Truly successful leaders have several traits in common By truly successful, I mean business leaders, who, while busy growing their organization, do not lose sight of (their) people’s growth. In short, they are successful in creating happy, high performing teams, departments, and organization through empowering and growing their people Such leaders are effective communicators. They are balanced – physically, emotionally and mentally. They move with a sense of poise.  They’re quick in actions and in making decisions, but not hurried in their minds Getting to this level of leadership takes conscious self effort on the part of the leaders to learn and grow. Such great leaders are rare Having studied a number of such leaders and their leadership styles, I observed effective leadership traits presented below.  Trait#1 – Great Leaders “Take Responsibility” Great leaders understand that responsibility is not given but taken. This deep aspect of responsibility reflects in their behavior and actions They feel a sense of responsibility for each and every person in their organization which helps them develop a personal connection with all. Such sense of belongingness brings the best out in the people as people thrive when they feel truly cared for This attitude helps build trust, empowers the people who also step up to “take responsibility” in helping achieve the organization goals. The leaders show support by wholeheartedly giving credit to people for success, while taking responsibility for failures  Example: Scrum Master shielding the team when a sincere team effort resulted in failure while coaching team members to learn from it and move on. The same Scrum Master coaches the team to be cross functional, self organize around work and continuously deliver high value through Sprints. When the time comes to get the accolades, the Scrum Master steps to the side and allows the team to feel “they did it”. Such Scrum Masters will be noticed and acknowledged sooner or later Trait#2: Great Leaders “Serve Selflessly” without a hidden agenda.  Effective leaders are servants first: This attitude aspires them to lead and become a servant leader. Traditional leaders want to establish (‘I am a leader’) leadership first which may or may not inspire them to serve The servant leadership attitude provides a safe place for the people. When people feel safe, they let go of the fear and trust is established Servant leadership skills in leaders puts the focus on people and teams (“groups of people”).. The organization succeeds, becomes great as a result of its great people Example: A servant leader manager works selflessly and earnestly to bring up an employee who is lagging behind others in performance by truly understanding what motivates them and how to stimulate them through the intrinsic motivators of autonomy, mastery and purpose rather than putting them under a performance review and firing them when they fail  Trait #3 Great Leaders “Self Introspect” Great leaders take some time to daily introspect. They go inwards, review their (recent) actions, behaviors and decisions and what they could have done better and differently to uplift their people and move them forward towards achieving greatness (both individually and for the organizational vision) This helps the leader to be aware of his or her limitations and to continuously work on those, which benefits both the leader, his or her people and the larger organization Example: In the book, “How to win friends and influence people”, Dale Carengie notes that people who got most from the book are the ones who kept some kind of log to follow up on their interactions with others and contemplated. What they could have done differently to be more personable and attractive Trait #4: Great Leaders “Employ Practices” to Daily “Refresh and Renew the Mind”  Leaders move from good to great when they realize the need for practices that help refresh and renew the mind on a regular basis. They develop and evolve a practice (usually learned from agile coach) that helps provide “mental hygiene” which empowers them to have a say over their mind. This is a revolutionary concept and often includes breathwork and meditation These techniques help the leaders stay grounded and centered despite ongoing challenges and situations which enables them to make critical decisions objectively. This is health supporting and brings long term gain for team members, leaders and organization Example: Many leaders who work at Agilonomics as partners all have a daily breathing and meditation practice. They are not only successful but have grown to lead with empathy and compassion. They also have goals and results to achieve and strive to do so but do not compromise human values in the process. Their employees and followers love them for their humility and being accessible Trait #5. Great Leaders “Thrive on Feedback” Successful leadership style includes learning from feedback.  Leaders may too feel a pinch of nervousness when receiving feedback, but they use feedback with introspection to become better leaders Leaders who truly benefit from feedback become good listeners. They don’t just take action but they listen, learn and lead. They work to discipline themselves to become great listeners Example: I know a Servant Leader Agile Coach who has successfully transformed many teams and organizations. On being asked how he had had great success in a short time? “I learn from feedback” was his response. He would ask “What could be done differently for even better results?” to his clients, listen actively and take the suggestions to where he went next  Trait #6. Great Leaders “Balance”  Passion with “Compassion and Dispassion” Great leaders come to realize that uncontrolled passion is not useful and too much (uncontrolled) passion can create frustration in them and anger in others  They balance their the river of passion by confining it within the banks of dispassion and compassion A river not confined to its banks can flood and be destructive. Uncontrolled passion can create fear and anxiety in the people you serve or work with.  However, passion guided by compassion and dispassion can be a force like a river confined within its banks helps generate power and electricity Trait #7. Great Leaders have a “strong inbuilt Self