The 4 most important qualities of being an effective leader

The word leadership is often misconstrued to make people believe that leadership somehow is tied to someone’s title, hierarchy/ranking, age, how much money they make, and so on. In reality, leadership has absolutely nothing to do with any of those. Despite that, a lot of those already in positions of power continue to strive to paint this picture of what a leader should look like. Especially in the corporate world, this false perception of a “strong leader” is someone who outwardly shows a lot of aggressive power, wealth, and ego. Yet, some of the other most powerful human qualities and emotions are left behind.

When we consider impactful leadership, we need to go beyond just what someone says or how someone looks. To fully capture how effective someone is as a leader, we need to consider all of the factors, including how they think, feel, and act.

When measuring effectiveness in leaders, we can look at it in 4 different categories. These four different categories of leadership include: Situational Leadership, Thought Leadership, Internal Leadership, and External Leadership. Typically through coaching, people can develop techniques and skills in each of these critical areas so that they can be the most effective leader in work and life. These qualities are more powerful than the surface-level/temporary qualities that are more visible and “outward”. These introspective qualities are what truly impactful leaders embody, and they span beyond age, ethnicity, title, industries, or even time. 

The following shows a visual of the 4 categories of leadership, with an example of what human quality showcases that.

Resilience (Situational Leadership): Being able to recognize that change is inevitable, and embodying a growth mindset which doesn’t get “stuck” whenever things change or get tough. It’s important to know that being a resilient leader doesn’t mean being fearless—it simply means when difficult situations arise and we have doubt or fear, we continue on because we have strong integrity, values, and grit. It means acknowledging that we are all humans with complex emotions and experiences. What it really comes down to is—when challenging situations arise that test your limits, do you maintain composure and approach it from a perspective of openness and curiosity? 

Innovation (Thought Leadership): Having the ability to draw from prior experiences and apply it to new situations is a strong skill of a leader. Even more, having the instinct and passion to create an entirely new solution or to approach a problem in a different perspective takes time, energy, and development as a leader. When impactful leaders are able to dream up new ideas and empower their teams to implement/execute on them, they take their teams and businesses to new levels where others cannot even imagine. 

Self-Awareness (Internal Leadership): On the surface, we are all aware of ourselves to some degree. Some might even say that we are inherently egotistical beings, because our worlds are so focused on us as the main character. We see, hear, and experience everything in the world as ourselves so it is naturally difficult to not be “self-aware”. As a leader, however, it takes an immense amount of intentionality and maturity to truly be self-aware enough to want to receive feedback and grow/develop. Impactful leaders genuinely and openly receive feedback with grace, as they know that taking accountability inwards (versus pointing fingers at others)—will often draw out the same positive behavior in others around them. 

Empathy (External Leadership): Allowing yourself to imagine and see yourself in someone else’s place is truly a humbling experience. Feeling and showing compassion towards others is what separates managers from effective leaders. Being empathetic towards others build trust and also incentivizes your team members to stay committed to your team and business. When we feel seen and heard, we thrive and we show up as the best versions of ourselves. When we can be the ones to make others feel seen and heard, that is one of the most powerful elements of a strong relationship. 

By intentionally focusing more on these 4 categories of leadership, we can create a future with more self-aware, more empathetic, more impactful leaders. These qualities also draw out more authenticity in people and shatters the misconception that in order to be a strong leader, you must be loud, extroverted, or very outwardly assertive. It allows many different types of people to realize their own leadership potential and allows everyone to see that even a single, individual contributor earlier on in their career can still be an impactful leader in more ways than one.

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