Leadership Development: What Makes a Good Leader

First, there's a debate over what distinguishes the competencies of management vs. leadership. I view management as tactical (e.g., managing staff hours, administrative activities, etc.) where as leadership is more strategic or visionary (e.g., inspiring people to perform to their potential, growing a team, etc.).

I also believe managers are position-based where as anyone can exhibit the qualities of a leader. That said, as you move up in an organization, you need to learn what activities or competencies you need to gain and which ones you need to get your staff to start taking over.

My favorite book on this topic is by Scott Eblin, entitled The Next Level. He also has a 360 Leadership Assessment (in which I'm certified), that aligns to the book. Essentially, his premise is that there are qualities you much "let go" and others you must "pick up" as you move into a managerial / leadership position.

While my list is influenced by Scott Eblin, it's my own version of what I've observed and learned throughout my career to date. Here are my top three:

1. When you're a leader, you need to influence behaviors and have a sense of political savvy. Some would say that you have to know how to "play the game" but I think it's more than that. It's not just about playing the game, because then it seems disingenuous. As a leader, you need to think about how to motivate others to agreement and/or action by understanding how THEY want to be communicated with, not how you want to communicate to them. Just because you have a message to get across, doesn't mean it's phrased in a way that the other folks want to hear. Find out what appeals to them, what's important to them, and work from there.
2. Delegation is key, but not the way you think. As you move up in an organization, you can no longer be the "do-er," but rather you need to learn to manage what needs to be done so that the mission is achieved. As a manager you serve as a task master, but as a leader, you serve the role of guiding the team around you and mentoring them as needed. Teach the team to fish rather than giving them the fish. And don't send them out to learn to fish on their own if you can help lead them down the right path.
3. Start to use powerful questions. Before I get to the "why", first I want to answer "what is a powerful question?" Powerful questions get people to think deeper and expand your final end game for the whole team. They are open ended, and come from a place of curiosity rather than information gathering. Often times managers ask, "When will this be done?" or, "Where are we on this?" A powerful question would be, "What are we not thinking about?" or, "How can we make this product better?" The powerful question takes you out of that task master, manager role, and into a leadership, guiding others role. The basic rule for powerful questions is to avoid a question that has a single, short answer. Also avoid "why" so that you don't subconsiously appear to assign blame for something ("Why did it go wrong?" turns into, "How could we do this better?" or, "What did we miss?").

What are some powerful questions that you think you should be asking?