Page 15 - Volume_42_Number_02_11-06-19

8 TraiTs of GreaT Leaders

Written by Joe Garfinkle
joel@garfinkleexecutivecoaching.com (Reprinted with permission)

Dianne had always felt like more of a wallflower than a leader. However, she had mastered
her current role in her organization and really wanted to get promoted to a higher-level
position.

To get there, she knew she had to focus on growing her leadership skills. She began working
with an executive coach who gave her weekly exercises to do in order to hone those
abilities. Within a couple of months, her boss had remarked about her growing leadership
competencies and suggested she might be a prime candidate for a directorial position one
day.

What do great leaders do? They instill
feelings of confidence and motivate
their workers. Many people struggle to
understand how they can achieve the
same results.

Here’s the good news: If you have the
motivation, you absolutely can master the
necessary skills to become a star leader.

Some people are born with an inherent
ability to get others to follow them.
However, charisma isn’t the only trait of a
great leader. A lot of the personality traits
that make for highly effective leaders are built on a solid foundation of emotional maturity
and drive.

Here are the most essential traits that great leaders have. If you want to aspire toward a
career in leadership, work toward building and developing these characteristics.

1. Great leaders have Integrity.

Leaders’ honesty and ability to follow a set of ethics in all of their work affects their ability
to influence their followers. Demonstrate your integrity by keeping your word and showing
that the human element of what you do matters more than anything else. Set and
maintain strong company responsibility guidelines, if you’re in a position to make such
decisions. Your employees will be proud to work at a firm that takes social responsibility
seriously.

2. Great leaders have Intelligence.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but great leaders should be able to think critically and
solve problems. Emotional intelligence is an important trait, too. Great leaders get results
by working effectively with others and building strong relationships with the people they
supervise. Keep an open mind when it comes to problem-solving. Seeking a range of
input will increase the overall intelligence you have to work with.

(continued on next page)
Historic Theatre Resource Guide / Allied Member Directory November 2019 INLEAGUE | PAGE 13