What makes a good leader?

It is a question that anyone in a position of leadership is asked frequently. The answers he or she gives will often provide an insight into what kind of a leader the individual is. For example, those with highly developed verbal skills will always cite communications as essential to leadership. Those with executive responsibilities mention results. Leaders who value the contributions of others cite delegation or empowerment. Coaches like to speak of character and commitment.

All of these are perfectly valid descriptors of leadership, but I recently came across a set of leadership attributes that I found practical and insightful, especially when you learn the source.

A good leader, according to this list, must:

• Be responsible
• Have good attendance
• Be a good jumper
• Listen when the coaches are talking
• Not "fool around"
• Work hard
• Show determination
• Be a team player
• Be patient when others are learning new tricks
• Demonstrate a willingness to teach others
• Show leadership skills

Most of the attributes cited above have a central theme: working with others. And that's understandable when I reveal the source: my daughter's elementary school jump rope team! The children on the team, who range in age from six to eleven, were asked to list attributes of leadership as part of the criteria for selecting the team's jumper of the year.

Jump roping is a skill that combines the aerobic exercise with modern dance. The routines are complex and involve highly?coordinated moves that require skill, patience, and stamina. Not to mention months of practice. Competitive jump roping is challenging sport that taxes not only the body, but also the will to succeed. Jumpers who succeed not only have the physical skills, but also possess the abilities cited in the leadership attributes

All of the attributes are not only important to jumpers, but also to the world of grown-ups. Let us take them one by one.

• Be responsible... Isn't responsibility the cornerstone of all leadership behaviors? For a child being responsible means doing what you are asked and demonstrating follow?through on those assignments. It is the same for grownups, the major exception being that leaders are the ones doing the "telling," or put another way, leaders determine the course of action for others to follow. The young woman who becomes a supervisor for the first time suddenly assumes responsibility for herself and all of those who report to her. The responsibility can be quite weighty. Responsibility for others emerges from setting the goals as well as following through on those goals. And most important, responsibility means a willingness to be accountable for the actions of others under your charge as well as accountable for personal actions.

• Have good attendance... For a school kid, attendance means showing up. Those of us in organizations need to "show up," too; but we need to be there in both mind and body. Leaders need to have a physical presence so that followers will know who they are, but they need to learn when to back off. Too much presence will thwart the group's ability to determine things for themselves and in the process grow and develop. Be a good jumper... While some bosses may want us to "jump," our jump rope team members were referring to an ability to perform. The jumpers on the team have a skill, which they have honed through practice. Likewise, effective leaders almost always have a mastery of their skill, something they do very well. In fact, likely it was their proficiency that gained them notice. Leaders can use their technical competency as the launching pad for leading others.

• Not "fool around" (i.e., be a "serious" jumper)... Whether you are six or sixty, all of us have the temptation to goof off, but if it occurs when others depend upon us, there may be consequences. For kids, it may be losing a place on the team; for adults it may an invitation to leave the group. Those who want to lead need to focus on the task. Clear focus keeps the enterprise pointed in the right direction and gives followers an unmistakable clear sense of direction.

• Listen when the coaches are talking... Of all the leadership attributes, listening may be paramount. The leader who listens are one who knows that is going on around him. More importantly, listening enables followers to communicate more directly. Leaders who listen expect their people to tell them the facts, especially when things are not going well. Leaders who listen expect their people to share ideas, even when those ideas may conflict with the leader's stated point of view. Leaders who listen are ones who want their people to be involved in the decision?making process. Listening opens the door to genuine communication as well as improved self?direction.

• Work hard... Jumpers admire jumpers who practice and are willing to work to master their skills. It for us adults. We admire the leaders who put in the hours; it demonstrates commitment. At the same time, too much hard work can be counterproductive. Thomas Edison was noted as a hard worker, but he was also a boss who knew the value of play. Often he would stop work in his Menlo Park laboratory to gather his colleagues for a spin around the model electric train he had constructed on the premises. Edison also shared the fellowship of his colleagues when he would join them for a beer or two as they worked on their technical problems. In today's parlance, he gave his people "down time" as a means of rejuvenation. Show determination... Grit is a key attribute for leaders. Leadership is never easy because at best it is a balancing act between the needs of the organization and the needs of individuals. In that balance there is bound to be conflict. Determination propels a leader forward. It can also be contagious. When followers see the boss persist in adversity, they will be inclined to do the same.

• Be patient when others are learning (new tricks)... All of us learn at our own pace. There is certainly a place for accelerated learning, but some will catch on more quickly than others will. Those that learn the fastest, however, may not be the best performers. Performance generally is not limited to speed, unless of course you make your living trying to faster than everyone else, either down a slope or around does a racetrack does. Patience for learning demonstrates respect for others, which is integral to creating a sense of trust. Be a team player... Successful teams form around common objectives, but they develop bonds around teammates. The first is an exercise in intellect; the second is a behavior rooted in emotion and spirit. A lesson of war is that men do not fight for abstract causes; they fight for the man in the foxhole next to him. That example gets to the heart of why teams work; they support one another for the greater good of everyone.

• Demonstrate a willingness to teach others... Successful leaders are teachers. They show their followers how and provide them the resources and support to carry out the task. I once heard a successful entrepreneur speak of how he spent most of his time at his business teaching. He purposely budgeted his time so that he would be around so people from all levels of the organization could ask him questions.Ê The greatest example in teaching is follow?through. We can tell others how to do things, but our example shows them how.

• Show leadership skills... What is leadership to a child? All of the above and more, of course. And so it is with use that leadership skills are not one skill set, but rather an amalgam of many different skills involving communicating, delegating, recognizing, empowering, and more. Leadership emerges from doing whatever it takes to do the right thing for others as well as the organization. Leaders can talk about what is right, but it only has meaning if they live by their words. To a member of a jump rope team, leadership is example. And so it must be for us.

Leadership is a cornerstone attribute that many in positions of power have used to better themselves, their people, and their organizations. As such it does not belong in the ivory tower; it is part and parcel of the fabric of a successful organization. Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying the best run organization is the Girl Scouts of America. The quality of the young girls who participate and the quality of the women who lead the Scouts are examples of leadership in action. Likewise, young people who participate in team sports, or any kind of activity that involves the cooperation of others to achieve a common aim, also demonstrate leadership attributes.

"Kids say the darned things," TV humorist Art Linkletter used to say. And while that is certainly true, our kids can also say some things that are occasionally profound. So while we often look to those is positions of power to exemplify leadership, we should not overlook examples of leadership that might be closer at hand, maybe even under our own roofs. The insights our children share can provide us with clues into what makes a leader, and in the process make the world a better place.

Not a bad goal for any of us!

© 2000 John Baldoni

The author would like to thank Cathy Bartson for compiling the list of leadership attributes from the Upbeats, the jump rope team she coaches for Daycroft Montessori of Ann Arbor, Michigan.