The Complete List of Extraordinary Leadership Qualities – Plus One
Extraordinary leadership is about who you are. There’s hope for all of us.
One quality rises to the top when I think of extraordinary leaders. Before I give you that quality, here’s my complete list of extraordinary leadership qualities and behaviors – minus one.
The list:
- Face reality.
- Define “better.”
- Live organizational values.
- Serve.
- Reach high.
- Take responsibility.
- Make decisions.
- Set goals.
- Act with boldness.
- Adapt.
- Deliver results.
- Measure progress.
- Instill confidence in others.
- Listen.
- Trust.
- Connect.
- Receive help.
- Delegate. (Different from #15.)
- Provide abundant feedback.
- Leverage areas of above average intelligence.
- Learn persistently.
- Develop leaders.
- Possess high EQ – behave authentically.
- Take care of yourself.
- Praise, give credit, and celebrate progress.
Plus one:
All the skill in the world won’t compensate for a stingy heart.
Ridiculous generosity makes you remarkable.
The difference between successful and extraordinary is generosity.
Generosity requires:
- Humility.
- Courage.
- Compassion.
- Connection.
No-strings-attached generosity lifts you above the pack. Half-hearted generosity is barter.
Some will take advantage of generosity.
Be wise, but be more generous than wise.
13 elements of generous leadership:
- Courageously give yourself first. Generosity is about who you are.
- Slow down. You can’t be generous and frantic at the same time.
- Look for everyday opportunities to practice generosity in small ways.
- Define enough. What is enough for you today?
- Carry cash. Give yourself a daily generosity budget.
- Stand up for others.
- Forget barter. Don’t give to get. Give to give.
- Earn to give. Don’t give it all away. Earn more so you can give more.
- Hang with the lower-crust. The upper-crust is disconnected.
- Feel it. Generosity that doesn’t touch you is nice, not remarkable.
- Get your hands dirty. Don’t delegate generosity.
- Build channels of generosity for others.
- Honor generosity when you see it.
What would you add to the list of 25 qualities and behaviors?
What are your top ten qualities and behaviors of extraordinary leaders?
How might leaders practice generosity?
Strange!
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I would add encouragement to the list, especially of women in the workplace. The latest social science research shows that women need more support than men in the workplace to unleash performance. Check it out here: http://qz.com/555924/heres-a-little-thing-that-can-make-a-big-difference-to-womens-success-at-work/.
Thanks Valerie. I love encouragement and need it.
Valerie, I’m glad you brought this up. I agree with you, but it’s hard to get that across to other male leaders. Any recommendations?
Dan a great and comprehensive list. The two things I would add based on my own best bosses and mentors are
1. A sense of humor helps a lot
2. The ability to teach through stories
Thanks, Brad
Brad James
Thanks Brad. Great add! Many organizations could learn to laugh, especially at themselves.
Thank you for the post today. I would add the 14 Marine Corps leadership traits which were burned into our heads during initial training with the acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. They are delineated and explained briefly on many sites, including this one: http://www.usmc81.com/backbone-usmc-leadership-traits-jjdidtiebuckle/
I did not re-capitulate them here, but would hope that people responding to the blog would look them up and reflect on them. Every branch of service has their list and there is a lot of cross pollination. There is no “one” list. None are mutually exclusive. Lists such as these are great tools to do a self-inventory and gap analysis for our own self improvement. It is also a great learning tool for any leadership training program.
Thank you, David, for the referral to the Marine site and especially to the article on Marine Leadership Traits. Cpl. Beddoe, the author, did a great job of drawing the important parallel of how both Marines and leadership traits are “all for one and one for all.” Each Marine and each trait depends on every other. Without giving the reading experience away, I was particularly taken by this statement: “Without unselfishness, it may be difficult to be dependable. Without knowledge, it’s tough to make solid judgment calls.” There’s something very generous about being a Marine. Thank you, David, for your service.
Thanks David. I always enjoy it when readers extend the conversation. That’s a great article.
replace “leadership” with living or lives and the scope expands exponentially.
Thanks Frank. One problem leaders have is the false belief that it’s different from living. 🙂
>> No-strings-attached generosity lifts you above the pack. Half-hearted generosity is barter. <<
That's a defining quality, and can be a difficult mental battle, especially when giving to those who are familiar to us …
"..after all I've done, how could….."
Thank Ken. I can tell you’re thinking this over. The only reason I could write that sentence is I have a firm understanding of half-hearted generosity.
I would add the following to the list neat the top of not at the top.
Passionate
Inspires others
Courageous
Decisive
Trustworthy (different from the ability to trust )
Thanks Brad. I’m starting to feel a need to create a definitive list of leadership qualities, but I fear it would be too long.
Thanks for the list, Dan. Good stuff, sir!
As far as extraordinary leaders go, I’d add integrity/honesty somewhere in the mix. (It may be included in your authenticity thought on #23.) But the leaders I respect most are the ones who operate w/ the utmost integrity/honesty. There’s nothing worse than working for someone who is dishonest and lacks integrity. It creates such an atmosphere of distrust.
And I loved #7 & #9 on the generous leadership list–“Give to give” and “Hang w/ the lower-crust.” Such good reminders.
Thanks Beth. Great additions. Better to err on the side of clarity.
Hi Dan ,
First of all good morning to you.
You have started a new campaign “plus one” with generosity when people are generous then generosity comes by default. Great leaders never adopt teaching or preaching mode they had strong belief or faith in “practicing ” with generosity.
As you have mentioned 25 qualities of leadership but they follow each other one after another except one I.e “Compassionate Empathy” please add this major quality in your list as you said plus one.
Compassionate empathy directly proportionate to social intelligence and helps leaders in increasing broad understanding with humility.
Allows people externally and internally for better transparency only then you can stand for others and further strengthen feedback mechanism so generosity is important, very true but when truly combines or mingle with compassionate empathy. It would help coaches and mentors to understand what actually organisation is.
When you have high EQ , it really means that how much your EQ is mingling with “CEQ” or compassionate empathy quotient .
Yesterday as you have said on controlling freaks curiosity , now I am asking question do they have space for generosity , NO.
Because there is big absentia of CEQ With EQ and zero EI.
YES example comes to my mind like Ratan TATA, Respected Bill gate with Bill gate foundation.
Few more like Ambani’s , no space for generosity because lack of CEQ.
All leadership qualities starts with strong CEQ rest followed each other.
Have a successfully successful day ahead with “CEQ”
Regards
CRAZY VINAY nick name
Thanks CRAZY. Love CEQ. There is a feeling in some circles that tough leadership excludes compassion. But that’s a huge misconception. The epitome of character is the marriage of tough and tender.
I like how you connect transparency with compassion. If you want people to be transparent then practice compassion.
WOW Dan.
It’s an answer to my friend Dan. If you want transparency in organization then you do need strong value system.
Where people should or must not have sympathy oriented dagger which could harm them on transactional transparency values. All such acts drive by leadership who practice value oriented people driven leadership. That is possible only when acceptance of selfless practices with defined values are being used on a common platform for common goal and being head with humility celebrating progress with a value driven learning process. AND that needs SAQ.
SAQ MEANS – self appreciation quotient with a positive EQ and leads self regulation with associates or team members or upper think tank who can start appreciating CEQ with SAQ and leads to compassion oriented transparency linked to cultural values of organisation where leadership being particle for a common goal for people and with the people that is compassionate transparency.
Your Crazy
I am enjoying your blogs. In your country is day time and here is sweet stars are visible in sky.
We will keep sharing new dimensions of leadership.
Gud nite here and now good noon is there
Thank you Dan for listing out qualities of an Extraordinary Leader. I can only add and truly believe the #1 quality for being a Leader is a clear Vision.
Thank you for serving the team,
Surendra Nath Mishra
Can you clarify what you mean by lower crust and upper crust?
Thanks Maggie. Lower-crust = people without power. Upper-crust people with power.
I suppose you could add, people who can advance your career and people who can’t. Or, people over you vs. people who report to you.
Thank you Dan, yet another thought provoking post.
Generous leaders allow us to grow and surely this list will keep on growing.
Dan, WOW -this is superb.
Generosity all the time is so darn hard but worth striving for.
It ties in with one of my favourite words – wholehearted.
Blessings and thanks
Plus one more: Business Savvy