The traits of leadership

A few years ago at a leadership forum in Hartford, Gen. H.
Norman Schwarzkopf of Gulf War fame was asked to list 10 traits
that make for the best leaders.

The general declined, saying that leaders come in all shapes and
sizes. But he added that every leader he admired had two common
traits: competency and character. If a leader could have only
one of the two traits, he said he would always choose character.

But unlike the general, we'll venture to answer the question. To
be effective, we think leaders need to excel at being:

Sharers of power and information. People should be included in
decisions whenever possible and need the same information the
boss has to make the best choices. They won't be able to make
any decision unless the power to do so is delegated to them.
Many leaders are unwilling to share their power and reserve most
decisions - even minor ones - to themselves. This defeats
inclusion and sets up an "us vs. them" environment. The
challenge is including people in decisions without the process
causing gridlock.

Agents of change. Most organizations need to be undergoing
constant change to grow and thrive. One of the most important
duties of a leader is to shape the change, usually by including
others in helping lead it.

Apostles of hope. Power flows in the direction of hope. Hopeful
leaders can inspire colleagues to do their best work. Nay sayers
and idea assassins can only lead to mediocre work.

Good listeners. Listening is a quality difficult to master but
necessary to achieve if people are to believe that the boss
really does care about their challenges.

Coaches and teachers. One of the most important
responsibilities of leaders is to prepare future leaders.
Teaching colleagues is essential to ensuring the health of the
organization. As baseball great Jackie Robinson once said, "An
individual's life is unimportant except for its impact on
others."

Decisive. I once worked for a news editor who stressed that a
bad decision is better than no decision at all. To be decisive,
one must have a sense of urgency, be responsive and take
initiative.

Risk-takers. Newsrooms are often accused of having a liberal
bias, yet are ultra-conservative when it comes to taking risks.
Most of their best work, however, occurs when someone is willing
to deviate from tradition. Leaders constantly should encourage
risk-taking to get the best results.

Enforcers of standards. Newspapers should define and then
pursue excellence. Leaders then should uphold the standards and
insist on rigorous performance management.

Tenacious. Effective leaders show extraordinary determination
in the face of adversity. Figuring out how to bypass hurdles is
essential to effective leadership.

Results-oriented. Leadership standards are all aimed at the
final goal: getting the right results in the right way.