A Few Traits of a Great Leader

It's easy to figure out who isn't a team player. They'll constantly
remind the coach just how good they are.

- Brian G. Jett

A successful team is a group of many hands but of one mind.

- Bill Bethel

A Few Traits of a Great Leader

• Judgment
• Justice
• Decisiveness
• Dependability
• Tact
• Integrity

Examples of the Significance of these Traits

• Significance of Judgment - sound judgement allows a leader to make appropriate decisions in the guidance and training of he/her team. Effective leaders exercise good judgment and weighs pros and cons accordingly to arrive at an appropriate decision and take proper action.
• Significance of Justice - the quality of displaying fairness and impartiality is critical in order to gain the trust and respect of subordinates and maintain discipline and team cohesion, particularly in the exercise of responsibility as a leader.

• Significance of Decisiveness - the quality of character which guides a person to accumulate all available facts in a circumstance, weight the facts, choose and announce an alternative which seems best. It is often better that a decision be made promptly than a "potentially" better one be made at the expense of more time.
• Significance of Dependability - the quality which permits a team leader to assign a task to a team member with the understanding that it will be accomplished with minimum supervision. This understanding includes the assumption that the initiative will be taken on small maters not covered by specific instructions.
• Significance of Tact - the quality of consistently treating others with respect and courtesy is a sign of maturity. Tact allows commands, guidance, and opinions to be expressed in a constructive and beneficial manner. This deference must be extended under all conditions regardless of true feelings.
• Significance of Integrity - a leader's word is his/her bond. Nothing less than complete honesty in all of your dealings with subordinates, peers, and superiors is acceptable.

Other, and no less important, traits of a great leader include unselfishness, courage, enthusiasm and endurance.

Practicing these traits on a day-in-day-out basis is hard. Leaders and managers must be thoughtful and purposeful; think and act strategically.

You'll be the same five years from today as you are today except for

what you listen to, who you associate with and what you read.

Zig Ziglar

I have a few "truths" I live by and this one from Zig lives out as real as any. Jim Collins (of the Good-to-Great fame) has stated in that the most important leadership books are biographies of great men/women and history. Historical data from last year, last decade and beyond shows that we have to be purposeful and get out of our own way to have a chance at the results we strive so hard to obtain.

Learn and change.

Great leaders continuously train themselves and their teams. To learn more about building high performance teams, contact me at 512-773-6528 or danny@rp2development.com.

To that end....

Danny L. Smith