What took him down?

1. The desire for greater prominence, greater fame, and personal gain.

2. Arrogance. He refused to admit he was wrong and wind down production to match demand and market opportunities (He had the vision to make the company a billion-dollar company by the year 2010. He called this . . . project marathon).

Dr.Ian A. Roberts says When the market wasn't growing as fast as production was growing, he refused to slow down production. The factories kept on producing at break-neck speed and the company kept on acquiring more warehouses to store what was produced that the market could not accommodate)

3. He surrounded himself with 'yes men' - directors who were at his mercy . . . directors who stood by and watched while the life investment of shareholders went down the drain

Make no mistake about it.