What Makes a Great Leader

A great leader inspires a team with possibility, vision, agency, and genuine caring for their people at every level. They are willing to fearlessly dive into the details and roll up their sleeves alongside their team when needed to get the job done. They actively solicit feedback and critique to improve and create a culture where it’s safe to speak up. When a hard call needs to get made, they own the decision and directly communicate it with empathy for people negatively impacted. They minimize meetings and time-to-act to get out of the way of the jobs to be done. Their enthusiasm for the business and impact is palpable and contagious.

A poor leader relates to their team primarily through spreadsheets and dashboards, motivates through fear, doesn’t bother to connect with folks in their org who are below their reports, views themselves above doing any actual work…and beyond needing to even understand how things work. They send someone else to take the fall or to relate bad news to avoid discomfort. Any disagreement with them is seen as disloyalty and quashed. They add meetings and delay to appear thoughtful.