What qualities make a successful leader?

Leadership is certainly more an art than an exact science, so there is no definitive formula for making a successful leader. However, we have asked Nola Beirne, a brilliant professional coach, to provide her opinion on what three leadership qualities she has observed to be most useful in her work at a professional services firm.  

1. Self-Control/Personal organisation 

This may sound pretty basic, but all of the impressive leaders with whom I have worked have been very good at self–regulation, staying calm under pressure, always appearing organised and on top of the decisions which need to be made. 

2. Having a creative vision 

Successful leaders that I have encountered have the ability to develop a vision of the future for their teams and organisations which they can clearly communicate. They lead with confidence and enthusiasm in pursuit of the vision and people who work with them are happy to follow in their dynamic slipstream. Often their ideas are not mainstream; they can see opportunities and approaches which are not apparent to others, and they have the self-belief to ‘go for it’. They are able to be creative, but at the same time not lose sight of the main objective. They are constantly looking at the environment in which they operate to see what is changing, where opportunities may lie and nimbly moving towards new opportunities. But they are also resilient, if they fail they don’t crumble, they pick themselves up and reassess the environment to come up with a new plan. 

3. Being a good communicator 

All of the great leaders I have worked with have been excellent communicators with people at all levels of their organisations. In my environment (law) good leaders write well and are typically excellent public speakers. That is not to say that the latter necessarily comes naturally, I know of many good leaders who have had a tremendous amount of coaching to become the polished, confident public speakers they appear to be today. In my view some leadership qualities can be learned, but some are innate. However, this is not to say that people can’t improve their leadership styles; most senior leaders have had to work on aspects of their approach in order to become the rounded leaders they are today.