The Actions of a Leader

What makes a great leader? This question is almost a cliche.

When people write about leadership the majority of articles and books are glorified lists of vague traits leaders are supposed to have.

“Leaders are strong”.

“Leaders are durable.”

“Leaders are reliable.”

These are qualities that sound nice but don’t really say anything. They could be applied to leaders as well as pickup trucks or a paper towel brand.

In my experience there are many types of leaders with various strategies and approaches. There is no one type of personality or set of qualities that makes a good leader. Rather than looking for qualities and personality types, we should be asking “How does a leader act?”

In this article I want to outline some of the actions a good leader will take. Note this is not an exhaustive list, but rather a starting point based on my observations.

The Myth of the “Great” Man Leader
Before I talk about the actions of an effective leader, I want to state what a leader should NOT be. I want to bust a myth that is often toxic to leadership and the teams they are supposed to be serving. I’m referring to the myth of “great man” leader.

We have this idea of a “great man” as a leader. Confident to the point of arrogance. Never admits a mistake. Never offers an apology. Rough around the edges. Willing to alienate people to push his view. A maverick that “tells it like it is”. Abrasive and sometimes rude to teammates and subordinates, the “great man” leader doesn’t have time to take into account excuses or feelings — they are too busy leading a hapless group to glory!

Our media reinforces this myth. We love to watch rogueish sarcastic characters that, while sometimes acting cruelly to their subordinates, save the day singlehandedly with their brilliance. And consequently the obviously inferior teammates may be irritated, but they feel lucky to work with such a “great man”.

Let me put in plainly: this is dangerous bullshit.

Doctor House, among other fictional jerk leaders, would be a nightmare to work with in real life.

While there are certainly successful assholes, these are not people to emulate. The “great man” leader leaves frustration, confusion and chaos in their wake. In my experience teams will succeed in spite of “great man” leaders, not because of them.

Leaders Absorb Blame and Diffuse Praise
It’s easy to be a leader when things are going smoothly and your team is succeeding. It’s a completely different story when times are tough. Great leaders know that it is their job to absorb blame when things go bad, but diffuse praise when their team is succeeding.

Have you ever worked with this manager? When things are great they are there to take credit, but the second something goes wrong they can’t toss the team under the bus fast enough.

This hurts morale.

This makes people wary of trusting the team or the process.

This deters collaboration between teammates as individuals focus on their specific jobs to avoid blame as opposed to working as an intertwined unit.

And worst of all it creates a division in the team: “leader” vs “the rest of the team”.

Good leaders live by the old maxim when you point fingers you have three more pointing back at you. These leaders recognize that we rarely fail because of the actions of one team member, but rather it is often the result of many small mistakes and errors. A leader’s job is to trust their team to do their jobs, while mitigating the small tasks that lead to mistakes and errors and time suck.

Conversely, when things go great the good leader knows that it is not their job to bask in the glory, but to diffuse the praise to the rest of the team. When a leader hogs the glory they diminish the work of their team.

Leaders Love Feedback — Both Giving and Receiving
Feedback is the only way we get better. This feedback may come in the form of a grade, a one-on-one review, simple conversations and more. The format may change but the goal is the same: provide information that will allow people to improve and grow. After all if we don’t tell people how they can improve, how do we expect it to happen?

A good leader understands that feedback can be provided in a variety of ways and through a variety of channels. Additionally, a good leader recognizes that a one-size-fits-all approach to feedback will not work for everyone — as the feedback and growth cycle can be highly personal. For example: some people prefer scheduled one-on-one conversations while others may prefer a more casual approach over a coffee break. Whatever the method providing consistent, usable feedback helps our teams grow.

But feedback isn’t a one-way street. Good leaders recognize the need to not only give feedback to teammates, but to receive it as well. Leaders need to solicit feedback for themselves — not just from those “above” them, but from team members as well. When a leader actively solicits feedback it is not only an opportunity to grow, but it sets the expectation that the feedback cycle is expected and vital to team success.

Leaders act as servants
Finally, the best leaders know that the job of a leader isn’t to rule, its to serve.

In the “great man” leadership paradigm leaders are often viewed as the most important person in the room. But this is backwards. The best leaders recognize that they are rarely the most important person in the room, rather they are merely the person who is allowing their team members to be their best.

Leadership is a form of service. When we serve we put the needs of others ahead of our own needs.

Anyone can be a leader
Not everyone is cut out to be a leader. And that’s okay. But a good leader can come from pretty much any background or have any personality type. What matters most is how you act.

What do you look for in a leader? What actions do you expect good leaders to take?