Here we are in the last month of Summer. Are you winding down, gearing up for a final vacation, or getting ready to go back to something?
I’d like to go back to my last blog where I shared leadership behaviors that can intentionally drive (or dismantle) a high-performing culture and create ripple effects throughout an organization. The right behaviors can create the same type of ripple effects when it comes to leading individuals and teams, not only amplifying your impact but also making you the leader that everyone gravitates toward.
Let me get specific about which behaviors actually matter. After analyzing years worth of 360-degree feedback assessments on all levels of leaders, I’ve found that five behaviors or practices consistently separate effective, trusted and ‘magnetic’ leaders from the rest. I’ve also observed that many leaders think they’re naturally good at these behaviors, but individuals and teams that work for them frequently disagree.
Five Behaviors That Set Leaders Apart and Attract Loyal Followers
1. 🤝 They Embrace Difficult Conversations Instead of Avoiding Them – I don’t think anyone likes to have difficult conversations, but trusted leaders understand that avoiding them doesn’t make problems disappear—it makes them worse. Having the skill to engage in difficult conversations and turn them into learning ones builds credibility and demonstrates a commitment to solving problems and keeping relationships strong.
2. 📅 They Manage Their Commitments and Maintain Good Leadership Practices – Consistency is key. Leaders that stay accountable to their actions and deadlines (or re-negotiate them if they can’t), and stick to regular meetings with staff and teams rather than constantly rescheduling or canceling them, demonstrate respect for the time and effort people dedicate in support of them. When leaders commit to something, their team knows it will happen. When they constantly change meetings or miss deadlines, it causes others to have to make changes to accommodate them.
3. 👂 They Listen to Understand, Not to Respond – I’m a big proponent about the importance of building listening skills as a leader (I even dedicated an entire blog to the topic recently). I’ll reiterate that the skill of listening is a leadership superpower. The ability to stay present, ask follow-up questions, and reflect back what is heard has its own ripple effect. When people feel truly heard, they become more engaged, creative, and loyal because they know the leader is listening not to win arguments, but to understand perspectives.
4. 🔍 They Provide Transparency About Organizational Realities – As leaders, it’s not always easy or realistic to be totally transparent about challenges or situations that are happening, especially if they have their own concerns or reservations. Trusted leaders understand that teams crave context about changes, challenges, and decisions, so they regularly share what they can (in appropriate ways and within appropriate boundaries) because they know that informed employees are engaged employees. They fill the information vacuum before rumors and speculation can take hold.
5. 💬 They Are Open to Feedback, Even If They Don’t Agree With It – The ability to both give and receive feedback is, in my opinion, the most important of all because it is the pathway to true self-awareness (aligning how you see yourself to how others perceive you). Trust and respect builds when leaders can ask for specific input, thank people for their honesty (even if they don’t perceive things the same way), and act on what they learn. The best leaders know that when they get defensive, or don’t pay attention to the feedback they receive, they are inadvertently training people to stop giving them the information they need to improve.
Here are some additional resources for mastering a few of these five effective leadership behaviors:
📩 Download: Playbook for Difficult Conversations in the Workplace – here’s my free e-book on the What, Why, and How to master difficult conversations.
▶️ Watch: The Power of 360 Degree Feedback and The Self-Aware Leader Digital 360 Degree Feedback Tool – here’s my two video shorts on why I find feedback so important and how I help leaders retrieve it.
📕 Read: Harvard Business Review Article: Does Your Team Have an Accountability Issue?
✅ Take: Our FREE Leadership Behavior Assessment – see which of the five behaviors you do really well. Does your team agree?