If you鈥檙e reading this post about leadership qualities, you already possess one of
the key traits of a leader, which is introspection. Your curiosity about the topic
indicates a self-awareness to reflect on your personality, choices, and motivations,
and compare them to the ideal. But that鈥檚 just one essential characteristic. What
are the others? What does a leader look like? Identifying real leadership qualities
is more complex than compiling a simple Top 10 list; it鈥檚 a subtle but balanced interweaving
of hard and soft power traits, meshed with technical skills flexible enough to meet
the demands of the marketplace of the future.
A Modern Leader Needs Hard and Soft Skills
In 2018, Deloitte partnered with The Female Quotient to survey 5,075 workers to examine how they felt leadership styles should evolve to meet the needs of today鈥檚 workforce. revealed that 72 percent of employees want a redefinition of leadership to be more 鈥渉uman,鈥� balancing hard power traits and softer, more emotional qualities.
Does this mean leadership must shift its priorities? It looks that way. When asked which values are most important for a good leader, study respondents鈥� top five traits included three soft power skills and just two hard power skills.
Soft Skills Hard Skills
Communicative Hardworking
Flexible Confident
Patient
And it鈥檚 not just employees who seek a shift. In a considerably , consultants asked 300,000 business leaders to rank the top 10 competencies from
a list of 16 key leadership skills. This large cohort of leaders identified a mix
of hard and soft traits similar to the employee survey. Among the top choices, they
selected three soft power skills (inspiring, trustworthy, communicative) and two hard
(analytical and driven).
Hard Power Traits
In decades past, the emphasis in leadership was on dominance and power, on top-down, traditional, hard power traits. While hard skills are still important, smart executives know leadership is more than the confidence to issue commands or make decisions quickly. Soft skills and mastery of the technical aspects of your industry offer a to any leader鈥檚 鈥渉arder鈥� characteristics.
Have you honed (or toned down) these hard power traits in your own career?
Ambitious Hardworking Rational
Assertive Proud Resilient
Authoritative Innovative Straightforward
Confident Proud Strategic
Soft Power Traits
If you do not understand human behavior, you will likely struggle to lead in any workplace, so it pays to . These are the skills that encourage, connect, empower, and allow you to empathize with your colleagues, employees and customers.
Have you refined (or ) your own soft power qualities?
Authentic Flexible Passionate
Civil Honest Patient
Collaborative Humble Selfless
Communicative Introspective Tactful
Deliberative Intuitive Transparent
Empathetic Loyal
As the elevation of soft skills suggests, a more diverse and inclusive workforce is changing the framework of leadership. To embrace that shift, you鈥檇 be wise to rev up your hard and soft powers with this one: Fostering a workplace that promotes the leadership of , , and other undervalued groups. Much has changed in the marketplace, but .
Find out how the Birkman Method can help you understand your personality and sharpen your soft power traits.
The It Factor
Traits like trustworthiness and introspection may sound like innate qualities that
you either have or you don鈥檛 (and some might say the same of hard power traits), but
leadership skills can be nurtured and practiced. Even the undeniable It Factor, or
leadership presence 鈥� Gen. James Mattis has it; so does 鈥� is something you can learn. Study pop stars and secretaries of defense, mentors
and bosses from your own career. Emulate what鈥檚 working for them.
Do You Look Like a Leader?
Much has been made about dressing for the job you want, not the job you have. But
if tech CEOs in their hoodies and in his black turtleneck have taught us anything about the appearance of leadership,
it鈥檚 that leadership is not always what it appears. True leadership . Wear the power suit if it suits you, but not if it鈥檚 a prop to make up for a gap
in skills or true authority.
Pursue Your Leadership Potential With USF Certification Courses
USF鈥檚 office of Corporate Training and Professional Education can help you lead a high-performance corporate culture and develop and certify your key leadership qualities.
If you have questions about leadership or the application process for any of our courses, please contact us at the Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education.