Join over 300,000 people and subscribe here for future editions. Senior Leaders: Don't forget my personal invitation to chat at the bottom of this post.

Whenever I speak and conduct live workshops for leadership teams, I break them into groups of three and ask the question, "Think of a time when you worked for the best boss you ever had. What made him or her so great?"

After some processing and discussion in their small groups, I instruct them to reconvene and share their findings with the whole group. It's now gotten to the point where I can almost bank on these answers 99 percent of the time. I hear things like:

"My boss valued me as a human being." "He communicated openly, and let us do the same. We were real with each other." "She let us take ownership of our work." "She was interested in my personal and professional development." "He was interested in our ideas and input. We had a voice." "She cared for us. We felt like a true community."

What I have witnessed is that the best leaders shine the spotlight on their people. They don't want the attention, and they share their power and status to benefit the people under their care.

Let's go deeper. Here are three of the most prevalent habits I have seen in such leaders.

Want to hear an insecure boss at work? Easy, just listen to their bragging--a mask for their insecurity. Humble and self-assured leaders are unassuming and know what they think; they want to know what YOU think. And they listen intently with openness and curiosity. Practically speaking, this forgotten skill of active listening allows their people the freedom to be part of the conversation. Such leaders will ask curious questions, lots of questions: how something is done, what you like about it, what you learned from it, and what you need in order to be better. Leaders with loyal followers realize they know a lot, and seek to know even more by actively listening.

Want to know the definition of a fool? It's someone who refuses to accept or look at feedback. Good leaders don't just put a team together, roll out a new product and bail the scene. They constantly ask their employees for feedback about what's working, and what's not. They understand that to maintain a healthy work culture, they have to keep their finger on the pulse. Try asking yourself these powerful 15 questions to self-assess how you're doing as a leader.

Let's face it, if you are considering developing your leaders, trust is a pillar your company's leadership should stand on. The research I've combed over underscores certain leadership trusting behaviors culturally ingrained in "best companies to work for" known for high employee engagement. Among those trusted behaviors are:

Practicing accountability Creating transparency Confronting reality Clarifying expectations Listening first

This is how real leaders interact day-to-day to get the best out of their employees and achieve business outcomes. Imagine the possibilities of you doing it consistently over time. Your employee engagement and satisfaction ratings will go up, and as a result, your customers will also notice a big difference.

Your turn: Have you worked for leaders exhibiting these traits? What was the outcome? How did you perform? Leave a comment.

____________________________

What would you consider to be your greatest leadership challenge right now? What's keeping you up at night? Whatever it is, I invite you to book a free, no-obligation, 15-minute call so I can personally hear your challenges and offer a way forward. Book your appointment here.

The Love in Action podcast is now heard in 160 countries and is a globally top-ranked show. This week I feature recent conversations with these leadership experts. Click on the links to listen.

Cynthia Covey Haller: She just co-authored with her late father, the legendary Stephen Covey, his final book, “Live Life in Crescendo”.  Mark C. Crowley: The global thinker, speaker, and author came on the show to talk about the release of his revised and updated leadership classic, Lead From the Heart. Bill George: The Harvard Business School professor and former CEO of Medtronic shares the inspiration of True North: Emerging Leaders Edition, as today’s leadership moves from past eras of leading with your hands or head to leading from the heart. Jacqueline Carter: Carter dives into the data behind her new book Compassionate Leader, to help us find a more human way of doing the hard things as a leader. Jenn Lim: The CEO of Delivering Happiness reflects upon the loss of her close friend and Zappo's founder Tony Hsieh during the publishing of her book, Beyond Happiness.

______________________________

Marcel Schwantes is a highly-acclaimed executive coach, international speaker, podcast host, and syndicated columnist with a worldwide following. He trains emerging leaders and managers in the skills to build great work cultures where people flourish and businesses grow.

Help improve contributions

Mark contributions as unhelpful if you find them irrelevant or not valuable to the article. This feedback is private to you and won’t be shared publicly.

Contribution hidden for you

This feedback is never shared publicly, we’ll use it to show better contributions to everyone.

Founder & CEO at Light Your Leadership Inc. | The VP Coach | Keynote Speaker | Author of Light A Fire In Their Hearts | Creator of LYLTalks Podcast

Yes! Agree 💯🙏

University lecturer | Consultant & Coach | Author

Good points, thanks for sharing, Marcel Schwantes! I would be so bold and add a fourth thing that exceptional leaders do very well. They don’t take everything so seriously and are maybe able to wholeheartedly laugh from time to time.

I Have Life Learned Experiences That Money Cannot Buy / #BOUNUSWORKER #ABUSINESSINVESTMENT

As being a Older Person I consider myself a #BonusBlessingWhen I’m involved in  my work family or social life I consider myself as   tHe #PLUSINTHEPLACE perceive   

I Have Life Learned Experiences That Money Cannot Buy / #BOUNUSWORKER #ABUSINESSINVESTMENT

#We OlderPeopleAre #BringingThePastToThePresent

--

Thank you Mr. Schwantes, for helping with my growth and develop for my near future leadership role. I've been watching and listening to you. You're the example of a great leader and I've appreciated your teachings, attitude and demeanor towards life;others. Amen

To view or add a comment, sign in

LinkedIn

Never miss a beat on the app

Don’t have the app? Get it in the Microsoft Store.