5 key things that make a positively impactful leader
Countless numbers of books, videos, and podcasts have been created about leadership.
It isn’t surprising—especially considering that all organisations require great leadership to grow and thrive.
Even if an organisation holds groundbreaking innovations that can unlock tremendous value in the world, poor leadership can scuttle the entire endeavour.
Considering this, we must commit to, and invest in positively impactful leadership. By deeply understanding the ingredients of positive leadership, we can better inspire our teams, accomplish our goals, and feel a deep satisfaction in our work.
The five things positively impactful leaders do:
One of the main qualities of positively impactful leaders is emotional intelligence. Whether it is intuitive or through sheer, deliberate practice, emotionally intelligent leaders recognise, understand and positively influence their own emotions and the emotional vibe within their team.
Positively impactful leaders are also invested in their colleagues’ success. While it seems obvious, investing time and energy into our employees’ careers is easier said than done. After all, there are plenty of urgent fires that need to be put out. At the same time, great leaders make their colleagues a priority.
In stressful and non-stressful times, these leaders empathise and support their employees. Even if things aren’t going the way that they expect, positively impactful leaders focus on empowering their colleagues and optimising learning and growth.
They offer significant value to their coworkers, whether that comes from regular feedback, projects with more responsibility, and well-deserved recognition of their skills and strengths.
Finally, positively impactful leaders are not perfectionists. They recognise that achieving the team goals does not require perfection.
Sure, positively impactful leaders want their teams to produce the best service possible. At the same time, they intuitively understand that great is better than perfect. Instead of micromanaging their employees and second-guessing their decisions, they give their colleagues significant autonomy.
Even though it may seem counterintuitive, positively impactful leaders recognise that the team will deliver a better overall work product by foregoing perfection.
Earning Trust
Brené Brown once said, "It turns out that trust is in fact earned in the smallest of moments. It is earned not through heroic deeds, or even highly visible actions, but through paying attention, listening, and gestures of genuine care and connection."
Positively impactful leaders understand that trust is one of the core elements of their employee relationships. Employing the traits above, they constantly earn that trust and help fulfil their team’s potential. While trust must be learned every day, they relish the opportunity to earn that trust.