Like you, I've been searching for a definitive list of leadership skills.
Maybe that's because every great leader exhibits different skills or displays them in different degrees. After all, leadership is an art more than a rote set of skills used in a methodical way.
But there is value in observing, naming and developing certain skills.
In leadership workshops, I open by asking people to give me one word they associate with leadership.
Honest, visionary, inspiring... these always make the list right away. And then there are the qualities and skills that come from a little more reflection. Words like:
We're working through the alphabet here in the 2017 CONNECT2Lead Blog, so you'll have to keep coming back to read about:
and all the other qualities we observe in leaders who genuinely connect and take a "people first" approach.
But what about skills? Less often, people articulate the things leaders are capable of doing. More often, they talk about what leaders are or the impact they have. That's why I'm such an evangelist for The Leadership Challenge®, a body of work by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. This is the evidence-based framework of leadership, based on 30+ years of global research, that tells us the 30 behaviors of exemplary leaders.
These are implied but not explicitly called out in those 30 behaviors and the list of skills they embody. And in all the qualities called out by all the workshop participants I've asked, these two words have never yet been spoken.
But, to me, these two words are absolutely essential for leaders to understand. Better yet is understanding and using them in unison. I've seen a few great leaders do this even though they'd never know these words existed.
Entelechy, from the Greek entelecheia means “that which turns potential into reality.”
This word gives me chills. It succinctly and powerfully describes what great leaders do.
Turning potential into reality is the heart of innovation, the soul of creativity, and the aim of true leaders.
Ennoblement, meaning to make noble or worthy.
More chills. Feeling worthy and noble unleashes hidden talents and causes people to dig deeper than they knew they could. Great leaders create ennobling environments where everyone feels important.
All those other qualities and skills can help create this kind of environment. But a smart leader knows that those skills aren't for show. They have a two-fold purpose: ennoble people and turn their potential into reality.
When ennobled people reach their full potential, company profits soar and long-term success is assured. This is the heart of putting people first to build organizational strength.
In addition to entelechy and ennoblement and the 30 behaviors of exemplary lea
Leadership is an art. Every great leader is known and remembered for some quality of their own, some strength that was wisely used.
When you compile a list of leadership skills, start with your strengths.
Think about how you will turn your potentiality into actuality by deploying these strengths you already have. Ennoble your own abilities and they will serve you well.
When you use your own strengths as a springboard for developing additional strengths, you start with an advantage. Don't stop there, but use this launching pad to soar to new heights as you continue to develop as a leader.