This is such a relevant question for me, as I myself am currently pursuing a career in leadership. What I am sharing below are my unfiltered, instinctive thoughts on good leadership – take them with a pinch of salt, if you will.
In my opinion, a good leader empowers their team to do their best work while leading from the front.
Good leaders are kind, empathetic, and supportive. They see the big picture and are strategic in their vision. They create great practices within their team and remove blockers for their team members.
A good leader also tries to build psychological safety within their team. They provide an opportunity for their team to share their concerns freely and foster a safe and healthy environment. Great leaders also encourage their team members to think critically, even providing the space for team members to actively voice their concerns. The best leaders not only provide the freedom to, but also encourage their team members to challenge their leads – creating a safe space for healthy conflict! (Yes I know it is counter intuitive, but leaders who cultivate ‘yes-people’ are setting their teams up for failure)
A good leader helps their team members grow and is invested in their success. As a good leader, they know that their team members’ success is their team’s success.
Finally, a good leader plans for their succession from Day one!
This post was written as part of the Bloganuary challenge of WordPress.com. Bloganuary is a month-long challenge, where bloggers are challenged to write a new blog post every day, based on a daily writing prompt. You will need a WordPress.com account to get the prompts, but you can blog on any platform of your choice – OR even journal privately. Oh btw, there is no bloganuary police – so you can pick your own prompts if you wish to!
Hari Shanker R 
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