The Seven Qualities Of Great Leadership

A collage of what great leadership looks like

During my thirty-five years working for Fortune 500 companies like Footlocker and Yankee Candle I had a ringside seat in watching great CEO’s lead. During almost two decades of being the CFO with many of these wonderful leaders, I observed that there are seven qualities that exist in inspiring leaders. While no one person embodied all these qualities, my experiences with many terrific leaders create a collage of what great leadership resembles. These seven qualities are:
 

 
Great leaders possess a high competency in most of these traits. Some instinctively had them and some worked hard developing these traits.
 

Strongly Rooted Moral Compass

No single leadership trait is more important than having a moral compass that is always pointed in “doing the right thing.” At Yankee Candle, which has the highest customer acceptance rating of any consumer product company, this was always evident. Craig Ryden and Harlan Kent who were the CEO’s during my tenure as the Chief Administrative officer, demonstrated this on a daily basis. While earning profits was always a high priority, providing a quality product to our customers was more important. If any process or decision that we made risked customer satisfaction or the safety of our employees, then we didn’t approve. Both Craig and Harlan recognized that not only would it disappoint our customers and employees, it would also hamper the sustainability of our enterprise. Employees watch very closely what leaders do and act accordingly.
 

Ability to Get Things Done

Great leaders can be counted on! They do what they say and say what they do. You learn to count on them to accomplish their responsibilities. For those who are being led, this trait is inspirational. It inspires their organization to have the same focus of completing committed tasks.
 

Early in my career, I worked for a great CFO named Jerome Loeb. The one thing I always knew was Jerome would be ready at any meeting. He was always the most prepared. If something was committed to by Jerome, it was done and ahead of schedule. In turn, for those of whom worked for Jerome, we knew this was the standard. We met this standard, because Jerome led with this standard of getting things done.
 

Listens to Learn

Great leaders listen. Jim Hageman, an early influence in my career, would sit still and listen until nearly the end of a meeting. Then he would summarize what he had heard and suggest future action steps. Jim’s concern was that as the senior person in the meeting, if he expressed his point of view he could influence others before they had a chance to express their opinion. Jim also knew that there was much to be gained by getting all points of view and not stifle conversations.

Jim once told me that he couldn’t learn anything if he was talking. People became accustomed to Jim’s listening style and felt comfortable that they could speak their minds without fear. In turn, the company culture developed into a listening to learn mode.
 

Develops Other People

Great leaders and organizations focus intently on their biggest asset, people! Great leaders ensure training and programs exist that help people learn to be effective executives. They intentionally make this a priority and part of the company’s periodic reviewprocess. Organizations that have an effective and honest feedback system, when administered on a regular basis helps create an aligned culture and an engaged organization.
 
Great leaders also inspire others by their own actions. They encourage others’ success and help them overcome weaknesses. Their primary goal isn’t their personal fame, but making others better.
 
Most importantly, they know that being surrounded by great people makes the company better and able to navigate through difficult times.
 

Analyzes Effectively

Matt Serrawas the CEO of Footlocker while I was the CFO. He had a thirst for knowing the facts about where the company was going. He would evaluate every trend and probe constantly for our thoughts. He knew that in every number there was a trend. This trend would indicate our future. He would always double check his opinions with a group of us to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
 
What was most interesting, if a trend was different than his opinion, he didn’t force feed his opinion back to the staff. He admitted he was wrong and would adjust course. Matt knew that a good analysis of where we were going was more important than his ego.
 

Engaging and Open

One of the most important safeguards for any corporation is to have an open work environment. Great leaders make people feel comfortable delivering news, including bad news! The hardest thing for a corporation is to establish a culture where all news is received equally and without emotion. Delivering bad news to the boss is one of the hardest tasks for an employee. A culture of open conversations can stop bad situations in their tracks.
 
When we consider the recent Wells Fargo scandal, where some overly zealous employees opened bogus accounts, I wonder if the board or top leadership allowed employees to provide frank feedback about business operations. Certainly if they had an open environment there would not have been a scandal. 
 
Great leaders don’t hide from bad news, they encourage open dialogue.
 

Delegates Effectively

When an organization grows above ten employees, the management style has to change to effective delegation. Otherwise it will stop growing. Effective delegation ensures that the company is “focused on what counts” and moving in the same direction. The leader has to move from being the doer to the organizer.
 
Over the years, I have witnessed some wonderful executives who know how to delegate. They evaluated tasks and assigned them to the people who can effectively get tasks completed. As part of this inevitable management style, great delegators put people in a position where they can succeed.

Great delegators don’t abdicate the responsibility, they coach and ensure the right resources exist for the person doing the task. They are also willing to walk with the people in difficult times.

Delegation isn’t passing the buck, it is both instruction and ensuring success isn’t based on luck. While it is hard for any leader to rate at the top of the scale for all seven of these traits, great leaders still try to emulate these seven traits.

Great leaders understand their responsibilities and take them seriously. They don’t hide when things are going poorly, they appear at the helm. They don’t claim success for themselves, but for the team. Leadership is hard, great leaders are riveted on everyone being successful.

Author Bio

Bruce Hartman is the founder and creator of Gideon Partners, an advisory firm committed to “walking with people into a brighter future” as they navigate life and career transitions. Hartman was the Executive VP and CFO at Yankee Candle Company, Cushman and Wakefield, and Foot Locker, Inc., where he established global banking and capital market structures and contributed to significant increases in enterprise value. He is the author of a new book called Jesus & Co.: Connecting the Lessons of the Gospel with Today’s Business World. Visit http://brucelhartman.com Follow @Bruce_L_Hartman Connect Bruce L Hartman