What does quality leadership look like?

“What does quality leadership look like?” this was one of the questions applicants were asked during interviews for a chief executive officer vacancy held last week.

It’s a fascinating question that got me thinking. Not least, because many of us have strong views of what great, good and even bad leadership looks like. And yet, defining leadership, quality leadership in particular can prove pretty difficult for some of us.

That being said, in our assessment one applicant for this CEO role provided a succinct and relevant response. And I think that they nailed it.

“Russell, leadership has 3 dimensions. Firstly, our role is to inspire through vision. Secondly, we need to set the standard. Creating a culture if you will. And thirdly, we need to remove obstacles so our people succeed.”

What do you think?

Well, I tend to agree with them, and in expanding further this is what I believe they were saying:

1. Inspire through vision - envision the future and enlist your team to act.

Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. Jack Welch

Early in my career, I worked for a leader who was always two or three steps ahead of everyone else. She knew the endgame and how we were going to get there. Even though at times it seemed like some faraway fantasy, and we’d often get caught in the detail of the ‘here and now, she kept bringing us back to the bigger picture - focusing us on future possibilities.

In hindsight, it was a privilege to work for such a great leader so early in my professional working life, straight out of university and into my first job I thought this was what all leaders did.

I learned early, that focusing on the vision avoids the costly mistake of micromanagement. It ensures your people are focused on overall team success, rather than short-term, and potentially unsustainable goals. This is a rule I’ve maintained since.

So what happens if you don’t provide a compelling vision?

I’ve seen this happen firsthand as well.

The country CEO of a major international firm I worked for was known for indecision. He would ‘flip and flop’ every few months on tactical responses, with no clear or compelling plan of action. As a team, no one knew left from right, and despite all of us working our butts off we made little headway.

It’s probably no surprise then that year after year the business continued to underperform the market - this is a leader with no vision. They have no plan.

The predominant attribute of quality leaders is that they think about the future most of the time.

They think about where they are going rather than where they have been. They maintain a positive attitude and think about the opportunities of tomorrow rather than focusing on the problems of the past.

2. Setting a standard (or commonly referred to as defining the culture)

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. David Morrison

The role of a leader is to help define the culture of the organisation. What is it we stand for? What are the standards we hold ourselves to?

I once worked for a boss who lost her temper (frequently), understandably the team struggled with such behaviour. It was no surprise, that over time they came to mirror her behaviour. They were watching and accepted that this was the norm in the organisation.

Similarly, I worked for an ever-present leader. He would put his phone face down in catch-ups, have his EA take calls when he was on regional visits. He would only ever cross the road on the green light. Lots of little conscious actions built up over time. The result? This organisation had the best safety record in their industry, staff was open to feedback and willing to take support from across the organisation.

They are watching what you do and, over time, will come to mimic those behaviors at work.

If you want your team to be transparent and open to feedback, you have to be the first one to be vulnerable, admit your faults, and willing to take criticism.

So as a leader, if you don’t set the standard who will? Who’s responsibility is it to define the culture?

Most of the time, leaders think about good leadership qualities and how to apply them on a daily basis.

They also know that they must lead by example to earn the will of their followers. The ability to commit to this principle is another huge characteristic of quality leadership.

3. Build people up then remove obstacle so everyone succeeds

Bureaucracy is more people doing less things, and taking more time do them worse. Evan Esar

This is a key role of any leader at any level. Develop your people, remove obstacles and then get out of the way!

Great leaders know that to be successful they need to build more leaders. They also need to remove red tape and any unnecessary bureaucracy.

I believe that the role of any leader is to develop talent, then create opportunities for your people. How can you set them up for success? What small wins can they achieve?

In one such organisation I worked for, the Chair said to me simply “I have only one job here. It’s to help the people of this company win. When we’ve done that, my job is done.”

Of course, this wasn’t entirely true, this accomplished professional director knew his responsibilities better than any other. He was however making a very clear statement – by removing red tape, simplifying the business, focusing management on the core activities, his governance role within the organisation was to set the platform for people to think creatively, to experiment, and to succeed.

This is a key dimension of leadership at all levels and yet often one of the most overlooked. Yes, you can focus on building capability, however equally important is ensuring the environment is one that is conducive to success.

For all leaders, regardless of your technical background, you must look beyond your expertise.

Leadership is like conducting an orchestra. You need to set aside your subject expertise and recognise your role as a storyteller, supporter of people, and remove the obstacles to establish the conditions for your organisation to thrive.

Great leadership is a combination of attributes, characteristics, and traits that can be learned through practice and repetition.

Crafting a vision, developing a culture, and removing barriers are just three. Quality leaders find the balance between business foresight, performance, and character. They also have courage, integrity, humility, and focus along with the ability to plan strategically and catalyze cooperation amongst their team.