If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people,
the key is to become a person of quality yourself. – Jim Rohn
Do you agree that before you can be an effective leader you must be viewed as a “quality person”?
A good starting point is to think about Maya Angelou’s quote: People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
As a leader, how we make people feel absolutely impacts our work culture. It’s essential that we deliver messages with not only clarity but also respectfully. There’s no doubt we will have the need to deliver tough messages, but the way we do it makes a huge difference on how well the message is received, and it will also impact the ongoing relationship.
Author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn identified the following key leadership traits:
- Learn to be strong but not impolite
- Learn to be kind but not weak
- Learn to be bold but not a bully
- Learn to be humble but not timid
- Learn to be proud but not arrogant
- Learn to develop humor without folly
- Learn to deal in realities
Leaders want to show compassion and empathy. We need to be authentic and let people know they are valued and appreciated, and better yet, we can provide specific details supporting our perspectives.
If we are a “quality” person and leader, chances are our behaviors will be modelled by those we interact with. We want to engage people, we want to interact with others in their preferred style (not ours!), we truly listen to what others have to say (understanding that sometimes our message may not be well received), but we can show empathy and explain what prompted the message. ie. Company mandates, errors, cost savings, growth, etc
Quality people (and leaders) are known for their integrity, for being trustworthy, for having no hidden agendas, for influencing and inspiring others, and in general making others feel good about themselves, with a desire to want to be around us.
Are you a quality person and leader?
Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position. —Brian Tracy.