Companies spend a great deal of time training to improve skills, but the difference between good and great leaders is not about skill sets, toolkits and training. It is about 5 very specific fundamental ways of being. The 5 Attributes of Great Leaders are: Self-Awareness, Bravery, Kindness, Innovation and Inspiration. Not surprisingly, those with a deeper understanding of these core strengths communicate, inspire and engage more effectively than others. By helping leaders reach their potential in these areas, organizations can reach their collective potential; one leader at a time.

“Yes, but can I develop Self-Awareness?” is a great question that comes up all the time. While it would be challenging for leaders to surpass their own natural abilities, many come nowhere near to fully realizing or maximizing what those natural abilities are.  When you start with your strengths and work through the lens of the 5 Attributes, you’ll understand how and where you are working to your potential, and what to do about it.

Asking for greatness from leaders is an often missed step. Leaders need clear expectations and do not often have them. At other times, when clear expectations have been expressed, the organization itself can get in the way and impede success. If you hire leaders for innovative and fresh thinking, are ideas met with “that won’t work here”? If you’re asking leaders to communicate transparently, are they being openly communicated with? Leaders step up when they can trust that their experience will be consistent with the experience they are being asked to create for others.

Great workplaces are confusing to most of us. We can plainly see that their businesses are stronger as a direct result of their cultures, but how in the world do they do it? When you get a closer look as we have, the answer becomes shockingly simple, yet as challenging as it is clear. Clear values that reinforce the cultural foundation,  aligned leadership teams that understand their roles in building trust throughout the organization, and transparent communication so people really know what’s coming, are the right places to start

“The What” is easy. Look over your shoulder or down the road to the closest best company to work and you’ll find a long list of “the what”. Town hall meetings, check. Weekly one-on-ones with my people, check. Value statements on the wall, check. Have a closer look though, and what you’ll see is that these are not the differentiators. What makes these practices and indeed these workplaces special is “the how” these seemingly ordinary ideas are implemented and integrated. Great workplaces and leaders have a lot to teach us, and luckily they are glad to do so.