CareerBuilder has an article out regarding the 5 Key Traits of Great Leaders. As you know, we enjoy lists at The Hire Sense. The author provides a fair explanation of each trait and I doubt anyone would argue with any of the traits. Here they are:
- You must have a vision.
- You must have passion.
- You must learn to be a great decision maker.
- You must be a team builder.
- You must have character.
Again, who would argue with these 5? Well, I will…with the last one. First, an excerpt from the author’s explanation of that point (emphasis mine):
Without character, all the other “keys” are for naught. That’s because your innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.
So what’s your leadership style? If you don’t know, there are many leadership style assessments available on the market.
Yes, we offer a leadership style assessment for managers and executives. However, we do not equate these assessments to a person’s character or personality. Instead, they are representative of their leadership and communication style. Character and personality are poor choices of words for assessing.
Character matters immensely, but it is far from defined by leadership style.