What Makes a Great Leader?

Authors: Jona Morton Richard La Rue

The ability to lead organizations with the right knowledge, training and relevant toolkit to navigate today's evolving business landscape is demanding. New technologies, a competitive marketplace, uncertainty regarding the economy, and an increasingly diverse and demanding workforce require a wide skillset from leaders.

What skills does an aspiring leader now need to be more effective? And are these leaders' qualities inborn, or can they be developed through training? To get insights into these questions, we've consulted with Gallagher Canada's Executive Recruiter Jona Morton and Executive Coach Richard La Rue, who have diverse but highly complementary experience in identifying, nurturing and developing leadership talent.

The foundations of leadership

The traditional hierarchical leadership model now is increasingly viewed as a barrier to addressing modern organizations' complex challenges. Today's leaders need to get clear on their purpose and motivation to meet changing needs.

Richard La Rue suggests that aspiring leaders should ask themselves three crucial questions:

1. Do you genuinely want to be a leader?
2. What is your purpose as a leader?
3. Does leadership give meaning to your life?

Understanding their purpose can significantly impact leaders' effectiveness and fulfillment. However, desire and motivation alone aren't enough. Executive Recruiter Jona stresses the importance of a structured approach to identifying and developing leadership potential. A suggested framework could incorporate:

• 360-degree feedback
• Self-assessment
• Performance metrics
• Behavioral assessments
• Employee surveys
• One-on-one interviews
• Mentorship and coaching

This multifaceted approach ensures a thorough evaluation of an individual's leadership capabilities and potential. With the right guidance and assessment, executives can then use the results to get a clear picture of which skill gaps may need addressing.

Inborn qualities versus training and mentoring: Finding a sweet spot

The age-old debate of whether leaders are born with natural abilities or can be developed through training continues to cause debate. Our experts offered their views on this issue.

Richard believes that certain leadership qualities are timeless and often innate, particularly self-confidence, assertiveness and decisiveness. However, he emphasizes that these traits can be further developed with proper guidance and experience.

Jona advocates for a balanced view, describing leadership as "a blend of nature and nurture." While she acknowledges the importance of a foundational aptitude for leadership, she stresses that many crucial skills can be honed through experience and targeted training. Confidence and assertiveness are a leader's most common natural traits, in their opinion. Strong thinking skills, like solving problems and analyzing situations, also help leaders make good decisions.

Building leaders of the future: The role of leadership coaching

Developing the next generation of leaders is now a top concern for boards and management.

Our Executive Search and Leadership Assessment and Development teams emphasize the importance of ongoing leadership development in addressing this challenge.

Motivation is key. Without motivation in a coaching setting, one of the key conditions for success is missing. The right combination of leadership development should incorporate:

• A unique, safe, confidential and dedicated space for leaders to reflect, discuss challenges, explore new ways of doing things and experiment
• Mentoring, offering support, feedback and further insights into the corporate culture
• Development training, including feedback sessions and 360-degree assessments

Customization is key. Each leader's journey is unique, and development programs should be tailored to address individual strengths, weaknesses and goals.

Richard elaborates further on this point: "In the sessions, the focus is on developing clear objectives and providing coaching support for each specific goal. As coaches, our role is to guide individuals and nurture their leadership skills by having open discussions and creating a safe environment for them to grow."

The modern-day leadership playbook: What matters the most now

Even in today's business environment, fraught with various internal and external challenges, those who have the right combination of capabilities can capture big opportunities.

Jona believes a shift in the leadership style — from a hierarchical, directive model to a more dynamic, empowering and inclusive approach — can help leaders make necessary adjustments.

Technological advancements, globalization, diverse workforces and shifting cultural values are redefining the new leadership playbook with a few common traits:

• Empowerment: Focused on delegation and trust, acting as facilitators in a servant leadership model
• Agility: Pivoting rapidly in response to market changes and disruptions
• Collaboration: Emphasizing teamwork and collective success over individualism
• Inspiration: Motivating and energizing teams through vision and values
• Global mindset: Navigating international markets and cultural dynamics effectively
• Proactiveness: Anticipating trends to be ready for future opportunities is essential for modern leaders

Essential individual leadership capabilities

Leaders must possess behavioral traits like assertiveness, decision-making, and the motivation and drive to influence others. They should be competent in navigating complexity, managing themselves and others effectively, and driving results with integrity and strategic insight.

The following are clear and specific capabilities that are essential for a modern leader.

Effective communication

In today's shifting standpoints, leaders must communicate clearly to lead their teams and carry their organization with renewed purpose. Leaders will often need to address complex issues to diverse audiences. Listening actively to understand others' views can help leaders identify appropriate next steps. Encouraging team members to engage in open dialogue helps build strong relationships across organizations.

Emotional intelligence

Wharton Management professor Sigal Barsade urges leaders to read emotions as data to gather insights into what motivates individuals.¹ Without that information, leaders have limited resources to build strong interpersonal relationships and inspire their workforce. Leaders need to understand and manage their own emotions — undoubtedly one of the qualities of a great leader. However, those who also can sense other people's feelings can make a bigger impact.

Decision making

According to McKinsey research, executives spend almost 40% of their time making decisions.³ As responsibilities mount, every decision has a long-term impact. Hesitancy can lead to inefficiencies and higher costs. Leaders must be decisive yet flexible to ensure they have various options ready for swift and effective responses to changing circumstances.

Vision and strategic thinking

A leader needs to know how to set a clear vision that aligns a team's performance with the organization's bigger goals to achieve short -and long-term results. However, vision without strategic planning and careful implementation can produce erratic and unpredictable results. Therefore, leaders should look to acquire skills to break down tasks and develop strategies to reach set goals.

Delegation and empowerment

As businesses become more complex and dynamic, trusting team members with responsibilities is now a vital job of a leader. In practice, this skill means supporting their teams with tools and proper guidance that enable team members to make high-quality decisions. Delegating well helps leaders maximize resources, focus on their highest priorities and foster a culture of collaboration.

Adaptability and flexibility

For leaders, versatility is critical for recognizing and responding to evolving trends, innovations and industry shifts. Adjusting strategies and approaches helps leaders pivot whilst maintaining momentum. Teams and organizations particularly look to leaders during times of crisis. In such circumstances, it's particularly critical for leaders to instill confidence in their teams while coping with external and internal challenges.

Conflict resolution

Not all conflict has negative consequences. Healthy conflict can drive improvement; however, negative conflict can lead to burnout and attrition. A leader should look to resolve disputes constructively to help teams emerge from challenging situations productively.

Integrity and ethical judgment

Leading with a higher purpose and values is regarded as a prerequisite for modern leaders, with internal and external challenges testing the moral standards of their strategic and operational decisions. In an environment of heightened expectations and growing distrust, if leaders can displaying strong, ethically sound principles — such as honesty and transparency — will go a long way to fostering a culture of trust.

Measuring progress and effectiveness

As the business landscape evolves, so must our methods of evaluating leadership effectiveness.

Traditional metrics focusing solely on self-management, relationship management and results management are no longer sufficient. Modern leaders should be assessed on their ability to:

• Drive innovation and change.
• Foster a diverse and inclusive workplace.
• Navigate complex global challenges.
• Balance short-term results with long-term sustainability.
• Develop and empower their teams.

Make the choice to lead

So, coming back to our original question about what makes a modern leader and whether leadership is innate or learnt: Not all charismatic leaders are born with the capabilities noted above. Instead, true leaders intentionally put themselves in situations where they observe, adapt and grow.

Becoming a great leader is, more than ever, a journey of continuous learning and growth. Fearless introspection, reaching out for coaching, seeking feedback, and making committed efforts to acquire and improve the required skills will enhance a modern leader's capabilities.

The art of leadership has changed. Whether you're looking to hire transformative leaders or develop leaders through training and coaching, Gallagher Canada can assist you.