Shaping a Great Leader
What makes a great leader? What characteristics do they need to possess? What separates great leaders from poor ones? Questions like these abound and are often answered generically. Prescribing a list of attributes and skill sets that fit every leader is as challenging as determining how every person will respond in a certain situation.
Over the last 27+ years of working with leaders, I can truly say that no two people were exactly alike. Nor did they arrive at their leadership role by taking the same path. It is amazing to see the different journeys each leader has taken.
How Our Leadership Style Develops
However, the unique thumbprint we all bring to our work creates a design for our leadership. Our uniqueness begins early in life with the personality or “hard wiring” we are born with. Watch infants for any length of time, and you will see very different reactions to their parents and their need for attention.
These natural styles create a foundation for the rest of life. Over time, life builds and shapes those natural inclinations through our families, school, friends, and experiences. Along the way, you gain skills and knowledge that are added to the journey of leadership. Yet that journey is unique to you, and no two people, even if raised in the same family, will experience the same things in the same way.
Understanding Your Unique Leadership Role
Critical to this journey is understanding your strengths and how you have been shaped for a unique leadership role. Someone who leads within NASA would need different styles, skills, and experiences than someone leading in a marketing firm. The question is not about which style is better or worse, but rather what environment and situation are the right fit for you to lead.
The Importance of Self-Awareness in Leadership
Successful leaders understand how to evaluate the environment in which they can have influence, impact outcomes, create vision, and empower a team to achieve. Therefore, self-awareness becomes critical to every action and decision a leader makes.
The journey of leadership is about deepening that understanding while being confident and humble enough to know that leadership requires understanding ourselves in order to serve others well.
