by Daniella Datskovska, Director, Compliance and Legal at Pew Charitable Trust
This is a reprint of the original article, the was initially featured in the Sept. 2021 AFERM newsletter
The fundamental qualities of a true leader transcend time, circumstance, and organizational culture. Essential attributes inherent in today’s leaders are no different from those needed in the past, even though times have changed and continue to change. However, some specific character traits are necessary in the contemporary work environment, currently undergoing transformation to meet today’s needs.
Emboldened by my own insights, gathered over 20 years in the advisory consulting profession, I sought out leaders in government and the private sector (Pete Gouldmann, the U.S. Department of State’s enterprise risk officer for cybersecurity and John Hunt, Advanced Solutions Leader at Guidehouse) to discuss the traits needed for success. All said the foremost quality is being able to handle transitions and lead change management. Moreover, they confirmed my belief that such leaders share similar character traits.
Attributes Vital to Leadership
No matter the challenges, an effective leader employs vital attributes to create an environment conducive to change. Many leadership and change management experts tout specific personal qualities, shown in the table above, that are needed to succeed.i The leaders I interviewed concurred that change leaders require:
Ability and willingness to co-create a new way. Leadership is selfless; the goal is not credit. Rather, with part art and part science, a leader creates an environment that stimulates, motivates, and encourages teams to take initiative. People need to trust their leaders and to trust the process of change. Moreover, this trust must be mutual.ii
Leaders earn trust through everyday ethical interactions, decisions, and behaviors. The art is in exhibiting competence and delivering promised results while remaining humane and benevolent. It demands ample emotional intelligence, education, and life experience to realize the importance of treating people as the ends rather than the means. Trust is also about building relationships that create value, rather than practicing a transactional approach to leadership in which reciprocity is expected from every interaction. With trust, the other important aspects of leadership can be applied.
Humility, self-awareness. Although it seems counterintuitive to a hierarchical organizational dynamic, cultivating these qualities in yourself and those you lead will encourage feedback and, at times, skepticism. A key attribute of extraordinary leaders is the ability to welcome and handle opposing view- points gracefully and professionally. By allowing people to feel, through your tone, words, and actions – body language included, that they can talk to you without negative repercussions, your effectiveness as a leader multiplies exponentially. This is the science component of leadership – to be comfortable with divergent ideas. True leaders nurture this attribute and find balance between productive discussion and neutralized negativity.
Ability to create a climate of well-being and appreciation – Different from culture, climate is how people feel about coming to work and what they feel in the office. Climate change can happen quickly, while culture remains more resilient with its organizational values, unwritten rules, and expectations, all slow to change. The atmosphere and tone that prevail in an office, at meetings, on conference calls, and through email can affect motivation and performance outcomes in a more profound way than strategy, mission or vision. To create an amiable climate, leaders need, as Mahatma Gandhi said, to be the change they want to see. They set the example of appreciation, recognition, support, integrity, and responsibility, simply by maintaining a good mood, smiling, being calm and remaining positive.
Patience in building participation and seeing progress. It takes time to build a high-performing team. An effective leader creates a space and allocates time for discussions. Some talks are relevant to change and some may not be. But it is important to let people speak and “establish themselves” first. While difficult to accomplish in a world of deadlines and competing priorities, a habit of rushing into doing without first thinking and talking things through will most likely lead to a change initiative failure. Taking time and effort to form teams of people who feel welcome, heard, and integral to both process and solution, rather than feeling overlooked, dispensable, and used, is essential to effective leadership.
Willingness to share decision-making. Extraordinary leaders know the success of an endeavor is a result of everyone doing his or her part well. On high-performing teams, the leader most often leads from behind. In practice, this means listening to all available opinions and allowing teams to make decisions. While often difficult for leaders who naturally make decisions and take control, extraordinary leaders welcome flexibility in roles and let their teams create ways to get things done without direction.
Extraordinary leaders should also be able to follow another’s lead, especially someone hired as an advisor and contributor of ideas who is expected to co-lead. Acting on the advice of direct reports or staff demonstrates command of a situation and trust in the team. Knowing how and when to empower, how to share decision-making authority, and how to acknowledge being wrong or not having an answer are all powerful expressions of the successful leader.
Considerations in Changing Times
The social media factor. An effective leader’s desire for transparency is complicated by the instantaneous nature of social media. Information can become public and go viral beyond the organizational perimeter in a matter of seconds today. Hunt suggests leaders remain cautious about the type of information and the amount of detail to be shared as well as the timing.
Communication preferences. Hunt also pointed out the importance of knowing how people prefer to receive news and information. Some prefer face-to-face interaction while others prefer email. An effective leader takes this into account and remains flexible, yet still able to influence and make an impact.
Data awareness. Gouldmann offered a unique perspective on the prevalence of data and resulting information, now so easily attainable, and the way it drives the need for agile leadership. He said, “Data awareness is unprecedented. It positions us to refine processes and execution and serves as a catalyst for change. It also allows to make better risk-based decisions and trade-offs by providing insights into the risks of doing something versus refraining from it.”
In the words of the ancient Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Tzu, “Of the best leader, when his work is done, the people all say, ‘We did it ourselves.'”iii If leaders can demonstrate and consistently practice the attributes of trustworthiness, competence, humility, self-awareness, and cooperation underpinned by positivity and patience, their teams can reach breathtaking goals and conquer any change, no matter how difficult they may seem when first presented.
Leaders Let Their Team Shine
Extraordinary leaders feel no need to impress. They let their followers shine, be impressive, smart, and sophisticated. Hunt, who led his team through a major organizational transition, said, “It is okay to say, ‘I am not working on this issue, but someone else is, and we will provide you an answer once it is available.'” If things do not go as planned, he noted, “You cannot be afraid of change going wrong and get stuck. You need to be humble enough to say, ‘It isn’t working,’ and go back to the drawing board.”
Considerations for Female Leaders and Lessons Learned
Women face additional, often unique, leadership challenges, such as being heard and recognized for contributions and thoughts, or remaining true to one’s self as a tenacious, passionate, straightforward person without being deemed aggressive or worse. Specific considerations for women in change leadership include:
- Remember: If you are not at the table, you are on the menu. It is important to participate in discussions and not remain passive.
- Do not be a wallflower. Do not hesitate to speak up and stand up to be in the room and sit at the table.
- Find mentors and role models. Watch, pose questions, ask for help and advice, and emulate their behavior and style. Be prepared for constructive criticism.
- To comments about being too talkative, too assertive, too outspoken, or too strong, thank the giver for the compliment. Exhibit a friendly, animated style with a pleasant expression and a forward lean.
- Balance between assertiveness and aggression can be achieved through situational awareness, tone, and delivery. Think of the message and what you want to achieve with it, as well as what your relationship to the receiver means to you.
- Stay true to yourself, regardless of seniority.
- Take responsibility for your personal decisions and make things work for you.
- Do not be afraid to refuse. There is a difference between cannot do and will not do. Even if we can do it, will we? Should we?
Interesting fact: When women are involved in a peace process, the agreement is 35% more likely to last beyond 15 years.iv
i DAVIS, JOYCELYN. (2019). The Art of Quite Influence. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
ii OUSLIS, NATASHA (2019). Trust in Leadership – One Key Factor During Organizational Change. Science for Work.
iii LAO, TSU. Tao Te Ching. Translation: Addiss & Lombardo). Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., 1993.
iv WORLD BANK GROUP FORUM. Paving the Way for Women in International Security. April 25, 2019