Top 25 Leadership Behaviours Defining Today’s Great Leaders
Leadership development is an ongoing journey, one that demands self-awareness, adaptability, and a keen understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. At Developing Leaders, we’ve spent years refining what truly makes a great leader, helping emerging and seasoned leaders alike realise their potential through practical, actionable leadership behaviours.
The question is: do you know what your leadership strengths are? Equally important, are you aware of your weaknesses? Understanding and leveraging your strengths can significantly impact your leadership style and the performance of your team.
While there are thousands of leadership traits and behaviours, we’ve distilled our list down to the top 25, based on over 15 years of coaching experience at Developing Leaders, and our extensive work with military leadership principles.
Why These 25 Leadership Behaviours?
We’ve focused on behaviours that can be taught and developed, leaving aside qualities that are more innate, such as honesty or integrity, which we believe are binary—either you have them, or you don’t. We’ve also excluded traits like trust, which result from multiple behaviours and are granted by others. Instead, our focus is on behaviours that leaders can actively cultivate and improve, spread across five key leadership categories: Alignment, Awareness, Achievement, Altitude (Team behaviours), and Adaptability.
1. Alignment: Guiding Your Team with Purpose
- Purpose: A clear sense of purpose sets the foundation for effective leadership. Leaders with a well-defined vision of the future not only drive toward that vision but also inspire others to join them on the journey.
- Commitment: Committed leaders invest their time and energy wholeheartedly into their cause, energising their team and earning trust through their dedication.
- Resilience: Leaders who bounce back from setbacks inspire others to persevere. Resilience in leadership fosters a culture of persistence, leading to higher performance.
- Goal Orientation: Leaders who set clear, measurable goals for themselves and their teams keep everyone focused and motivated. Their ability to define and achieve objectives is key to sustained success.
- Transparency: Transparency builds trust. Leaders who are open and honest in their communications foster an environment where teams feel informed and empowered.
2. Awareness: Cultivating Self-Insight
- Reflection: Reflective leaders continually assess their own actions and decisions, learning from both successes and failures.
- Self-Awareness: Leaders who understand their own emotions and reactions can remain calm in stressful situations, making more thoughtful decisions.
- Confidence: Confidence doesn’t mean arrogance. Great leaders are sure of their abilities but also know their limits, inspiring confidence in others.
- Assertiveness: An assertive leader is clear, direct, and respectful. They communicate needs and expectations without being aggressive, ensuring clarity in team dynamics.
- Personal Fulfilment: Leaders who feel fulfilled in their roles bring passion and enthusiasm to their work, motivating those around them.
3. Achievement: Striving for Results
- Responsibility: Taking ownership of decisions and outcomes is central to effective leadership. Leaders must hold themselves accountable to their team and their mission.
- Planning: Successful leaders always plan ahead. They set milestones, evaluate progress, and adjust as necessary to meet their objectives.
- Time Management: Leaders must manage their time effectively, prioritising tasks that deliver the greatest value to the team and organisation.
- Attention to Detail: Thorough leaders ensure that tasks are completed accurately and to a high standard, knowing when to dive into details and when to delegate.
- Problem Solving: Great leaders don’t just solve problems themselves—they empower their team to do the same, fostering a culture of creative problem-solving.
4. Altitude: Elevating Team Performance
- Accountability: Leaders must ensure that their team members are held accountable for their roles. Accountability builds trust, respect, and results.
- Active Listening: Leaders who listen fully to their team create an environment of open communication and mutual respect, leading to stronger team dynamics.
- Verbal Communication: Clear communication is critical. Leaders who articulate their thoughts effectively reduce misunderstandings and ensure smoother operations.
- Empathy: Empathetic leaders understand their team members’ perspectives and needs, enabling them to offer support and adjust strategies when needed.
- Constructive Feedback: Providing actionable, issue-focused feedback helps improve performance and builds trust with the team.
5. Adaptability: Thriving in Change
- Empowerment: Empowering team members to make decisions fosters confidence, competence, and higher satisfaction within the team.
- Interaction: Highly interactive leaders build connections and embrace collaboration, bringing people together to achieve common goals.
- Adaptability: Leaders must be flexible and willing to change course when necessary. Adaptability is crucial in today’s fast-paced, dynamic work environments.
- Influence: Leaders with influence can shape team perspectives and drive organisational change through strong personal and professional impact.
- Dependability: A dependable leader is one the team can rely on to deliver results consistently. Without dependability, trust erodes, and performance suffers.
What Are Your Leadership Behaviours and Strengths?
Reflecting on the behaviours above, what are your top three strengths? What about your areas for improvement? Recognising your leadership strengths is essential, but so is understanding where you need to grow.
At DevelopingLeaders.com.au, we help leaders uncover these insights through our Velocity Leadership CheckPoint. This assessment measures your current behaviours against the top 25 leadership traits, offering a clear picture of your strengths and areas for development.
Want to take the next step in your leadership journey? Contact us today to schedule your Leadership CheckPoint and debrief session with one of our expert coaches. Your growth as a leader starts with self-awareness and a commitment to continuous improvement.