September Readers’ Poll Results: Leadership
September’s newsletter and poll focused on leadership themes: how libraries lead in their communities, and the qualities of great leaders in the library field. When asked to select the two most important qualities of a great leader, communication and inspiration topped the list of poll choices, with communication taking a notable lead.
The “Charismatic Connector”
One reader included an interesting quote from a recent Harvard Business Review article, regarding charismatic connectors:
"The ideal team player... In both productivity-focused and creativity-focused teams, we have discovered the data signature of what we consider the best type of team member. Some might call these individuals ‘natural leaders.’ We call them ‘charismatic connectors.’ Badge data show that these people circulate actively, engaging people in short, high-energy conversations. They are democratic with their time -- communicating with everyone equally and making sure all team members get a chance to contribute. They're not necessarily extroverts, although they feel comfortable approaching other people. They listen as much as or more than they talk and are usually very engaged with whomever they're listening to. We call it ’energized but focused listening.’
The best team players also connect their teammates with one another and spread ideas around. And they are appropriately exploratory, seeking ideas from outside the group but not at the expense of group engagement. In a study of executives attending an intensive one-week executive education class at MIT, we found that the more of these charismatic connectors a team had, the more successful it was.”
(Pentland, Alex “Sandy” (April 2012). The New Science of Building Great Teams. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 90 Issue 4, p. 70.)
Readers’ Comments: Qualities of a Great Leader
We also asked readers what we might have missed in our list of qualities, and they shared their thoughts on strong leaders and leadership traits. Communication skills ranked high in comments, as did character qualities and the ability to create connections and inspire.
Communication
· Good listener
· They are open to new ideas and take the time to listen.
· The ability to not just listen but hear.
· The ability to listen to the needs of the people and to respond
· excellent listening skills; fair
· I picked communication. That's key. I think the other quality is vision. A great leader needs to know where the organization is going and how everyone fits in; then they need to communicate that to their employees.
· Listener, passionate about their goal
· Listening
· Good listener
· listening skills
· They need to have the ability to hire good, trustworthy, competent individuals -and then allow them to do their jobs. Trust, good communication, and then stand back.
· Good listener
· Good listener; which probably falls under strong communicator. But they not only need to keep employees advised, but also listen to the employees.
· Share ideas
· I think good leaders should be willing to listen and consistently inspiring their employees to succeed.
Character
· Courageous. Serves others
· supportive
· Kindness to all
· Fairness, honesty, confidence.
· Trustworthy. Receptive.
· Integrity, good team player - even the leader MUST be a team player. Employees need to feel their leader can be trusted.
· Decisiveness and Trustworthiness
· Common sense, ability to admit a mistake and learn from it
· Plain old Common Sense. And plain old honesty or integrity. Also, ability to listen.
· Fair-minded
· lead by example
· Able to acknowledge when a mistake is made; that he or she is human like the rest of us.
· Sincerity
· Loyalty, rewarding ,understanding, caring
· Fair
· Shouldering responsibility
Vision
· You can add a great sense of humor. And the being a visionary.
· Innovative
· Vision.
· Visionary
· Innovative
· Creativity
· Mentor/succession planner
Networking
· High visibility/accessibility among the employees AND the customers.
· Good networking skills and contacts.
· Work with others
· Political Savvyness
Other
· Discernible intelligence
· Impartial, Team builder, great communicator, compassionate,
· connected to community
· Wisdom!
· To be a great team leader that can recognize accomplishments of others and lets them use their talents as needed.
· Willingness to step in and fill any position under his or her supervision, if the need arises.
· Leaders also need to be able to lose themselves in service to others, be humble, and resourceful.
· willing to do what they want others to do
· Personable
· Assertive/Has imitative
· A sense of humor is not a bad thing!
· I think a great leader needs to be inclusive.
· Tasking risks
· analysis
· All of above are great except maybe driven. Good leaders pave the way for others, remove barriers and support their co-workers.
· Decision Making, Consensus Building, Taking a Stand
· The ability to arbitrate, to get consensus
· The ability to take criticism (constructive)