What do you think is the single most important attribute to being a great leader

All aspects of leadership work in unison and can't be viewed in isolation.

Digitalization has raised the bar of leadership, due to the continuous change, the emergent trends of digitalization and globalization. A great leader is a great learner, learning from those they lead and learning through self-development and self-enrichment. What do you think is the single most important attribute of being a great leader?

Vision: Great leaders have a vision. They can see into the future. They have a clear, exciting idea of where they are going and what they are trying to accomplish. Leadership is all about pointing out a direction for self and others. The vision is like 'the guiding light,' so that people can see themselves and their work reflected in it. When a vision is realized, people live with change.

Trust: People become inspired when they have someone in authority in whom they have absolute trust. That means an individual who has a strong moral compass, exhibiting integrity, empathy, thoughtfulness, respect, tolerance, determination, enthusiasm, confidence, understanding, optimism, patience, and a sense of humor is a bonus. Those traits are found in the person in whom the workforce can have absolute faith. Slow to speak and quick to listen, integrity, credibility, and remember you don't have to know everything! Be authentic and treat others like you want to be treated. The key is respect. If you respect others and inspire their respect in you - good communication, appreciation trust, etc., comes easier.

Deep engagement: When a group has a problem - a leader "owns" the problem until resolution - when the group has success, a leader credits the whole team. We are living in a digital ecosystem where everything is connected with something else, and everything is done for humans by humans. A person that can not connect and transmit thoughts is doomed to fail. The best leaders can create an emotional bond with their followers that are tied to the 'purpose' of their venture. This comes from creating authentic quality relationships based on trust and shared vulnerability. Win the hearts and all else will follow...

Creativity: Creative leadership can be described as "Adaptability meets Agility.” Creative leadership is a unique combination of leadership behaviors that develops and achieves high quality and meaningful results over a sustained period of time. Creative leadership does this by challenging him/herself and staff to find optimal high-value solutions to provide clarity on high priority objectives, criteria, quality, and results. The more "creative leaders," we have, the better for the world. The proper function, the ultimate criterion of "creative leadership," is the ability to create more leaders, to spread leadership - or, more precisely, to groom "followers" (the people for whom one is responsible) into leaders.

Risk tolerance: As a leader, you're taking risks, that sometimes you have no idea how it's going to be received publicly, financially or company-wide. The ability to forgive yourself, grieve your losses, and find a new solution, takes profound courage. Risk awareness and risk tolerance are a skill to master that deeply impacts problem-solving.

Here is a list of important attributes to being a great leader:

•Freedom – feeling, being and acting freely
• Authenticity (being real and incorruptible, access to trust)
• Passion – creating the life you'd love to live
• Energy – transforming anger into passion
• Learning agility - the master at delearning, relearning, and make continuous delivery.
• Clarity – knowing your calling and acting from vision
• Integrity – getting things done
• Awareness – perceiving reality from new levels
• Responsibility (ownership of the team, mission, business, etc.)
• A sense of humor is a nice touch, too.

In practice, there is NO one single attribute. There is just a delicate mix of management, leadership, and interpersonal skills, along with a lot of different attributes. Moreover, the use of these skills and attributes happens in different proportions for each major undertaking. It is hard to pick only one definitive attribute because all aspects of leadership work in unison and can't be viewed in isolation. They become the key components of a strong and successful leadership position. But necessary among the very most important attributes are integrity, empathy, character, creativity, and genuine humility. These are all things that make leaders great and "impactful" and, likewise, make followers loyal, diligent, and committed when they possess the same traits. Leadership and "followership" are near parallels.

Posted in: Digitalization,Future of Leadership