10 Essentials Leadership Values and Skills You Should Develop

leadership values

There are certain hard and soft skills, certain values that any CEO needs to know if they want their business to thrive. As a matter of fact, this competency model also applies to any team leader among any business organization, regardless of its size. Indeed, leadership is not exclusive to the top-decision makers, any employee in charge of a team, even temporarily, relies on key leadership competencies and values. Let’s first see how these can be beneficial to your team, then we will tackle the competencies before finishing by the core leadership values.

Aurore
Product Manager – Coachyz
In this article
10 Essentials Leadership Values and Skills You Should Develop

What is so interesting about leadership competencies?

A dynamic and ever-changing work and business context

Today, the significance of leadership competencies cannot be overstated : these can make or break an entire company. Indeed, effective leadership stands out as a critical factor in driving growth and setting up a resilient organizational structure.

For a few years now, new work environment topics have emerged, and these are as many challenges and opportunities leaders play a pivotal role in, to shape the future trajectory of their teams and organizations:

  • remote work arrangements: this question predates the covid world crisis but quarantines and lockdowns largely contributed to normalize this practice;
  • diversity and inclusivity;
  • spearheading innovation: this one has obviously always been at the center of the attention, but things have never moved so fast as in the last two decades.

Building a workplace for both the team and the individual

As we mentioned before, another compelling reason to be interested in leadership competencies is the undeniable impact they have on your organizational goals. Studies have consistently shown that strong leaders correlate with two main benefits for your team members:

  1. higher productivity;
  2. employee satisfaction.

In this day and age talent retention and attraction are paramount. Subsequently, organizations recognize more and more the value of investing in leadership development programs. These make for capable leaders who can inspire, motivate, and guide their teams toward collective goals.

On a more individual standpoint, the contemporary work environment also presents its own challenges and opportunities. As hinted above, one such challenge is the growing emphasis on diversity and inclusivity. Today, these two notions are not only moral (and legal) imperatives but also constitute a strategic advantage.

Indeed, leaders who possess the competencies to champion diversity, cultivate inclusivity, and leverage the unique perspectives of their team members are better positioned to drive innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

Embracing new challenges and opportunities

Another significant trend shaping the modern workplace is the rise of remote work. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work models, prompting organizations to rethink traditional approaches to leadership and team management. Today, successful leaders must adeptly navigate the complexities of:

  • leading distributed teams;
  • promoting connectivity between teams or between team members;
  • maintaining high levels of productivity and morale in virtual environments.

In this new paradigm, leaders need to train the following key leadership competencies:

  • effective communication soft skills;
  • strategies to build trust;
  • technical and technological knowledge.

Regarding that last point, in a landscape where disruption is the norm, effective leaders must put the emphasis on continuous learning within their organizations. Encouraging experimentation, embracing failure as a learning opportunity, or promoting a growth mindset, all of these are characteristics of a good leader, as it helps you unleash the full potential of your teams and ultimately drive sustainable business growth.

The 5 most important leadership competencies

Now it’s time to review in detail the 5 most important leadership competencies in our contemporary professional landscape. Reducing the toolkit of a great leader to a few handpicked strategies or soft skills would be missing the point, so we chose to feature 5 broad scope categories, each of them coming with its own subset of skills.

Essentials Leadership Values & Skills You Should Develop

Adaptability and flexibility

As we pointed out, the contemporary workplace is an environment characterized by rapid change and uncertainty. This is why adaptability and flexibility stand out as foundational traits, if you want to be an effective leader, that is. In this context, you need to possess the agility to pivot strategies, embrace new technologies, and navigate unforeseen disruptions with resilience and creativity.

This capacity to embrace change is particularly crucial in the face of:

  • evolving market dynamics;
  • technological advancements (metaverse, AI, drones, etc.);
  • global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic or on-going regional conflicts and wars.

As a leader, if you can manage to quickly assess and respond to changing circumstances, you can steer your company toward opportunities for growth and innovation, even amidst strong adversity.

Besides, if you go out of your way to teach your teams how to be flexible, you empower them to embrace change as a catalyst for learning and improvement. This further improves your company’s agility and resilience.

Effective communication skills

Effective communication is a prerequisite to any successful business but it is even more the case for organizations who want to set up a diverse and inclusive workplace: leaders must cultivate strong interpersonal skills to build trust and promote collaboration and psychological safety among team members.

Being a good communicator encompasses not only the ability to convey ideas clearly but also the capacity for empathy and active listening.

By using these communication techniques, you show genuine concern for the well-being of the employees, which in the end, is beneficial to everyone:

  • you build stronger relationships;
  • you resolve conflicts more effectively;
  • you inspire greater loyalty and commitment.

Ability to inspire and motivate

This one is indispensable for leaders seeking to galvanize their teams toward shared goals and aspirations. As a leader, you must go beyond traditional models of command and control and instead cultivate a sense of purpose and belonging among your team members.

You can generate commitment and ignite passion by:

  • articulating a compelling vision;
  • celebrating achievements and recognizing individual contributions.

By adopting such a leadership style you will obtain higher levels of engagement and performance among your teams.

Crisis management skills

In a world where disruptions can arise unexpectedly, you need to learn how to remain calm under pressure, make informed decisions, and mobilize resources to effectively mitigate risks and safeguard the interests of all your stakeholders.

Whether facing natural disasters, cyberattacks, or global health crises, leaders who possess strong crisis management skills can navigate through adversity with confidence and resilience.

You can effectively lead your business through crises by:

  • establishing clear communication channels;
  • implementing robust contingency plans;
  • prioritizing the safety and security of your teams.

In the end, crises present real opportunities for you to demonstrate your core leadership attributes, inspire resilience, and foster a culture of adaptability and innovation within your organization.

Strategic vision and innovation

As we already abundantly discussed, we evolve in a business context where disruptive technologies and shifting consumer preferences constantly reshape industries.

As a result, you must possess the foresight and creativity to anticipate future trends and pinpoint opportunities for growth and innovation. This vision has a lot to do with effective communication since you will have to use the latter to make the former known to your teams.

This can take the form of a roadmap but the bottom line here is to provide clear expectations and guidelines towards long-term success and sustainability.

Moreover, fostering a culture of innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement can also unlock new opportunities, and drive competitive advantage in the marketplace. Whether through investing in research and development, forging strategic partnerships, or exploring new business models, when you prioritize strategic vision and innovation, you set yourself up to be a potential industry leader, driving growth and prosperity for the years to come.

5 core leadership values

This competency model of a good leadership style would not be complete without the values you need to champion as a great leader. Granted we already incidentally talked about some of them but we barely scratched the surface. Let’s see together the 5 qualities of a good leader.

core leadership values

Integrity and ethics

As a business leader, your adherence to integrity and ethics should serve as the bedrock of your leadership style. Upholding principles of honesty, transparency, and moral values is essential to make your team, stakeholders, and customers trust you.

When you prove everyday that their trust is well placed, you earn their respect and it in turn inspires loyalty. Because you lead by example, you establish a culture of accountability and ethical behavior among your team members.

Plus, when integrity guides your decisions and actions, you create an environment where everyone feels valued and respected, leading to:

  • higher morale;
  • stronger teamwork (which has its importance, as we will see a bit further on);
  • overall greater business success.

Grant autonomy and set accountability

Granting autonomy while simultaneously setting clear accountability standards is quintessential to becoming a great leader.

By empowering your team members to make decisions and take ownership of their work, you let them room to feel committed and responsible. Establish clear expectations, hold everyone accountable for their actions and you will not only promote individual growth but also aspirations for excellence. Indeed, when each team member understands their specific role and responsibilities, they are more likely to work to the best of their capacities and contribute positively to the collective goals.

Empathy and inclusion

Empathy and inclusion are yet another complementary and indispensable duo for a successful leader. As we already extensively covered this one, here is a quick summary:

  • Appreciating the perspectives and experiences of others allows you to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and heard;
  • Empathy creates a sense of belonging and respect within your team, which brings collaboration and solving-problem innovation to the table;
  • As a leader, your commitment to empathy and inclusion sets the tone for your organization’s culture, driving higher employee engagement and retention.

Collaboration and team spirit

Cultivating camaraderie, mutual support, and collaboration among team members creates a cohesive and high-performing work environment. Once again, when individuals feel connected and supported by their colleagues, they are more motivated to contribute their best efforts toward shared goals. Collaboration is by definition a collective effort but as a leader, you should always be the first to encourage it.

Commitment to continuous learning

Commitment to continuous learning is the mark of a great leader. Embracing a growth mindset and actively seeking opportunities to expand your knowledge, skills, and perspectives not only benefits you but also sets an example for your team.

Through ongoing self-reflection, feedback, and personal development initiatives, you continuously improve your leadership capabilities and drive sustainable success for your organization.

In the end, it all comes down to leading by example: what you do, how you do it, how you react will always be understood as an indication of expected behavior whether you like it or not. So you should take advantage of this phenomenon: since your company will be a partial reflection of your behavior, be positive, flexible, open to suggestions, accountable, willing to learn, etc.

At CoachYZ, our mission is to empower leaders, executives, and managers to challenge their perspectives and expand their horizons. We’re firm believers in unlocking hidden potential. If you’re ready to unleash yours, begin your coaching journey today!

leadership values
Aurore
Product Manager – Coachyz

Coaching remains an essential tool in our toolbox, despite the ever-changing professional world. In the digital age, our approach has evolved from simply informing journalists to delivering rich, engaging content directly to our target audience. Good coaching must be personalized, relevant and adapted to the digital world to ensure optimal online visibility. What’s more, the incorporation of multimedia supports such as videos, images and interactive links can considerably enhance its impact. 

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FAQ

This is a competency framework designed in 1991 by the researchers Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. It is used in Human Resources to help individuals improve their performance so as to meet the company’s goals. The 67 competencies are divided into 6 categories: courage, energy and drive, operating skills, organizational positioning skills, personal/interpersonal skills, strategy.

This comes from a model established by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in 1985 in their reserach on business leaders. The four competencies they identified were management of attention (through a vision and common goals), management of meaning (communication), management of trust (reliability, integrity, accountability) and management of self (knowing your skills and using them effectively).

The six core leadership competencies include: adaptability, effective communication, inspiration and motivation, crisis management, strategic vision, and innovation. These competencies enable leaders to navigate challenges, foster collaboration, inspire their teams, manage crises effectively, and drive innovation to achieve the common goals of the company.

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