A successful leader needs to win the hearts and minds of those that she leads. In order to do this successfully, she needs to be willing and able to inspire, understand, empathise, and motivate her managers/teams/employees. Perhaps most importantly, the leader must be congruent in her expectations and behaviour – the standards that she holds to her tribe must be evident in her own values and actions.
The ability to tackle problems and projects from both a top down and bottom up approach is useful of course, and a formidable leader will also add to this a flair for lateral thinking. But what separates the outstanding leaders from those that merely wish to lead is a genuine interest, humility and mentoring capacity where their charges are concerned – they truly grasp the larger vision and hold that vision for all involved.
What is the most important quality in a leader for you?