Who is a good leader? Can anyone become a good leader?

Who is a leader? I like General Dwight Eisenhower’s definition:  Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Then, who is a good leader? From this definition, two key success factors for good leaders are highlighted – (1) they get things done, and (2) through others. Again, is a good leader in one place a good leader everywhere?

Many leadership experts have written about how to be a great leader and from my learning about leadership over the years, here are four leadership principles that I believe if understood, can make one a good leader all the time, or at least most of the time.

1. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything

Integrity is key for a leader. Good leaders never fake it and strive to do their best always, whether in public or in private. People who easily throw integrity out the window when no one is watching will eventually fall prey to their own undoing. Indeed, although integrity alone won’t make you a leader, without integrity you will never be one - Zig Ziglar. However, it doesn’t mean that all good leaders are born with full-proof integrity. It just means that they have taken the assignment to refine the rough edges of their character, and that is what all of us, current and aspiring leaders should be on to.

2. Leadership is contextual

Successful leadership involves a great deal of understanding the followers and the context where one is leading, and adjusting one’s approach accordingly. In this regard, there is no one-size-fits all in leadership and good leaders understand the power of, and necessity for contextual leadership. They are thus agile in their approach. Indeed, being able to recognise and adapt leadership methods to the situation at hand will make a leader successful over the long haul.

The assignment for aspiring leaders here is then to learn the various leadership styles and understand one’s personal default style. With practice, one then learns how and when to adjust their approach.

3. Perpetual learning

Good leaders have trained themselves to become people who are never self-sufficient in their knowledge and beliefs. They have the humility and openness of mind to know that there is much to learn from others. They constantly reject the desire to be the know-it-all type and have no interest in being the smartest people in the room. This way, they achieve one of the highest functions of leadership, they produce more leaders, not more followers. They know that true respect is earned from giving it to others.

As such, their source of power does not come from their position but from treating their followers with respect, empathy, and care. Indeed, for them empathy, humility and kindness are signs of strength, not weakness. This way, they are able to cooperate and learn from, rather than compete with people who are better than them. As such, they have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and show genuine commitment to making themselves better through the wisdom of others.

4. Superior communication skills

Good leaders are good communicators. They get buy in for their ideas because they successfully communicate them. They are also superior listeners. They make their followers feel important by showing them that they are interested in what they have to say. They encourage two-way communication by showing up not as perfect models, but as human beings, who could be wrong and are open to learning.

However, important to ask here is whether leaders are born or made; or whether everyone can become a good leader. This is debated of course. Some people may have character predispositions that make it easier for them to lead. However, leadership is a learned behaviour and everyone who wants to be a good leader can become one. It may just mean that some people may need to do more work in smoothening out their rough edges than others.

In sum, successful leadership of others starts with successful leadership of self – so integrity is key. Beyond the self, interpersonal skills and knowing how to connect with people at the fundamental human level is essential. And since one doesn’t need a title to be a leader, we can all start becoming the leaders we aspire, in how we conduct ourselves and treat others.