We’ve worked with Fortune 500 companies, some of the best start-ups, and an incredibly wide range of businesses representing a whole array of diverse industries. At every level, in every market, these two simple traits make the very best leaders.
Being a leader means making decisions that change lives and changes history. Perhaps no more than in the past year, good leaders haven’t just gone home worried about their companies and their bottom lines in this pandemic; they’ve gone home worried about their people before their profit. The role and identity of a successful leader and a lasting business is diverse, dynamic, and evolving. Those of us who have been in leadership positions for a decade or two (or three) know that what the world and what our team members needs change day to day, year to year, and generation to generation.
However, there are a few aspects of leadership that won’t change now or, in our estimation, ever. These two traits won’t make or break your future, but they will continually put you in a position to be successful.
Honesty. We’re tempted to call this authenticity, but honesty seems to carry a very important and very necessary component of morality, too. As a leader, what you say and do needs to carry weight, conviction, and sincerity. White lies, bent truths, and anything that isn’t above board adds up in your relationships, and it goes beyond any element of lying; even being late to a meeting or failing to meet deadlines shows that what you say doesn’t mean a lot to yourself, so why should it mean anything to those around you?
In many ways, honesty sets a tone for accountability. It sets a tone for how your team communicates internally and externally. Honesty, and dishonesty, turn into a reputational asterisk; either can be quickly added to your name for a long, long time.
Humility. We’ve said it countless times, and we’ll keep saying it. The very best leaders put each and every team member in a position to succeed. In a nutshell, that’s your job. And when you do it, you’ll make better decisions because you’ll have access to better information and better ideas. When you take risks, you’ll have better, more empowered workers ready to take the leap with you. When you face challenges, you’ll have the support of people whose loyalty and respect you’ve earned.
A few years ago, we worked with a business looking to sell. As a part of the transition, the current owner was highlighting how challenging the business and industry had been for nearly forty years. Whether he meant to or not, he implied that he had survived only due to his own hard work. Additionally, he couldn’t recommend to the new owner a single person on the staff that he felt would be capable of taking on a leadership role.
The prospective owner stopped him there. “You have over eighty employees in this building and another thirty around the country, right? And you haven’t hired anyone you trust? That’s your fault.” The new owner said what we were thinking and completely stopped the old owner in his tracks.
And that is exactly what leaders should be doing; find people that are smarter than you and fill your business with them. Empower them. It’s not about giving them a long leash or huge paychecks. It’s about letting them take ownership of their roles and their own piece of the organization.
Recently, we’ve been working one-on-one with owners and their top leaders to create systems, examine habits and systems, and put a number of techniques into place. Unfortunately, honesty and humility are things we can’t always instill in people; they’re decisions we have to make each and every day and put into each and every action.