How To Be A Good Leader: 28 Essential Skills For Effective Leadership
I’ve been a business leader and active volunteer of non-profit organizations for over a decade, and I’ve seen leadership as an integral success factor for any team and organization.
If you want to impact and influence people around you significantly, here’s your guide on how to be a good leader.
What is leadership?
Leadership is influencing people on their attitude and skills to succeed in their performance.
By developing their character and helping them achieve results, you can establish teams to collaborate, pursue, and achieve the organization's goals.
Leadership Training in the Philippines
To continue your leadership growth, you must invest in the Philippines' best leadership training programs.
Rainmaker, a consultancy brand of SharpRocket, owned and operated by Venchito Tampon, one of the best corporate trainers in the country, offers his best-selling corporate training program, Modern-Day Leadership.
Modern-day leadership program focuses on values-based leadership that deals with the five pillars that every organization leader must acquire to be more effective in their respective spheres of influence.
Contact us to get a free quote on our leadership training program. We tailor the training to the needs and context of your company.
Importance of Leadership
Aside from the apparent reason that leadership plays a vital role in growing the organization, there are more detailed benefits of investing in leadership for yourself.
1. Healthy Work Environment
Leadership can help promote a healthy work environment by creating “psychological safety” in its atmosphere. When people feel safe asking questions, suggesting ideas, and bringing themselves out at work, they get to do better in their jobs.
At most, they would want to engage more in the workplace as they find themselves secure enough to work with their bosses (leaders).
Leadership can positively change how the next generation (Generation Z) of professionals perceive the workplace. Great leaders can retain these young generations and, better yet, help them grow inside the organization.
2. Succession Planning
Transitions and changes happen inside any organization. Whether there is a replacement for new managers or executives or a sudden change in the organizational structure, succession planning must be prepared for the organization's members.
Effective leadership helps prepare members (rank-and-file employees, managers, supervisors, and especially people in the Human Resources department) to take over vacant positions in the company.
3. Low Turnover
With the rise of side hustle (freelancing economy), new job opportunities, work-from-home setup, and low barriers to entrepreneurship, some companies have had a high turnover.
And aside from the reasons above, some employees get frustrated with their working relationships (that they can’t get along with their bosses). This leads to high turnover (the rate at which employees leave the company).
When managers and executives learn effective leadership, they can engage their employees better through effective regular coaching and internal career development plans, leading to less likelihood that their employees will leave the company.
4. Business Results and Performance
Leadership isn’t only inspiring people to become better. It is also guiding them towards getting results in their jobs.
By doing so, you allow them to experience rewards and promotions inside the organization without having to manipulate their minds to do day-to-day work.
When leaders walk the talk, the people under them see exactly the results the leaders perform. Thus, it allows the team members to act on instructions and achieve the results from tasks that they want.
5. Community Impact
Leadership also impacts the community. Bringing positive change to stakeholders and people in society by having leaders change their perspectives is possible.
Community impact, particularly in the government and non-profit sectors, has much to do with how leaders are trained in their respective circles.
6. Work and Life Harmony
Effective leadership is understanding that life isn’t just all about work. That leadership transcends even to personal lives. The best way to test the true leadership of a person is how they behave at home.
How leaders deal with their closest members in the family is a significant determinant of their success in their careers.
Leadership Context in the Philippines
The context of Filipino leadership is quite different from Western principles. Western leadership is leaning towards ” influence,” as Dr. John Maxwell, a famous leadership expert, personally described leadership.
We, as Filipinos, are less likely to be influential and somewhat more empathetic (“malasakit”).
We admire and follow leaders who are empathetic and considerate of other people’s needs and challenges. Influence is defined as being more caring and relational than instructional and delegation in leadership approaches.
Leadership VS Management
Manage things. Lead people.
This is the fundamental difference between the two. While management is focused on improving processes, systems, and tasks, leadership heavily relies on how to make people more effective in the workplace. Its goal is to develop people.
Does a manager need only to be a leader, not a manager?
Not so. Any ranking position must be both a manager and a leader. They must know how to be good at handling people while learning how to be efficient in processes. These two are vital in getting results for their teams and the organization.
How To Be A Good Leader: 28 Essential Skills For Effective Leadership
Leadership takes time. It requires constant improvement to see spots of growth opportunities and become the person people desire to be for other people.
Here are 28 qualities and characteristics of a good leader. See which ones you already have and what qualities you must improve upon.
1. Empathy
This is the most essential trait of any good leader, particularly in the context here in the Philippines, where empathy is perceived to be of the highest value.
Having “malasakit” or “empathy” is even more locally important than being influential. Leaders who have genuine concern over their associates or employees have a high leverage (or influence) on their team members.
You can practice empathy by understanding that personal life affects people’s working behavior. It isn’t easy for Filipinos to ignore personal life issues (or having troubles at home) during working hours.
A good leader who cares deeply for his team members will genuinely ask how they are doing. One good start to developing empathy is asking questions about their life outside work.
2. Resilient
Resilience is bouncing back from failures and setbacks.
Being resilient is one of the critical characteristics of a good leader, especially during the Pandemic (Covid Days) that happened for almost two years. It allows us to see the active leaders who recovered from different challenges.
A resilient leader doesn’t easily give up. They may not know what to do during tough times, but they have a never-give-up attitude that allows them to push through trials and get the win they desire.
This is critically important for teams to have a resilient mindset, especially in the ever-changing marketing needs and demands. Resilient leaders win more and dominate the industry.
3. Adaptable
Adaptability helps leaders think of new ways and strategies to innovate their work. Leaders become more innovative in their work by understanding what’s happening in the market, case of trends, new technologies, and industry updates.
Adaptable leaders allow their teams to be agile and stay ahead of the industry's competition, enabling them to grab opportunities early on.
And through this, they make themselves more powerful and be the top-of-mind teams or brands in the industry.
4. Hospitable
One of the best traits Filipinos have is their hospitality. This became why international people (foreigners) want to do business here in the Philippines because, innately, Filipinos treat their guests with warmth and generosity.
Hospitality allows leaders to build harmony among their team members, strengthen connections, and solidify teamwork.
5. Collaborative
The “Bayanihan spirit” will always be in the hearts of Filipinos. In times of distress, local leaders have a sense of camaraderie, bringing their hearts, minds, and resources to people in need.
Collaboration can lead to better business outcomes, as individual team members can absorb new ideas from their colleagues. No wonder collaborative teams can achieve peak performance at work, resulting in more rewards and promotions within the organization.
6. Humility
Without humility, leaders won’t grow. It is a fundamental trait any leader must possess to sustain success.
It is a challenge for most leaders when they have most of their achievements. There is a tendency to slack off and be complacent at work, thinking they’ve already reached their success.
Humble leaders know that success is only temporary without the desire and hunger for learning. They keep innovating by learning from other people’s suggestions (even from their associates’ ideas).
They understand that wisdom could come from any person, especially from their teams. And from those ideas, they can lead their teams effectively with knowledge and insights.
7. Visionary
Leaders have visions for themselves and their teams. Visionary leaders can propel their teams to the next level of progress, as they know they cannot stay in their current state.
The next level of growth is always yet to come. By having a vision, they would invariably seek to impact more lives through their work. This vision alone drives their purpose and turns into reality.
8. Getting Along With Others
“Pakikisama,” as most Filipinos are familiar with, is a good characteristic most Filipino leaders have.
It is natural for most people to socialize with other people. Having “pakikisama” or camaraderie allows leaders to deepen their connections with their associates. This will enable them to penetrate their people's hearts, increasing the likelihood of success of their working relationships.
It also battles against the number one reason employees leave their companies: not getting along with their bosses.
When leaders know how to connect to their team members, they increase the retention of employees inside the company.
9. Integrity
Integrity is the foundation of any leader. Integrity comes from its origin word, “integer,” meaning “whole.”
The holistic viewpoint of leadership is in the context of home, marriage, work, non-profit, or advocacies. It means that a leader is truly a leader wherever they are. They are the same person at home and work.
This mindset allows leaders, particularly in corporations, to be more aware of their strengths, weaknesses, temptations, and challenges. Looking at their character daily is an excellent start to checking their integrity.
Integrity is “walking the talk” and “talking the walk.” What you speak is what you act, and what you work is what you speak to others.
10. Patience
Patience, in its original sense, is lasting suffering. You suffer from your emotional state, being inconvenient for a long-term purpose.
Patient leaders are considerate of their team members when these people make mistakes at work. They tend to calm themselves, relax, and respond appropriately.
Patience allows leaders to go through challenges without having their emotional downturns affect them. They can manage their emotions properly by being secure and having a healthy mind, soul, and spirit (“emotional intelligence”).
11. Respect For Elders
One of the inherent traits of Filipino leaders is their respect for elders. You see it in their behavior at an early age, “pagmamano,” as a sign of respect.
This is very helpful when trying to lead your people, given you value older generations' wisdom and guidance. You get valuable insights from years and decades of experience of top executives who have honed their expertise in the field and your organization.
Being respectful of elders also means accepting and evaluating their ideas and suggestions. Given they had been through different kinds of work challenges, they knew how to maneuver every significant organizational change. Learning from them helps you avoid mistakes and better prepare for leadership roles.
12. Gratitude
Gratitude opens up new opportunities for leaders. If you’re not grateful, you might miss open doors in your career and personal life.
One of the most significant traits of highly achiever leaders is their gratitude. For Filipinos, we call it “utang na loob” or “debt of gratitude.” Being grateful for what others have done for you allows you to be more humble in your success.
Gratitude helps you be more positive even during challenges and distress. You don’t see yourself as highly acclaimed successful, but you are always open to new improvements to sustain personal growth at work and in private life.
13. Strong Work Ethic
Your commitment to hard work matters. Strong work ethics reveal new opportunities for business and leadership.
People care much about your actions and results, similar to your words. Your actions speak louder than words. Leading by example, which means working harder than your colleagues, portrays a great leadership example for your team members to follow you.
14. Inclusivity
We are living in a multi-generational workforce. Millennials work alongside Gen Zs, so embracing diversity and unifying people regardless of race, religion, and status is a good trait of a Filipino leader.
This is debatable for most leadership thought leaders, as they have different views on inclusivity.
For the most part, leading people with an objective to put them in the right seats and help them perform their best jobs is one benefit of an inclusive mindset.
15. Resourcefulness
As a leader, you’ll be facing different kinds of challenges, including scarcity of resources. Even if you have plenty at the start, you’ll come to a time when there are opportunities that you’ll be looking for help on your hands to do the things that you want.
Essentially, leaders must be resourceful in whatever they have at their disposal. You can’t simply demand everything on your plate, knowing that some things have limitations and boundaries, especially if you’re working on a corporate setup.
16. Faith
Filipino leaders are deeply rooted in Christianity. You can’t ignore this fact if you’re a foreigner wanting to start a business in the Philippines.
You must consider how Filipinos value spirituality to the point that they must file for vacation leaves to attend to their spiritual activities. Being a holistic leader will help you engage more with your employees, as your associates will be more thankful to you once they see you’re taking care of them - particularly in their spiritual area.
17. Charisma
Charisma comes from the word “kharis”, which means “favor” or “grace”.
Interestingly, charismatic people can quickly ask for favors from other people without being manipulative. Given their unique and pleasing personality, they can get more results by freely working with others.
Establish charisma in your sphere of influence by constantly doing small things that build up others. One best way is to say words of encouragement or anything that will build up the confidence and self-esteem of your associates.
Doing so lets your team members be more attracted to you as a leader. And that helps in establishing harmonious relationships with them.
18. Innovative
The ability to think of new creative ideas or formulate new ones from existing processes and methodologies is a good trait of successful leaders.
Given that we’re living in an ever-changing business landscape, knowing how to adapt to these changes by thinking of new ways to improve your current work is one way to thrive during these uncertain times.
19. Accountability
Temptations come for leaders. When they’re not self-aware of their actions and corresponding consequences, they tend to make wrong decisions, which sabotages their credibility.
Taking responsibility for your actions and getting mentors or coaches to whom you’ll be accountable for your leadership is one good way to sustain your success. As we all know, success is a by-product of good character development.
20. Decisiveness
Leaders make dozens of decisions every day. From thinking of what task to delegate to their associates to solving a conflict between their team members, they cause major or minor decisions that can affect the team and its future.
However, it isn’t just about making decisions, but primarily making the right decisions that will positively impact other people’s lives. Being quick, while not being hasty, is a good trait most leaders must embody.
21. Strategic Thinking
Being futuristic allows leaders to plan for the future and stay ahead of the competition. This benefits the teams as they can prepare for any uncertainties (at least for the most part) or be more willing to adapt to changes in their organizations and industries.
Strategic thinkers calculate risks before taking big steps in their career and leadership roles. They gather data, research thoroughly, and see patterns so they can plan for the future.
Being a strategic leader makes your teams more efficient and effective in their jobs.
22. Empowerment
Leaders know how to empower their associates or team members. Autonomy is the new engagement tool in corporate learning today. By letting your team members take charge (in control) and make decisions on their own, you empower them to become the succeeding leaders.
Empowerment of leaders allows associates to see potential in themselves, which helps them build the confidence they need to perform better at work.
The traditional approach to leadership is different. It is leaning on instructing people with specific rules and regulations without allowing them to see their work's direction.
Empowerment differs in that it teaches leaders to create teams who know how to say “no” and “yes” in every decision. This allows for unleashing creativity and innovation among teams.
23. Active Listening
Active listening is one of the highest types of listening. In communication, we teach that active listening helps leaders better understand their colleagues. And from which they can serve their people using their wisdom and tools.
Through active listening, leaders would be better at finding targeted solutions to problems - identifying the root problem of every challenge and not just the surface-level stuff.
24. Inspiration
Inspirational leaders break through the noise. Generally, you find charismatic leaders and well-known leaders to be inspiring.
Through their resources like seminars, books, and other learning materials, you find them someone you can look up to for inspirational advice.
Inspirational leaders bring their teams to the next level. With inspiration, team members can think of new ways to attack their work (“creativity”), strategies, and tools to get results for themselves and the organization.
25. Authenticity
You can’t fake it til you make it to success. Success requires authenticity to gain the trust of clients, stakeholders, and colleagues.
Without authenticity, you’ll be alone in tasks as other people don’t want to associate with you.
Authenticity attracts great people to your team, which is essential when hiring people for your organization. When you talk with sincerity, people can feel it and want to listen and learn more from you.
26. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving has become more difficult nowadays, especially for leaders with dozens of employees underneath them. With hundreds of challenges they face every month, having a problem-solving mindset helps them find solutions quickly and creates an atmosphere where team members can share their experiences, including their mistakes and challenges.
Having this kind of culture in the workplace makes it easy for leaders to cope with the demands and stress of work. When an empowered leader can strengthen himself in solving problems, their associates will follow in their footsteps.
27. Stewardship
Stewardship is using your resources to the fullest potential with your God-given abilities. Every one of us is capable of turning nothing into something. Putting our resourcefulness into action is only a matter of faith and dedication.
When a leader has a sense of stewardship, he allows himself to be accountable for his actions while on the results of his team members. He would do his very best to seek the welfare and well-being of his team more than his own.
Stewardship now results in a selfless attitude for leaders to take care of their teams and allow them to be nurtured by their coaching skills.
28. Continuous Learning
You’re here because you probably have this trait - continuous learning. You won’t be reading until this part if you don’t keep yourself learning new things.
The very essence of leadership is to improve oneself so you can share what you have with the people you’re leading.
Continuous learning allows leaders to gain new insights and wisdom from other people’s experiences, learning materials, and their own evaluated experiences. This expands their capacity and drives more abilities to be more productive and live a significant life.
Leadership Trends in 2023 and Beyond
The business landscape is changing, and so must leadership. Adapting to the latest trends and best practices in leadership allows us to be more effective in our field of endeavor.
Quick note: I’ll constantly update this post to add new leadership trends I’ll notice and learn from other leadership resources. So, expect some new learnings in this section.
1. Coaching
Coaching is mainstream in organizational development and employee engagement. It positively affects how employees perceive leaders and how managers and supervisors can better enhance their leadership skills.
You’ll find one out of five companies today in the Philippines that are looking for various coaching training programs, whether they want to train their managers on how to coach people or get a Certified Gallup Strengths Coach to help their teams identify their strengths and use it as an advantage for team performance.
Read more: Gallup’s Comprehensive List of Leadership Coaching Articles.
2. Flattened Org Structure (No “Silos”)
With the rise of tech startups in different countries today, including the Philippines, a massive change has occurred in how CEOs and startup entrepreneurs devise their organizational structures.
For the most part, and in the traditional sense, you’ll see organizational structure to look like a tree. From the top, we have the C-Suite, then Directors to Managers, down to rank-and-file employees. Different department heads categorize all.
Today, you would see a flattened organizational structure where the CEO isn’t only operating as the top head of the organization but can also work directly with the Operations Department. He could go up, down, and even lateral in the organizational structure to function coherently among the teams.
This structure allows for faster and better communication, where ideas flow smoothly from top to bottom. And as rapid changes are happening in the business landscape, this is more advantageous for startups to innovate and even disrupt themselves so they can better serve the needs of their customers.
Further reading: The Silos Mentality: How to Break Down Barriers
3. Coopetition
Coopetition is a coined term from two words, “competition” and “collaboration”.
Coopetion means that individuals in teams can compete among themselves and highly regard one another for collaboration.
Promotions and rewards are given appropriately based on individual performance but could now be done in teams. This kind of thinking allows leaders to engage their associates better, as these people may be working towards achieving excellent results for the company while also being rewarded individually for their hard work.
Leadership Resources To Help You Unleash Your Leadership Potential
Leadership development is a continuous journey; one must constantly learn from new materials available in the market and be more adaptive to every change happening in the business landscape.
Let me give you my list of recommended leadership resources. Some are old but contain timeless leadership principles. Others may not be familiar with the authors/s, but I believe they have impacted my life.
Bible
The Bible contains leadership lessons anyone can apply to their career, business, and personal lives.
For most people, the Bible is only used for spirituality. Still, applying leadership in my roles as a spouse, entrepreneur, and active non-profit volunteer is very practical.
Here are some of the Bible verses you’ll find to be applicable in different organizational leadership settings:
Psalm 78:72
With an upright heart, he shepherded and guided them with his skillful hand.
Matthew 20:26–28
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Luke 12:48
Everyone to whom much was given of him will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand more.
Further Reading:
Dr. John Maxwell Leadership Books
Considered the world’s leadership expert, Dr. John Maxwell has written over a hundred leadership books.
His leadership books are classic, practical, timeliness, and contextually applicable to many facets of life and dimensions.
Here are some books I’ve read with great insights on personal growth and leadership.
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
It is one of Maxwell's best-selling books and has covered the fundamental laws of leadership. Apply some quickly, and you’ll see instant career, business, and personal results.
One law I’ve used and trained thousands of leaders is the “Law of Lid,” which states that leadership ability is the lid that determines the leader’s effectiveness.
If your lid is “8”, you can only lead others with a leadership level of “6” but never “10”. But if you’re on level 10, you can lead level-8 people.
As simple as it sounds, it is very profound when you apply to your leadership roles.
This isn’t a leadership book, but is highly valuable for any leader. Laws of Growth book gives you ways, strategies, and tools to jumpstart your personal leadership journey.
The first law is “intentionality”. If you want to experience 10x growth in your career and personal life, you’ve got to be “intentional.”
Intentionality plays a vital role in displaying the right attitude and habits. Great intentions will always be reflected in actions.
James Kouzes and Barry Posner
These two leadership experts may not be famous in the Philippines, but bear with me; they’re renowned experts in the global leadership scene.
Their “The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations” has been updated several times to adapt to today's business market.
As I read, this book is like reading a textbook filled with facts and knowledge. You wouldn’t end the book without building your leadership foundation on facing challenges we all experience as leaders.
I would say this isn’t for the newbie readers, but if you’re looking for a little advanced type of learning, Kouzes and Posner’s learning materials are great reads.
Craig Groeschel
Most leaders here in the Philippines are spiritual leaders of churches. And in the Christian world, Craig Groeschel, a leading pastor of Life Church, teaches how leaders can be successful in their spheres of influence.
Though the author speaks mainly from his experience as a pastor, you would find all his leadership materials, including his podcast, to be highly valuable in a business context.
His teachings are timeless. You can repeat it again and again to further extract the gold insights from it.
Resources from Craig Groeschel:
Andy Stanley
Andy Stanley is a renowned church leader but is also very active in speaking for hundreds of leadership conferences and conventions worldwide. You will notice he is a great communicator in how he delivers his speeches.
Profound and full of wisdom, Andy Stanley can be part of your leadership mentor (online).
Resources from Andy Stanley:
Local Leadership Thought Leaders
Venchito Tampon
Venchito Tampon has been in the corporate and public speaking industry for almost 9 years. He is a serial entrepreneur with 4 companies, including SharpRocket, a digital marketing company specializing in SEO services—Blend N Sips, coffee eCommerce, Hills & Valleys Cafe, and Rainmaker - a consultancy brand.
Francis Kong
Francis Kong has been teaching leadership lessons for more than four decades. A pillar in the local leadership scene, you’ll find Mr. Francis Kong inspiring with his daily Facebook quotes/posts.
Francis Kong is an active columnist in the Philippine Star, a director of Inspire Leadership and Success Options, and has been an active independent board of directors for some of the biggest companies in the Philippines.
Al Ian Barcelona
Al Ian Barcelona is one of the underrated leadership experts in the country. I became his mentee for over a year, and he has been helping me immensely with my leadership roles as an entrepreneurial and non-profit social leader.
You won’t find him very active on his social media profiles, but he’s famous in most corporate training circles, conventions, and seminars.
He is efficient, knowledgeable, and witty in his leadership training programs, primarily with government agencies and corporate organizations.
