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 futureproof your business with early career talent

FUTUREPROOF YOUR COMPANY WITH EARLY CAREER TALENT

By 2025, Gen Z will make up approximately 27% of the workforce, even outnumbering their closest generational group - millennials. ‘Early’ talent can add immense value to your business, making an impact that sets you apart from the competition.
 
Find out how and why you should focus on attracting top talent from the newest generation of rising stars.
 

How do you define early talent?

Early talent refers to workers with less than five years of professional work experience. This group of people includes students about to graduate from or leave school, college or university. However, the term can also include people upskilling at industry bootcamps or through another certificate programme, such as Hays Skills.
 

What are the benefits of hiring early talent? 

Including new talent in your long-term workforce plans can have many benefits for your business. This generation are often:
 
Digital innovators: Gen Z are the first generation to have no memory of a time pre-internet. This group is often quick to pick up new platforms and technologies. For companies looking to innovate and stay ahead of the curve, the tech skills of early talent can be invaluable.
 
A cost-effective investment: Even with a competitive benefits package, hiring a capable employee with less experience will save money on yearly salaries. These individuals offer a cost-effective investment in the future of your organisation. 
 
More diverse: Early talent often want to work for companies where diversity, equity and inclusion are part of the employer brand. Embracing diversity through hiring early talent will help ensure these values are more than just afterthoughts.
 
Creative problem solvers: Gen Z grew up with infinite knowledge at their fingertips. This generation of early talent knows how to find answers to their questions with ease. Simply give them a problem and they will discover a creative solution.
 
Career focused: The struggle of the 2008 global recession is a childhood memory for many of Gen Z. As a result, job stability and career advancement are important values. Many are also aware of just how quickly the world is changing around them, with recent developments in natural language processing and automation reshaping our understanding of work. Upskilling and being proactive about learning online can help Gen Z make a meaningful impact in their role.
 
 
 

How can early career recruiters help with talent acquisition? 

Using a specialist supplier that you can trust to support your early careers pipeline is a great investment in the future of your organisation.
 
Our Early Careers experts will help you identify opportunities to tailor your recruitment processes and secure the brightest talent. Whether you are looking for end-to-end support, a toolkit to address a specific challenge or bespoke consultancy, we will work closely with you. Our goal is to build an early talent pipeline that meets the needs of your business.
 

Plan for the future with an early career talent strategy

Which early talent recruitment strategies are most effective? Young talent want reassurance that a clear career path lies ahead of them. Make it clear that your business offers learning and development programmes, in addition to opportunities for growth and progression. It’s also important to communicate your corporate social responsibility. Be clear on your values and share your diversity, equality and inclusion (DE&I) strategy.
 
Your approach should always have a personal touch. Mass communication over email or social media will feel disingenuous. Think carefully about how you engage, the content you share and how you reach out to potential employees.
 
 

Why is attracting early career talent so important right now?

Every business needs innovators to keep up with the competition. Employers are currently competing for specialists in their field in order to bridge talent gaps.
 
By recruiting early talent, you can build a workforce eager to make their mark. As such, this generation may quickly match the skills of their counterparts in other businesses, with the support of a strong development and training strategy. Through effective early career talent management, you can develop your workforce for long term success and build all the skills you need – becoming a talent creator, not just a consumer.
 
When planning for future success, be proactive in building partnerships with education providers and relevant networks so you don’t miss out in the competition for early talent. By doing so, you’ll be transforming your company for the better, for generations to come.
 

Find more advice on hiring early in career talent with Enterprise Solutions

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