There are a range of essential skills and behaviours required to become a successful leader. While there may be debate about what all of those skills are, several common leadership competencies are generally agreed upon.
There are seven common leadership competencies identified by most models of effective leadership. These are often the focus of leadership development programs and can provide a meaningful framework for self-reflection, training and development.
What are these leadership competencies and why are they so important?
Top seven leadership compentencies
Integrity
Leaders do not have to be perfect, and they certainly don’t have to be saints, but they should act with integrity and decency. This means ensuring a professional approach in their dealings with their colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders, setting an example within the organisation. Thinking about what it means to act with integrity within a professional context is essential for anyone with a leadership role or ambitions.
Diversity & Inclusion
Creative workplaces where everyone has the best platform from which to contribute, grow, and develop require leaders who have an understanding of the necessity of diversity and inclusion. They should be able to demonstrate competence and sensitivity when bringing diverse groups together to achieve shared objectives.
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Leaders should try to set a good example within an organisation, modelling behaviours and practices they would like to see in their teams. This might include diligence, empathy, and decision-making. Thinking about how your actions impact and influence the overall performance of your team is one of the key leadership competencies to develop.
Open Mindedness
Effective leaders are always open to the possibility of change, innovation, and new ideas. They are looking for new ways to improve their performance and the performance of their organisation. They are intellectually curious and interested in developments within their particular field or industry, that might be beneficial. Encouraging an open attitude and a willingness to change is essential when looking to develop leadership competencies as it often underpins development in other areas of leadership.
Discerning thinking
The ability to think clearly and critically is essential to a range of leadership competencies, underpinning effective decision-making and strategising. Leaders should be able to evaluate the information they receive from a wide range of different sources, identifying what is relevant, and using it to inform their daily and strategic decision-making.
Task prioritisation
Leadership roles include a huge range of diverse responsibilities. They are faced with countless decisions, tasks, and challenges, all of them competing for their time. Effective leaders need to value their time, ensuring that they prioritise their tasks to ensure that the most critical matters are dealt with first.
Community building
Leaders need to be able to construct a supportive, and cohesive team. This can be a challenging task with different personalities, priorities, and perspectives often jarring or pulling in different directions. Effective teams tend to be supportive teams, and building supportive teams requires a range of leadership competencies.
Developing your leadership competencies
While different people have different strengths and skills, these seven core competencies can all be developed through leadership training and expert mentorship. Leadership assessment tools can help you understand the training and development needs of your leaders and potential leaders, ensuring that any leadership development program is tailored to meet those needs. Assessment tools should be easy to deploy, producing results that are simple to action and implement.
Enhance your leadership competencies with Leadership Success
At Leadership Success, we work with leaders and emergent leaders across different industries, helping them to develop their core leadership competencies and become more effective in their workplace.
Contact us to find out more.
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