What are the most important traits of leadership?
There are two very critical things — the difference between working on vs. working in. In leadership, working in means a leader pretty much gets sucked into the system running around like chickens without heads, reacting to things. They’re fighting fires. They’re doing technical things. That’s working in and many leaders are inundated in the in. What a great leader has to do is work on their company. Get involved in planning, strategizing. It’s about building a better system. It’s like lifting yourself over the organization in a helicopter and looking down on the organization. How do I work to make it better? To optimize? To improve. To empower power? That’s a critical distinction in leadership. Can you contrast the pros and cons of a leader who delegates vs. one who micromanages? Delegating or directing is a function of two things. You have to do a diagnosis. You have to look at two things with every employee — whether they’re competent or have ability, and whether there’s commitmen
