The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

 

 

The Leadership Series

 

 

 

NOTE: This article is part 2 of a series on Leadership here at The Wealthy Ironworker

1. Leadership, Management, and The Skilled Trades
2. The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
3. Leadership and The Task-Oriented Trades
4. Situational Leadership and the Skilled Trades
5. Leadership and The Art of Intentionality
   1. Skills Developed From The Art of Intentionality
6. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
   1. Skills Developed From Emotional Intelligence
7. Leadership and Humility
   1. Skills Developed From Humility
8. Leadership and Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
   1. Skills Developed From Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
9. Skills Developed Overall in the Leadership Process

What makes a great leader

 

Given the tremendous upheaval taking place in the construction industry today, it is my contention we need to have a return to quality leadership and not simply rely on managers. Indeed, I have a post in the works dealing with the difference between the two – especially given many seem to mix them up a bit. Looking back over the past 30 years or so, I suspect many of us can see how managers have emerged in greater numbers while leaders have declined. There are many reasons for this, and I suspect a big one is that managing is easier than being a leader. (Again, more of this will be covered in another post discussing the two).

There’s a storm brewing where Leadership is concerned – a leader can see it

I also suspect we can look back on the past few decades with mixed reviews. The advent of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and similar safety procedures (think JSAs, HSAs, etc.) was an attempt to manage a process – a distinction that clearly needs to be made. They are not inadvertently a negative thing, but they are something that’s incomplete. Moreover, we miss the mark when we believe we only need processes to manage and not leaders to inspire. You can have all of the processes you want, but do they speak to the individual, their motivations, quality of work, and motives?

We already know the answer. And because we do, I advocate leadership is far more important – and necessary – for all involved.

Given the above, I believe there are four qualities that make a great leader. Properly understood, I believe if you possess any of these four qualities, you are already on your way to being a good leader. If, after reading this post, you feel you could work on a quality or two, then you are not alone – and are already ahead of millions of other people – who do not consider much beyond collecting a paycheck.

The four qualities of a great leader are:

1. The Art of Intentionality
2. Emotional Intelligence
3. Humility
4. Listening to Understand and Not to Respond

Without further ado, let’s examine each of these qualities and see how they benefit not just a leader but also the skilled trades as a whole.

 

The Art of Intentionality

You should be intentional – with a laser-like focus

 

The Art of Intentionality is by far my favorite trait found in a great leader. Intentionality is absolutely necessary if someone seeks to be a better person, a better leader, or even just a better tradesman.

Think about it this way. We all have things that need to get done. We have to go to work so we can live and provide for our families. Compare the person who does so with intentionality – pride in their work, constantly seeking to improve themselves, always looking for a better way to achieve their goals – with someone who just blunders through life. I suspect the comparison is eye-opening.

A few examples of intentionality would be:

• Establishing goals (and checking where they are at with them)
• Seeking to improve themselves
• Looking to be a better tradesman
• Wanting to be a better listener
• Desiring to grow as a person
• Pursuing to educate yourself every day
• Learning in various areas
• Maintaining communication with others

 

I could go on and on, but the point is that these – and many more not listed – will never be done without intentionality. Intentionality is not just desirable in a great leader – it’s an absolute necessity. You CANNOT be a great leader if you do not have this all-important trait.

*EDIT: While writing another post, I make a nod to this particular trait above. I found it fascinating while surfing that John Maxwell, widely considered the most authoritative leader, has something called “The Law of Intentionality.” I had NO IDEA he had written about this, so color me impressed – not just because we are of like mind, but it also, at least in my mind, adds to my credibility somewhat. Winning!*

 

Emotional Intelligence

What is your emotional intelligence?

 

I have listed emotional intelligence below intentionality, and that’s because it takes intentionality to use/develop it. Moreover, it also takes intentionality to discover where you are deficient and work on your own shortcomings.

Despite the above, though, emotional intelligence is VASTLY important and another necessity for a great leader. Emotional intelligence, properly understood and utilized, is so important that not to possess it is to render you a poor leader automatically.

One of the best articles I’ve read on Emotional Intelligence and how it is being applied to everyday life is found here.  It doesn’t take too long to read and is worth a look when you have a second. Glance over the 19 things the author says emotionally intelligent people do, and you may even recognize some of them in your own actions. Some may come naturally; others likely do not. Not only will you get a boost in seeing what you already do, but you’ll also get challenged by seeing what you need to work on.

*Here’s another great post on Emotional Intelligence. Again, it doesn’t take long to read and is definitely worth your time.*

A major tenet of quality leadership is the ability to influence people. A great leader wants to set the tone, have people get on board with his vision, and help others to work within that vision. Without emotional intelligence, though, this is almost impossible. Moreover, it’s not something one can force. Many of the retiring leaders in the construction industry were poor in terms of leadership, even if they were good at managing. The industry as a whole has been dealing with deficient management models for some time now and desperately needs to return to quality leadership – which cannot be had without an abundance of emotional intelligence.

*I have another post about emotional intelligence and the skilled trades, and it can be read here.*

 

Humility

Being humble has a tremendous effect on others around you

 

The third quality of a great leader is humility. Humility is a hard thing to use on the job site, given how fragile egos are. Combined with pride, humility is often dismissed outright – if it’s even considered at all.

But humility is a hallmark quality. It’s admitting you don’t know something. It’s apologizing when you are wrong, it’s thinking of others ahead of yourself, and it’s also seeking to help others. It’s seeking help when you need it. It’s also making yourself vulnerable – and THAT’S uncomfortable.

Often you will hear someone say, “People don’t like change,’ but that’s not quite right. Yes, most do not like change, but what they really don’t like is being uncomfortable. People don’t like to be uncomfortable and will seek change when they are. It’s why principles like The Principle of Being Uncomfortable work so well. Understanding this, is it any wonder humility is so scarce today? If demonstrating humility makes you vulnerable – and by extension, uncomfortable – why would someone even consider humility as a character trait?

Because they are a great leader, that’s why.

 

Listening to Understand and Not to Respond

Do you listen to actually understand – or do you simply want to respond?

 

I almost didn’t list humility in favor of this fourth point, but after thinking about it (and I routinely think about leadership to this day), I understood you need humility to do this. The reason for this is simple, really. When you demonstrate this quality, you are making yourself vulnerable. When listening to understand, you are actively listening to another, asking questions, allowing them time to talk and educate – which can make it seem as though you don’t know it all. Of course, you don’t. But remember, most on a job site often pretend as though they do, so when you are actively listening to understand, you are making yourself vulnerable. I’ve already established the act of vulnerability – brought about by humility – is seldom exuded. The connection, then, can be made from humility to vulnerability to listening to understand, and I hope its importance is demonstrated.

When applied correctly, though, vulnerability isn’t the only thing demonstrated. You will be perceived as though you genuinely care about what the other person has to say – and they will feel more important, too. Why? Because most people prefer to talk about – yup, you guessed it, themselves. And when you genuinely listen, it tells the person speaking they are valued in that moment.

 

“Many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request.”

– Phillip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield

 

Listening to understand will elevate you as a genuine human being, a leader, and you will be viewed differently – in a good way, of course. This is especially true given the way we normally communicate.

Contrast listening to understand with normal communication: we only hear the person enough to respond – where we often talk over another, trying to get our response out. What that says to the other person is you don’t really care for what they have to say and your opinion is more important. They often feel devalued and underappreciated. Clear communication isn’t achieved this way, and people can shut down.

Is it any wonder listening to understand rather than to respond is such a critical trademark of a great leader? I think not.

 

What about other skills

Build on the 4 core competencies first – the rest will come along

 

By now, I’m sure readers are questioning where some of the well-known skills for leaders are: great communicators, responsible, accountable, etc. The truth is, this list isn’t meant to be comprehensive – instead, it’s meant to be root-caused. Taken as written, IF you possess the four qualities I have listed above, EVERYTHING ELSE attributed to great leaders will come. Moreover, you can’t be a great leader without the four above.

Also, I wanted to provide the reader with the root causes of leadership. Too often, we toss out the characteristics of great leaders without getting to the root of those characteristics. It won’t do to discuss being a great communicator if that person isn’t a great listener. IF you work on being a great listener, you WILL be a better communicator. Instead of telling people to be more responsible or accountable, I think it’s better to tell them to be intentional. Someone might wonder how to do the former when the latter is at the root.

Lastly, I’d point out that this is but one entry in a comprehensive series on the subject. At the beginning of this article, there was a list exploring leadership. Be sure to check those other articles; they will give you a more robust picture – especially how following the 4 Indispensable Qualities yields various skills.

So there you have it: four indispensable qualities every great leader should have. I assure you that if you want to be a great leader, take the time to understand them, work on them in your own life, and the results will be exponential.

 

NOTE: This article is part 2 of a series on Leadership here at The Wealthy Ironworker

1. Leadership, Management, and The Skilled Trades
2. The 4 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
3. Leadership and The Task-Oriented Trades
4. Situational Leadership and the Skilled Trades
5. Leadership and The Art of Intentionality
   1. Skills Developed From The Art of Intentionality
6. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
   1. Skills Developed From Emotional Intelligence
7. Leadership and Humility
   1. Skills Developed From Humility
8. Leadership and Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
   1. Skills Developed From Listening to Understand and Not to Respond
9. Skills Developed Overall in the Leadership Process