3 Leadership Traits Every Member Of Management Should Have
By: Benny Lim
Tags: Work, Careers, Management, Leadership, Life

We live in a world where so many people aspire to become bosses. Whether its adults already in the working world or youngsters looking to get big in their careers when they start working.

Even in companies and corporations, there are plenty of bosses.

You’ll have the biggest boss of them all, the MD or the CEO, followed by the direct reports, the EVPs, SVPs and VPs. You then have the smaller bosses which are the mid-level managers and finally, followed by the ‘worker’ ants, the lower-level executives.

Very often, when something goes wrong in the company, the lower ones are sacrificed first.

Bosses who easily make 20 to 30 times more than what a junior executive makes will still sit comfortably in their chairs while they get rid of the ‘small fries’ and cite ‘cost-cutting’ measures.

That is why bosses are not what you should aspire to be.

People don’t look up to bosses. People don’t respect bosses. People don’t like bosses.

It’s easy to be a boss. You boss people around, get them to do the hard work and then take all the credit. That’s why a boss is called a boss. Bossing others around is one of the easiest things you can do when you’re in a position of power and authority.

Instead, you should aspire to be a leader because honestly, we lack real leaders at the moment and with the current pandemic that we’re all facing, we really need leaders to lead us out of this.

But what makes a good leader? What are the traits a leader should have?

Well, here are 3 traits of a good leader that those who are in a position of authority should have.

1. Leading by example

This is by far the most important trait of a leader. It’s the reason why a person is called a leader in the first place. It’s because they lead, it’s because they can lead and for that reason, they should lead.

And the best way to lead is to lead by example.

The best leaders are the ones that will show the way for their people. They open the path for others and show others how to walk that path. They don’t boss or order others around. Rather, they will advise and show how it’s done.

The best example I can give is one of the best bosses I’ve had in my 14-year career so far. He would be the one to start a new project with the team members that he would want to carry it on. He will guide them on what and how to do things. He will advise the team when needed.

And once he sees that the team can support themselves, he steps away slowly but will always be around if his help is needed. He would then just check in on the team from time to time and help them to complete the project when it’s due.

He would then credit the team for the entirety of the project and applaud them for a job well done.

Be like him.

Don’t be like some bosses who would only order their team members to do something but provide no guidance or assistance and when the project ends, take all the credit as if they did everything without the help of others.

2. Putting others first and then themselves after

Another trait of a good leader is how they put others before themselves. A good leader is there to serve, rather than to be served. And I think this is something a lot of people forget once they get into a position of authority.

My dad used to tell me that it is better to give than to receive.

For someone who grew up not having much, it was hard for me to understand that. How my dad (who also grew up without having much) could feel that way was beyond me. But as I grew older, I understood the significance of that saying. He was right. The satisfaction that you get from giving is much bigger and better compared to the satisfaction that you get when you’re receiving.

And good leaders do that.

Good leaders give more than they receive. They take greater pleasure and pride in putting others first before themselves.

Their purpose in an organisation or in any leadership role that they’re in is to ensure they serve their purpose — serving others. A good leader will ensure that their team’s interest is always placed ahead of their own. The team comes first, themselves second.

The growth of each individual team member takes priority and a good leader will see to that.

That is what good leaders do.

3. Being accountable and taking full responsibility for their decisions

As the quote made famous by Uncle Ben (from the Spiderman movies) goes, “With great power, comes great responsibilities”, a leader takes full responsibility and accountability for their actions and decisions.

A boss will take credit when something goes right and blames others when something goes wrong.

A leader will do the opposite.

A leader will give credit when something goes right and take responsibility when something goes wrong.

Another good boss that I had which I consider to be a really good leader was very good at taking responsibility. As a member of the company’s leadership team, he would always ensure that if a member of his team does something right, full credit will be given to them and he will take none.

However, if something were to go wrong, as the head of the department, he will always take full responsibility for the actions of his team members.

Never has he thrown any of his team members under the bus.

On the contrary, he would be the one to throw himself under the bus so that his team members are not blamed for anything.

He would be the first to hold his hands up when something goes wrong and admit his mistakes.

A boss would be the first person to hide and blame others, and that’s something that you would not want happening to you in an organisation.

In a world full of bosses, it’s good to be a leader. Someone that others can truly look up to, respect and would want to follow. Being a leader is such a big responsibility to have, but also a great honour.

So, if you find yourself in a position of authority or if you’re in a position where people call you ‘boss’, don’t be a boss.

Be a leader instead.

Lead.