Wilson and Associates Consulting Services

Everyone in a business organization should be a leader! Everyone has a role in accomplishing the company’s goal and everyone directly impacts the effectiveness of his or her organization. Additionally, all employees, whether they supervise people or not, are being watched…their words and deeds set the standards others will follow, and they impact individual and organization effectiveness, morale and discipline.

In my 27 years of military service, I’ve been around some great and some not-so-great leaders. After analyzing what it was that made me want to follow some of them to the ends of the earth and go in the opposite direction from others, I identified 10 common traits in the great ones.

These traits are not a prescription for being promoted to supervisor, manager, director or CEO. They are a prescription for improving individual leadership skills. The 10 traits are listed below.

   1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Leaders are accountable for their actions and for the actions of their employees 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Effective leaders never make excuses; they take the blame when things go wrong and direct the praise to those who did the work when things go right

   2. ATTITUDE: It has been said, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react.” Leaders are eternal optimists with positive attitudes and they will always find and focus on the opportunities in every problem. They know that one needs to learn from the past, but must always look to the future. Effective leaders know that attitudes are contagious and that people around them will catch their attitude. Remember, a real leader’s attitude is worth catching.

   3. COURAGE: It takes courage to be a leader. Not just hiring and firing employees, but the moral courage to always do the proper thing regardless of the consequences; real leaders have this courage.

   4. CREDIT: A leader lives by the credo, “It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t care who gets the credit.” Leaders are never involved in anything to gain honor and glory for themselves. Any credit they receive is attributed to those who did the work.

5. DISCIPLINE: This is an area where many “wanna be” leaders fail because they try to be nice to everyone. People who can’t or won’t meet the standards must be appropriately disciplined. Proper discipline punishes people for their incorrect behavior, attempts to rehabilitate them, and sends a message to everyone else. It also motivates the people who are meeting standards to continue their performance, and reinforces the established standards of conduct. Appropriately disciplining people is critical to high morale and discipline; great leaders know this and act accordingly.

6. INTEGRITY: Integrity is like virginity and once lost, it cannot be recovered. Leaders live, eat, and breathe integrity in everything they do. Leaders know that if something is worth doing, it must be done to the best of their ability. Leaders are totally committed to the highest personal and professional standards.

7. LISTENING: Leaders listen to all ideas and take the time to explain why a new one can or cannot be adopted. This behavior on the part of the leader keeps employees coming back with other ideas and sooner or later one will be exceptional.

Leaders are receptive to bad news and never “shoot the messenger.” This policy ensures that the lines of communication are kept open and that leaders will continue to receive the initial report of bad news from peers of subordinates rather than from their bosses. Shooting the messenger virtually assures that the only notification of bad news will come from the boss, and that’s not conducive to a leader’s longevity. Additionally, real leaders view the problems brought to them as opportunities to excel.

8. RESPECT: Leaders treat all human beings with respect and dignity in all situations. Whether speaking with a maintenance worker in the hallway, telling an employee he or she is being fired, or thanking someone for a job done well, a leader follows three basic rules: “praise in public and criticize in private,” “treat others as you wish to be treated,” and “don’t lose you temper,” When something goes wrong, leaders take corrective action by attacking the root cause of the problem, not just the symptom. However, leaders know the difference between accountability and blame. Things can go wrong even if everything is done right and in that case no one is blamed for what happened.

9. REWARD: A leader guarantees that top performers are rewarded. Rewards take many forms, including a handshake and sincere “thank you,” appropriate performance reports, and cash rewards

10. SINCERITY: Leaders have a deep concern for people. A leader’s words and deeds always convey sincerity. When a leader asks employees how their weekend was, or what’s going on in their work section, he or she wants an honest answer. If a problem is raised in the conversation, a leader will always do more research to see what the magnitude of the problem is and determine whether he or she can help alleviate it.

Great leaders exhibit these traits day in and day out. The greatest leader, who possessed all these traits, with whom I had the opportunity to serve with is Colonel (retired) Henry “Kodak” Horton who instilled all these traits into me and his other subordinates on a daily basis. The more your supervisors, directors, and managers become effective leaders, the better the chance your organization will succeed in meeting their goals and objectives.

Joe A. Wilson, Executive Vice President of Training and Co-Founder of Wilson & Associates Consulting, is a retired US Air Force Colonel with over 27 years of honorable service. Joe holds a BS degree and a MA degree in Business Management and Procurement. He is a lifetime member of the Society of Logistics Engineers, the Air Force Association, and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. His website is www.wilson-and-associates.com and his office number is (813) 818-0150. He can be contacted via email at jwilson@wilson-and-associates.com.

Ten Traits of Effective Leaders