What defines a good leader? Look for these six qualities

WHAT DEFINES A GOOD LEADER? LOOK FOR THESE SIX QUALITIES

Modern business challenges can require new approaches. Leadership will need to evolve in order to continue to guide organisations in tomorrow's world of work. But what are the characteristics of a good modern leader in the workplace - and how can organisations develop them? 

Many studies draw parallels between effective leadership and solid organisational performance. But whether they’re a junior manager or a senior executive, the qualities that leaders need are changing.
 
Nearly 1,500 HR professionals ranked leadership development as the number one priority for 2025, with managers feeling 'overwhelemed' by the expansion of their responsibilities. In today’s unpredictable world, you must combine traditional leadership skills with new abilities. So, what does an effective modern leader look like?
 

1. Remember what makes a good leader

Before looking at the new skills future leaders may need, it is worth reflecting on what a leader actually is.
 
What are the qualities of a good leader? It’s not what you may think.
 
Being in charge of colleagues does not necessarily make you a ‘leader’. Former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg explains: “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”
 
Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield believes that good leadership is: “Not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it. Especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter.”
 
There may be varying opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of leaders. But overall, most people believe that great leaders motivate their team members to perform their best and achieve common goals.
 
What traits do you need to achieve this in the modern workplace?
 

2. Use blended leadership styles for a VUCA world 

Stacey Philpot from Deloitte Consulting maintains that the core skills needed historically in leadership roles have remained unchanged.
 
“These skills allow someone to become a leader faster than their peers. This is even true in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment,” she says.
 
The core skills for leading in a VUCA environment include:
 
  • Pattern recognition
  • Motivation
  • Agility
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Ability to understand, control and express emotions
 
This represents psychological assessments of 23,000 senior leaders globally over the past 25 years.
 
Consider introducing servant leadership:
 
Leaders need new styles of leadership to deal with changing cultures. Being comfortable with not having the answer and owning failure can create an environment of trust and openness.
 
Collectively, these behaviours form ‘servant leadership’. The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) defines servant leadership as emphasising behaviours and values such as:
 
  • Active listening
  • Empathy
  • Leading by example
 
These are instead of opting for a more authoritative, ‘command-and-control’ leadership style. Leaders create the conditions for team members to excel by displaying vulnerability. But given the stigma around servant leadership, how can organisations encourage it?
 
How to combat stigma surrounding servant leadership:
 
Alsu Polyakova, HR Leader for GE Healthcare, says reducing stigma around servant leadership will take a specific strategy. Most importantly frequent performance appraisals for leaders.
 
“We give leaders lots of opportunities for self-reflection, so they understand how they behave,” she says. GE Healthcare’s most successful leaders help to encourage behavioural change, Polyakova says. The company measures success by how well employees rate leaders on achieving GE Healthcare’s ‘cultural pillars’. These pillars include inspiring trust and empowering employees.
 

3. Create a culture of trust in the workplace

Gaining workers’ trust is more important than ever. One way to build trust is for leaders to take action on issues such as climate change. 71 percent of employees consider their CEOs’ social awareness as critically important, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer.
 
Social awareness may yield rich rewards. The Edelman poll shows that workers who trust their employers are far more engaged and remain more loyal than their more sceptical peers.
 
Leadership styles are clearly changing. The most effective leaders will need to tailor their styles to suit different scenarios, says Professor Sattar Bawany. “Leaders need a broad repertoire of management styles and the wisdom to know when each style should be used,” he says. “In crisis scenarios like cybersecurity breaches, for example, leadership should be authoritarian because the scenario is unstructured.”
 

4. Adapt your leadership style for different generations

Managers must also balance leadership styles to suit different generations. Modern workplaces will soon house up to five generations under one roof. Therefore, there will be many people with differing preferences on leadership style.
 
As of 2023, millennials are the biggest group in the UK workforce, at 35 percent. Modern leaders must mix old and new leadership styles that meet the needs of younger generations. Doing so will future proof organisations. However, new leadership approaches cannot come at the expense of alienating older workers.
 

5. Commit to lifelong learning

With the workplace evolving so rapidly, leaders cannot rely on past experience alone to get by. Ben Farmer, Head of HR at Amazon UK agrees: “Experience is not always synonymous with wisdom and judgement. And naivety doesn’t always engender novel thinking and openness to change.”
 
Organisations should look for leaders who understand the future as well as those with experience. “Success comes from the ability to combine understanding of exciting, new trends with the experience required to put that knowledge into action,” says Farmer.
 
But what is the right balance? There is no one-size-fits-all approach when balancing experience with adaptability. Achieving the right balance will mostly depend on the organisation and the sector it operates in.
 

6. Be conscious of culture

Organisational culture is an important factor. Risk-averse firms may prefer experience over novel thinking. Leaders may be fearful of a backlash from stakeholders should novel thinking fail. To lower risk, companies should seek leaders who use both scientific evidence and intuition when making decisions.
 
Ultimately, there’s no single blueprint for an effective modern leader. Each organisation must tailor their approach to leadership development. There must be a focus on organisational culture, industry nuances and employee mix.
 
But above all, leaders should recognise that today’s reality may be old news tomorrow.
 
 

For more expert advice, take a look at the following articles: 

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null How to build a culture of inclusivity among your workforce

HOW TO BUILD A CULTURE OF INCLUSIVITY AMONG YOUR WORKFORCE

Inclusive culture

The business case for having a strong equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) policy and strategy in place is evident, as a growing body of evidence continues to highlight the value it brings.

This value can manifest in different ways, from improving a company’s culture to positively impacting business performance outcomes.

Research shows that having diverse executive teams contributes to better financial outcomes, and the most diverse companies are now more likely than ever to outperform non-diverse companies on profitability.’ And yet despite organisations knowing the value of ED&I, the recent Hays US ED&I in recruitment report reveals that only 29 per cent of organisations have ED&I recruitment goals.

So, how can companies create a more inclusive culture, and what measures can you put in place to overcome obstacles to progress? A McKinsey & Company report stresses a ‘systematic, business-led approach’ is necessary, based on a ‘bespoke business case, evidence-based targets and core-business leadership accountability.’

Start from the top

Focus on inclusive leadership, and arm executives with the awareness, mindset, skills and competencies they need to put inclusion and equality of opportunity at the heart of workplace culture. Senior leaders should deliver ED&I goals and lead by example, remaining accountable for any actions or behaviours on their part that fall outside the company’s ED&I targets.

Train senior leaders to promote openness and fairness, and to identify and deal with issues of bias or discriminatory behaviour.

Be bold, ask questions

It is important to understand the make-up of the organisation at all stages of the recruitment and employment lifecycle. Challenge yourself to see why the statistics perform as they do.

Distribute employee engagement and satisfaction surveys to gather views internally, but also check online recruitment websites for reviews left by past employees. Though some of the feedback may be confronting, these insights are valuable for revealing what actions should be taken to build a more inclusive culture.

Focus on conscious inclusion

Provide conscious inclusion training to all employees, from senior executives to junior hires. Discuss ED&I-related issues openly and support employees towards conscious inclusion. Encourage employees to feel comfortable in asking questions about inclusion, as fear of not knowing correct discourse can force people to stay silent on the topic.

Ongoing training and awareness are key. Companies could host cultural awareness days and organise focus groups to discuss existing ED&I challenges and possible solutions. Inclusivity should be a company-wide concern, not simply a matter for HR and senior leaders.

Demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity, both internally and externally

Do new hires think your employee value proposition accurately reflects what happens in practice? According to the recent Hays UK Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in 2021 report, which surveys over 3,000 employers and employees across the UK, though 62 per cent of workers say their employers discuss ED&I in the workplace, only 48 per cent think adequate action is taken to improve ED&I.

However, the gap between what employers say and do is not as wide in the public sector and in larger organisations – private sector employers and SMEs appear to be lagging on this, and are not as good at communicating regularly about ED&I.

To build an inclusive culture, you need to attract talent from a range of communities and backgrounds and be authentic and demonstrate your commitment to ED&I in everything your company says and does to retain talent.

ED&I should not be a tick-box exercise, nor should you only support key ED&I agenda on a fair-weather basis. It needs to be entrenched in your company’s culture. Hire the talent you are looking for but actively build relationships with your target groups, engage communities, and embrace ED&I-focused recruitment.

Make ED&I a feature of exit interviews

Gather feedback from employees where you can. Exit interviews present an opportunity to learn why someone is leaving. Ask if ED&I policies and practices fell short of expectations, and what, in their opinion, can be done to help the company reassess its commitments to ED&I and build a more inclusive culture moving forward.

AUTHORS

Elly Boggis
Global Service Assurance, People and Culture Director, Hays Talent Solutions

Joining Hays in 2005 as an onsite consultant for one of Hays Talent Solution’s local government accounts, Elly progressed her career to manage key accounts in the UK, including clients in the Financial, IT and Public Sectors, before taking the opportunity to move to Sydney in 2012.

Elly worked across Australia and New Zealand and was responsible for the successful delivery of Hays Talent Solution’s accounts and the governance and compliance function as well as the project management of the implementation of expanded services to numerous clients.

Elly transferred back to the UK in 2014 where she is now responsible for ensuring we have the correct people, tools and processes in place globally to deliver cutting-edge workforce solutions that help our clients meet their objectives.

Jason Dunwell
Service Delivery Director and Global D&I Council Member, Hays Talent Solutions

Jason is accountable for the successful delivery and relationship management across a portfolio of talent solutions, leading the strategy and operations.

Jason is also a member of the UK&I Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee and is a Global D&I Council Member, passionate about helping clients reach their diversity and inclusion goals.