10 Great Strengths to Build Leadership Muscle

What are Strengths?

We have all heard that we should focus not on our limits but on our strengths, but what exactly are strengths?

Donald Clifton (February 5, 1924 – September 14, 2003) was an American psychologist, educator, author, researcher, and entrepreneur. He founded Selection Research, Inc., which later acquired Gallup Inc., where he became chairman, and developed Clifton Strengths, Gallup’s online psychological assessment, designed to measure our strengths.

Our strengths are unique characteristics that combined, provide an original approach to our behaviours. These are the things that we have a natural inclination for. They may include things like ideation, being strategic, curiosity, judgement, perseverance etc. They could be character traits, but they could also be learned behaviours.

Some studies suggest that in most workplaces people spend around eighty percent of their time focused on fixing weaknesses, and only twenty percent of their time trying to build upon strengths.

Applying our strengths in the workplace could provide us with a competitive advantage. Some of the more common strength-finder assessments cite up to 34 different strengths that one individual can display. This means that the average person potentially has 34 opportunities to outshine their competitors.

Leadership Strengths

Leadership strengths are the traits and qualities that serve leaders well, helping them to inspire, lead and influence others.

Leadership strengths are a subset of the larger realm of strengths. Not all strengths are necessarily leadership oriented, however, anyone can learn to apply their own strengths to a leadership role. Leadership strengths are those strengths that are vital to have if you want to be an effective leader.

Many different entities, including Gallup, the American Management Association, the Forbes Coaches Council and IMD business school have hailed various leadership strengths as the top 8 – 10. However, there are some strengths which are common to all. Here are the 10 most common leadership strengths.

10 Great Leadership Strengths

Communication

If we can learn to communicate effectively as a leader, we own the stage. This includes active listening, small one to one meeting, giving presentations to large and small groups of people, as well as good conflict resolution – for ourselves but also helping our teams to resolve conflict.

Flexibility & Adaptability 

It goes without saying that leaders working in the current economic climate must be extremely adaptable and flexible, moving with constant change and learning to manage ambiguity. All too often, they may be left wondering what happened after sudden change surrounds them. However, the leaders that could make the right decisions quickly and take others along with them, will be the ones to survive and thrive.

Vision 

Creating a clear and compelling vision for their teams, is one of the most important leadership traits. Vision galvanizes the team and enhances their desire to work towards a common goal. Without a clear vision from the leader, teams will flounder, not flourish.

Empathy/Compassion 

Empathy has been cited as one of the most important leadership traits of the 21^st century. Sad that we do not see enough of it. Empathy and compassion in a leader assures others that they are human and that they care. This strength is like compassion. If you are unaware of your level of empathy, a simple EQ assessment will reveal this and many other valuable emotional intelligence traits.

Authenticity  

Being authentic is about being honest about who you are, not wearing a mask and being vulnerable. Others respond to open and honest leaders who are who they say they are and live by their own set of values.

Humility  

Closely linked to authenticity, being humble is about not being afraid to be real and vulnerable. Most leaders struggle with this one because egos get in the way. In leadership there is little room for the ego. Leading others is about others, helping them to succeed, serving them.

Strategic

Great leaders focus on the right things by being strategic about setting goals and creating a sustainable vision for their teams. They are also good at making decisions based on the analysis of accurate data.

Collaborative 

Leaders who are highly influential care what others think – they make a point of asking others for their opinion and they value it because they know that they do not have all the answers themselves. They are also great at surrounding themselves with strong people who support them and challenge them.

Cultural Competence 

In the age of workplace diversity and global markets, we would be remiss if we did not include sensitivity to culture as an important leadership strength. Understanding and respecting the people they work with, highly competent leaders know how to get the best out of their people, despite cultural and geographical differences.

Courage  

Last but certainly not least, the ability to be courageous is an all too often overlooked leadership strength. You too, may have seen those leaders who sit on the fence, are afraid of making decisions or “go with the flow” to preserve their own tenuous position. Leadership demands courage. Tough decisions need to be made and those who are sure of their own identity are unafraid of challenging the status quo for the long term good of the team and the organisation.

These 10 strengths are just some of the strengths that leaders need to be practicing in todays’ workplace. If you do not know your own workplace or leadership strengths, you can do a short online assessment through Gallup HERE.

If you would like a detailed feedback on your strengths and how to apply them to your leadership role, contact me HERE.

Recommended Further Reading:

“Strength Based Leadership” by Tom Rath in partnership with Gallup

“It’s the Manager” by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter