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 make the move to direct sourcing

HOW TO MAKE THE MOVE TO DIRECT SOURCING

Direct sourcing has been rapidly growing across the globe. It is the next evolution in outsourced recruitment. Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) predict that use of direct sourcing will double in the next two years. How can you make the move to this efficient, cost-effective option?

Moving to direct sourcing means working with an outsourced partner, or team that will hire temporary or contract workers exclusively for you. This allows you to take greater control, eliminate high margin staffing suppliers, build and maintain engaged talent pools and utilise your employer brand – all of which are tied to reducing costs while enhancing quality.

1. What is your goal?

Okay, sure – it’s a hot topic. But is it right for you? What are you trying to achieve with your programme. Without knowing this, it’s difficult to tell if direct sourcing is right for you. There are obvious benefits that can come from direct sourcing, but it’s important to know which align with your company and programme objectives. For example, you might be aiming to protect and enhance your employer brand by ensuring that all recruitment happens under your logo and brand guidelines. This also helps build your talent pipeline by connecting with candidates who are engaged with and interested in your organisation. Alternately, maybe you’re looking for cost savings and the reduced fees of direct sourcing placements appeal to you. If you’re going to outsource your recruitment to agencies, why not select 1 provider who can do it all, at a lower rate vs. 6 suppliers who will all charge twice the price? Another common benefit is time to hire. Thanks to those engaged, interested candidates in your talent pool you can bring qualified staff on-board faster, without compromising on quality.

2. Develop your workforce plan

If you already have an MSP then this can be done with them, but make sure they understand your objectives and are invested in finding the best solution for your specific organisation. If you don’t have a provider, you can do the workforce planning yourself, or engage a third party that has the expertise to help with discovery and strategic vision. Aligning your organisational priorities within a workforce strategy requires significant resources and market knowledge so unless you have that expertise internally, a third party could be a faster, most effective option. At one point workforce planning only meant the time of year you may hire. Today we are helping our clients determine, timing, skill sets, contract vs. permanent, onshore vs. offshore, consultant vs. contractor, or local vs. remote. Every month we are helping our clients through these challenges. We recently ran a survey which identified that 89% of workers are open to a new opportunity, but only 13% are actively looking. Your workforce plan will identify your target skill sets, and then your direct source partner will work on nurturing that middle group of 76% of workers to tell them about upcoming projects, and what it is like to work for your organisation. This way when an opportunity arises, your target talent pool is already engaged. This up front effort will pay dividends for years to come.

3. Is direct sourcing still the right option?

After you’ve done some workforce planning, you might decide that direct sourcing isn’t the right tool for you right now. You’ll still have important insights that you can use to improve your current programme, so work with your MSP to align their objectives and metrics of success with your organisational goals. However, if you find you will be recruiting large numbers of the same skill set, need cost-effective supplier efficiency, and want to capitalise on your employer brand, then it’s time to move in that direction.

4. Select a provider that is aligned to your goals

Once you are at this stage, look for providers that can deliver on upcoming priorities. For example, you may currently have an MSP with an IT recruitment company, and they would love to take on your direct sourcing role, but your workforce planning indicates significant engineering and manufacturing needs over the next two years. Can your current provider deliver the skills and talent you need? If you’re changing suppliers, look at their track record, case studies, and testimonials as well as overall resources to make sure they will be able to consistently meet and exceed your expectations. Then ensure that your SLA outlines specific outcomes, metrics, and objectives so you can ensure your providers’ activity is driving results in the right areas. Shared success is the key to a fruitful partnership.

5. Develop your employer value proposition (EVP)

What makes you stand out to candidates? Why do your employees like working for your company? If you can’t answer this confidently and concisely, then your target candidates probably can’t either. Your EVP is a critical part of your employer brand, and even if brand protection isn’t your primary goal, it’s an important part of building a loyal, engaged talent pipeline.

6. Implement a gradual transition

You can’t flick a switch and start direct sourcing 85% of temporary hires. Set a timeline with specific intermediate goals, so you can catch any problems before they escalate and ensure your solution is scalable and effective. Educate your team about the process so they know what to expect, and highlight successes to keep your team excited about the progress.

7. Measure, review, plan, repeat

As with any programme, continual analysis and improvement is critical. Your business needs will change so make sure your programme keeps up. Set regular touch points and know which metrics you’re focusing on for success. In the first round this will be about identifying and addressing any issues, but as the programme continues you will need to adapt your focus based on updated workforce planning.

Are you programme ready?

If you...

  • Are looking to reduce your current agency markups
  • Recruit large numbers of temporary / contract workers
  • Are losing hours to multiple agency administration / invoicing etc.
  • Want to capitalise on your employer brand
  • Are looking to maximise candidate retention
  • Looking to build talent pools for future projects
  • Would like to mobilise your ex contractors or full time alumni
  • Aim to optimise your full time and contingent workforce recruitment
     

Then direct sourcing could be the right solution for you.

AUTHOR


Travis O’Rourke
Head of Hays Talent Solution, Canada
Travis supports our clients in finding the right answer to their unique challenges across Canada. Travis has a lot of expertise in contingent workforce management, having managed contingent workforces in every province. He’s been specialised in temporary and contract workers for the past 15 years and sits on the board of directors for the National Association of Canadian Consulting Businesses board of directs. Travis has extensive knowledge of Government, Financial Services, Insurance, Banking and Consulting industries. Due to his extensive and current knowledge of relevant recruitment and contract worker legislation Travis sits on a sub-committee working with industry and government surrounding the classification of workers and the definition of a precarious workforce.