What do you want in a leader?

As Australians get ready to head to the polls in the next couple of weeks to elect our next Prime Minister, there are plenty of talking points floating around. Election times are always fraught, with big issues on the table and bigger promises being made. But, at the end of the day, it’s all about who receives the most votes; who is it that Australians perceive as the best leader for the country?

Leadership under the microscope

The weeks before any election are hotbeds for scrutiny. Our current leaders and potential candidates are on full display; everyone watches them to see if they slip up – physically or rhetorically – and journalists put the pressure on to elicit strong reactions. If they go back on their promises, if they don’t get their facts right, or if they offend a group of people, they stand to lose public support.

For these leaders, this is their time to persuade, but for the people of any country, this is the time to examine, to consider patterns of leadership, and to decide what kind of leader they want their country to be led by.

Looking to leaders as an example

While the election is an extreme example of leadership in focus, it’s no different for the leadership that plays out in our everyday lives. Whether in corporate organisations, schools, religious settings, sports teams – we all look to our leaders when the pressure builds. We want to understand how we should react, what we should be worried about, how we should celebrate. They’re our role models in different spheres of our lives.

What makes a good leader?

Good leadership can be revealed by bad leaders. In the case of politicians, it’s often those that haven’t followed through on their promises – to do or be something different – that go under the microscope, being used as a yard stick to identify what good – or better – leadership is.

Training Industry interviewed over 2,000 leaders and individuals to understand what they were looking for in a leader. The characteristics and skills that were most identified were:

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Values and ethics
• Personal attributes
• Coaching and feedback
• Credibility
• Direction and strategy
• Management essentials

It’s easy to see how these play out in the different leadership roles in our lives, whether at work, on the global stage or on the sporting field. When leaders can’t tick these boxes, they lose the trust of their team and they run the risk of being replaced by someone more effective.

So, while Australians get ready to cast their votes, the leaders of every party should be focusing on how their leadership styles and skills deliver on what their team – the country – is looking for. Big promises can put stars in our eyes, but integrity, clear vision, great communication, and strong values on the ground level are how all of us judge the leaders we follow.

Want to be a leader that your team trusts? People Make the Difference can help. To find out more, visit www.pmtd.com.au or call us on 0412 333 415.