There have been many definitions on what leadership is, for example, Alan Keith of Lucas Digital says;

“Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen”

and Lindsay Levin of Whites Limited says;

“Vision, conviction and courage made the difference for all of us”

and finally, Wikipedia describes leadership thus;

‘Leadership has been described as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task’.

Clearly there are many and varied statements regarding the definition of leadership so, to ascertain what is involved in developing good leadership traits, references to these three books allow us to explore how to apply good leadership skills:

• James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner – The Leadership Challenge
• John C. Maxwell – 5 Levels of Leadership
• H Samuel & R Nowak – The Integrity Factor

Each of the above books approach leadership differently, so overall it provides a good focus of the requirements of good leadership.

Kouzes & Posner developed a dynamic process through case analyses and survey questionnaires, where they discovered five (5) common practices to personal-best leadership experiences, these being:

• Model the Way
• Inspire a shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

Maxwell describes Leadership as a process, not a position, breaking down the five levels of leadership into understandable steps and aligning the levels to practices, principles and values. These five levels being:

1. Position (Rights) – People follow you because they have to
2. Permission (Relationships) – People follow you because they want to
3. Production (Results) – People follow because of what you have done for the organisation
4. People Development (Reproduction) – People follow because of what you have done for them
5. Pinnacle (Respect) – People follow because of who you are and what you represent

Hannah Samuel & Ricky Nowak write in ‘The Integrity Factor’ that:

‘The role of the leader now is not just about the financial health of the business but includes the emotional health of their people. Leading the way means being transparent in communication, authentic in approach and empathic to people, thus leading by role modeling and example. This in turn creates compelling leadership culture that encourages everyone’s contribution and helps shape and create a living legacy for the present and the future’.

They have based their research for their book on a study in 2007 by Blessing White, Organisational Consultants in Boston, following eight key qualities that are recognised as being central to best practice. These being:

1. Empathy
2. Trustworthiness
3. Business Aptitude
4. Depth
5. External Attunement
6. Clarity
7. Responsibility
8. Internal Attunement

In summary; empathic, trustworthy, and externally attuned leaders are in a better position to get great results from their employees and stakeholders.

Emotionally intelligent leaders are more likely to build better and more resilient relationships with their employees and stakeholders due to their ability to understand the ‘nuances and spaces’ in between what is being said and what is being done.

Leaders need to constantly look ahead and focus on future performance and growth rather than past performance and errors.

Networking to build one’s worth is critical and the greater the external influences in business and personal, the better the outcomes.

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