15 Key Qualities of a Successful Leader & Manager

I recently read an article that focussed on the idea that when you look for a new job it should be just as important to find a job that has a good leader / manager as it is finding a job that you will love doing. One without the other could be just as bad as the other way around and I have to say that I couldn't agree more.

I took some time to think about various leaders and managers I have worked with throughout my career and to be bluntly honest the amount of good quality ones I can recall is unfortunately very limited.  Some excelled in specific areas but lacked in others and some were questionable and I seriously wondered how they got to the position they held. Take my word for it its certainly not easy to find a well-rounded leader and manager that will mentor you through to the next level in your career.

After reading the article I decided to jot down, based on my own personal experiences, the qualities I think a successful leader needs to have in order to get my stamp of approval.

This list is written for a both a leader / manager looking to assess their own maturity or for job seekers looking to understand which qualities they should be looking for in their manager

[In no specific order]

1. Be a Good Listener

As a leader/manager you must listen. Listen intently when your staff speak to you and also listen when they don't speak to you. Pay attention to what you hear and think about what is being said and then act accordingly.

2. Be Self-Aware

Know your own personality, your strengths and your weaknesses. Know how you can improve and act on it. If you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses you can progressively improve.

3. Pay Attention to Detail 

As a leader/manager you need to plan your tasks and work efficiently. Your planning will impact your entire team. Always pay attention to the detail and read in-between the lines. Understand the deeper meaning and not just the face value.

4. Be Considerate  

There is seldom any worse leader / manager than a narcissistic one. Think about yourself only when necessary and spend more time thinking about your staff. Understand your individual staffs strengths and weaknesses. Mentor people whenever possible and help them grow their skills and confidence. Leadership is more about giving than taking.

5. Communicate Effectively

Communication is key to being a good leader/manager. If your people are not aware of what’s happening around them or are left out of the loop, mistrust and frustration will grow. Lack of communication limits effectiveness and morale. Lead by example.

6. Display Self-Control

Stop and take time to reflect and think about any situation before you respond. Action or words in the heat of the moment can be damaging. Learning to master self-control can be very difficult (but not impossible) for some personality types and may require you to focus on self-awareness.

7. Include Others

People like to feel that they are a part of something and like to be appreciated for their impact and influence on outcomes. Where possible, keep people in the loop and communicate with them and take their views into consideration. Show people your appreciation and reward them when earned. Remember exclusion breeds hostility.

8. Lead by Example

Never think that you are better than others around you just because you are their leader/manager. At times you must be prepared to do what you require of your staff. Your staff will respect you more for it. Be humble but confident.

9. Maintain Integrity

 Follow the rules and lead by example. Do not betray peoples trust. Do as you say. If you cannot uphold your integrity, your team and superiors will not trust you - things will turn sour in the end.

10. Be Supportive

 You must support your staff at all times when appropriate. They will depend on you to do this – back them up when they need it. If you feel a member of your team is misguided, then talk to them about it and come to an agreement. Make sure all your reasons are fully understood and you have addressed all their concerns. Your people will support you if you support them but be honest with them when needed.

11. Drive Improvements 

Always be on the lookout for improvements. When you identify them, discuss them and then create an action plan. Don't be seen to be doing nothing, people expect you to be acting if you are a leader/manager. If you are bored, then move on and let someone more enthusiastic do the job.

12. Display Leadership Qualities 

 If you lack personality and charisma then realise it and work on it. People like a leader with personality, charisma and charm. If you lack it then teach yourself how to improve. Even a bit of improvement will make a difference.

13. Challenge Things

Don't be afraid to challenge things you don't agree with whether it is the people you are leading or your superiors. If you challenge is based on a hunch or feeling then explain that otherwise make sure any challenges can be 100% backup up with facts and figures. Realise when to back down or drop your challenge. Always voice your concerns.

14. Be Confident

In order to be an effective leader/manager you must be confident! If you lack confidence then educate yourself on how to become more confident. Everyone can learn how to grown in confidence. Wouldn't it be great if your leaders helped you grow in confidence? Great leaders are confident leaders.

15. Don’t Be Too Serious

It is important to have laughter in any environment. Don’t be too serious. Laughter brings happiness and good times.

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In conclusion, I would be interested to learn about what other qualities you can add that successful leaders and managers should have.

Vision of a Future Workplace

I recently had a vision, I'm not too sure what triggered it but the vision was clear... the workplace of the future and what It may be like.

Today was another busy day in the office, a growing and never ending list of things to do. The office is a bustling place, especially the technology area, where the hustle and bustle ensures a continuous background buzz of ideas and conversation.

Great isn't it? But Darth Vader lurks in every shadow. Have you ever tried to get things done in a busy open plan office? I'm not sure what the productivity rates are or even how they can be measured but its not great I'm certain of that. I see developers sitting with headphones the size of dinner plates engulfing their ears hoping and praying that they will not be disrupted and loose that train of thought. A derailment of thought might just kill that attempt to meet the ever important deadline or disrupt that life changing idea. Disruption is a plague in an open plan office!

Over at my teams desks work comes in thick and fast from every direction but still we press on with our day to day work - always making time for a bit of banter to relieve the pressures of the daily grind. We love our jobs and the pressure keeps us on our toes but being as productive as we would like to be is extremely difficult.

In my vision the "office" as we know it had faded away and due to the heavy prevalence of an array of mobile devices that stood out in my vision I suspect it will be largely due to the effect of BYOD and cloud computing. Lets start with BYOD (bring your own device), some businesses now expect us to pay for and bring our own devices to the office so that we can use it for our day to day work. Will they pay our phone bills or hardware support? - only if you are lucky I dare say.

Along with BYOD comes "Corporate Security". Now we are using our own devices to work with company information, the company is likely to want to monitor and secure our devices to the max and perhaps understandably so. We will have to sign a document that will allow our employers to monitor our internet usage, wipe our treasured personal data at the touch of a button at their discretion and God knows what else!

At this point we will need to ask ourselves what are we actually gaining out of this? Not much at this stage I have to say except for the luxury of being able to use our own device of choice (although its only devices that we can afford) - the straw seems short! We will want and need something in return for sure. I see this want manifesting itself in a a drive for flexible working - a bit of give and take. Yes, we will be prepared to buy and use our own devices and reluctantly let you monitor it and wipe it as we will have little choice but we can demand to work more flexible hours cant we and also demand to work from our location of choice?

We will have our mobile devices with fancy new cloud collaboration apps installed at the touch of a button which will allow for quick and easy face to face meetings live over our super fast home internet. We will be able to engage in quick chats with anyone listed in our corporate on-line business directory without having to rely on old fashioned email and interact with on-line meetings form anywhere in the world... wonderful.

Now I am starting to realize the real benefits of this effect. I can become more of a family man or woman, more of a homely man or woman and have a bigger part in my child's upbringing by being able to work more from home without having to give up the ability to communicate, collaborate and work effectively. This is just one life advantage bit I'm sure there are many more just as favorable. Of course it will take a little getting used to and it will most certainly be led by the younger generation and the oldies will be forced to follow.

So if you enjoy your current working environment, cherish it as it wont be long before you will be forced to work from home from your own device while being closely monitored by your company security team, whether you like it or not. Be prepared it will come to a business near you soon (time scales unknown but nay guesses are welcome).

Think of how companies and corporates gain to benefit from this change- they will reduce their office rent costs, reduce their hardware costs and you will become more productive by working for them from home (away form that distracting open plan office) with occasional trips into the office only when necessary. Its a win win opportunity for business and its just a matter of time before the business benefits are realised by the Exec board.

And finally, please don't fool yourself into thinking that you will be able to get away with doing less work on the move or from home - no doubt your manager will be assessing your progress and impact frequently from the cloud and beyond!