What makes a good leader? 5 tips you can implement right now

There are many qualities and attributes that make a good leader - for some these come naturally, for others they take time and effort to develop.

However regardless of where you sit on the scale, there are some practical things you can start implementing right away to help you become a better leader today.

Make your expectations clear

To be a good leader, you need to make your expectations clear with your team. 

When delegating a task or project, be clear about what it is you want them to do and how they should do it.

Depending on the circumstances, it’s not always necessary to tell them how to do it. Often it can be better to empower them to find their own solution. 

Either way, you want to be clear on the outcomes and what you want them to achieve.

Good leaders will also offer their support, so team members feel they can engage their leaders for help or guidance.

Reward the behaviour not the result

When it comes to rewarding employees, most leaders typically only focus on the result. 

In other words, if a team member surpasses their monthly KPIs, they’ll usually get rewarded - be it a simple acknowledgement from their leader through to something with monetary value attached to it.

However good leaders will reward the behaviour, not just the result.

For example, an employee might be executing their work well and is highly engaged but could still fall short of their KPIs, for whatever reason. 

If they’re showing the right behaviours that we want our team to exhibit, then why shouldn’t they be rewarded?

As a leader, if you start rewarding the behaviour and provide the necessary support, the team will feel acknowledged and valued, which will help drive motivation, trust and psychological safety.

Align your teams’ work with their values

Key to being a good leader is the ability to get the best out of each of your team members. 

One of the most effective ways to maximise output (if not the most effective way in our opinion) is to delegate work that aligns with each employees’ individual values.

By values, we mean the things that resonate with them the deepest. Those things that drive their internal north star, their character attributes and their morals.

Aligning employee’s values with their day-to-day work acts as a natural motivator.

For example, an employee might be passionate about social inclusion or have a creative bent. If this is the case, then try and align their work or projects with these things.

It’s rarely possible to find complete alignment, but if we can find some linkages between our employees’ values and the work they do it can lead to greater fulfilment in their role

If it’s simply not possible to align the work with their personal values (for example, a finance officer if they value health) perhaps there are internal initiatives within your organisation that they can become involved with.

Trust your team to work how they want

For employees, flexible working is no longer considered a perk. It’s now considered a basic option in most professions.

As a good leader, you should trust your team to execute their work regardless of how and when it’s done. 

The best way to support your employees to work flexibly is to understand their individual requirements up front. 

Indeed, everyone’s view of flexible working is different. 

For some it may be working from home on specific days to help with school pick-up. For others, it might be that they need to leave early every Tuesday for sports training. Or perhaps one of your team members volunteers with a professional association and needs to take an afternoon off each month.

Good leaders will trust their team to work how and when they want - excellent leaders will actually go one step further and continually encourage it.

Seek out professional support

In most cases, good leaders will surround themselves and be supported by key advisors. 

These are people who are going to give them counsel and guidance as well as the knowledge and tools needed to help them grow and develop.

For many leaders this is usually by way of a professional executive coach.

The benefits of partnering with an executive coach are well documented with numerous studies showing that leaders who engage these professionals are more likely to exhibit enhanced goal attainment, increased resilience and better management skills, plus more.

Good executive coaches will keep you accountable and use evidence-based techniques to build you into a good leader and help you get the most of yourself and your team.

Want to find out how we can help you become a better leader?