The 15 traits of bad, good and great leaders

Leaders play a vital role in determining what path we will take. They influence the lives of billions and their skills will ultimately determine the fate of our species.

There are billions of people in the world but just a small number step up to lead the way and give our often bumbling world a sense of direction and order.

Leadership has always fascinated me. I watch leader habits with interest and I spend a lot of time reading autobiographies and biographies trying to get inside their minds.

From several decades of that, for my Worknado book, I spent a long time seeking to differentiate the traits of bad, good and great leaders. The outcomes of that exercise is below.

Traits of bad leaders

1. They do not listen
2. They are poor communicators
3. They are moody and inconsistent
4. They blame others for their bad decisions
5. They have zero tolerance for mistakes
6. They micromanage and don’t trust anyone
7. They encourage factions
8. They have obvious “class pets”
9. They listen to the wrong people
10. Their core loyalty does not sit with their people
11. They tolerate or even encourage toxic behaviour
12. They make half-baked decisions
13. They lack genuine empathy for people
14. They cannot articulate a clear vision or take risks
15. They have a strict power hierarchy

 Traits of good leaders

1. They have a clear strategy and a plan to deliver it
2. They hire good people and listen to them
3. They create a safe environment for people to have an opinion and contribute to conversations
4. They genuinely encourage and support diversity in the workplace
5. They communicate what is going on and why decisions are made
6. They have solid rules and guidelines, and their companies operate efficiently
7. They run good meetings that produce results
8. They celebrate and reward success
9. They have strong people and culture systems to deal with workplace performance
10. They have a growth mentality and the confidence to make investments
11. They have a good relationship with the board or owners and employees can trust them to get the backing they need
12. They provide professional and personal development for their staff
13. They pay people fairly
14. They encourage hard work but not overly long hours and “facetime”
15. They are “family friendly”

Traits of great leaders

1. They are genuinely inspiring, and they attract other inspiring people
2. They think at least 10 years ahead and there is a genuine forward program of ideas and innovation
3. They intuitively understand the prevailing global and local context and seamlessly sync the company to that
4. They focus on the big picture, but they take the time to really listen to people and understand what is happening in their lives
5. They are inherently kind have real relationships at all levels of the organisation
6. They have time and space in their week – they don’t just do meetings
7. Woman and minority groups are well represented in all areas of their organisation without any programs or affirmative action to achieve that
8. Their people work hard but also work flexible hours without needing to ask permission
9. Their company constantly implements new ideas and better ways without ever using the “I” word (innovation)
10. They give people strong direction but then get out of their way and let them deliver
11. They provide real incentives for people to do well
12. They back their people even when they make mistakes
13. They have good systems and guidelines, but they are so simple and intuitive that nobody ever talks about them
14. They encourage highly robust and respectful discussions where people can have a strong view without negative consequences
15. They deal with toxic people quickly and decisively (in fact the culture is so strong that it destroys any toxin that enters the ecosystem)

All the really great ones make it look easy. Leading is a privilege and a title means little. You cannot lead without followers.

Shane Rodgers is the author of Worknado – Reimaginging the way you work to live.