What separates an average manager from a truly exceptional leader? It’s not just about authority or job title. The difference lies in their leadership strengths.
What separates an average manager from a truly exceptional leader? It’s not just about authority or job title. The difference lies in their leadership strengths.
In this post, we’ll explore the best strengths of a leader, with real-world leadership strengths examples, practical suggestions, and how you can develop each one. Whether you’re managing a team, running a company, or aiming to become more effective in your role, this guide will help you identify and grow the strengths that matter most. If you’re also exploring leadership styles, check out our breakdown of the 4 Types of Leadership Styles with Examples.
What Are Leadership Strengths?
Leadership strength (definition): A personal or professional quality that enables someone to guide, inspire, and influence others toward achieving common goals.
These aren’t just soft skills or personality traits—they’re the foundation of leadership success. For a research-based perspective, explore Gallup’s Strengths-Based Leadership framework, which highlights how focusing on your natural talents can drive exceptional leadership. The strongest leaders know their strengths and continually refine them through feedback, learning, and experience.
15 Characteristics of a Good Leader (With Examples)
1. Vision
Why it matters: Great leaders have a clear picture of the future and know how to rally others around it. Example: Elon Musk’s long-term vision for Mars colonization inspires thousands to innovate.
Pro Tip: Share your vision often. Repetition builds alignment.
2. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Why it matters: EQ helps leaders manage emotions (their own and others’), making them better communicators and conflict resolvers. Example: Satya Nadella’s empathy transformed Microsoft’s internal culture.
Pro Tip: Practice active listening. Repeat back what you hear to build trust.
3. Decisiveness
Why it matters: Good leaders make confident choices, even with limited info. Example: Angela Merkel’s swift COVID policy decisions.
Pro Tip: Set deadlines for decision-making to prevent analysis paralysis.
4. Accountability
Why it matters: Leaders who own mistakes build team credibility. Example: Howard Schultz returned as Starbucks CEO and took accountability for the declining customer experience.
Pro Tip: When something fails, say “Here’s what I learned” publicly.
5. Communication
Why it matters: Clear, honest communication drives engagement and action. For deeper strategies on internal communication, see our guide on Employee Communication Best Practices. Example: Brené Brown’s leadership talks resonate due to authenticity and clarity.
Pro Tip: Practice structured messaging: point, reason, call to action.
6. Adaptability
Why it matters: Markets shift. Strong leaders shift with them. Example: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan pivoted from enterprise to education/health during the pandemic.
Pro Tip: Ask weekly: “What’s changed? What should we adapt?”
7. Integrity
Why it matters: Trust is built through consistency and values. Example: Patagonia’s leaders consistently choose the planet over profits.
Pro Tip: Define your non-negotiables. Stick to them visibly.
8. Empowerment
Why it matters: Leaders don’t hoard control; they grow others. Example: Sheryl Sandberg empowering women through Lean In.
Pro Tip: Let team members own decisions (and credit).
9. Self-awareness
Why it matters: You can’t lead others well if you don’t know how you show up. Example: Leaders who seek 360° feedback regularly.
Pro Tip: Reflect weekly on what went well vs what you’d do differently.
10. Humility
Why it matters: Humble leaders admit gaps, listen more, and attract loyalty. Example: Tim Cook credits Apple teams rather than himself.
Pro Tip: Start sentences with “You were right” more often.
11. Delegation
Why it matters: Leadership isn’t doing it all, it’s knowing who can. Example: Richard Branson famously says, “Hire people smarter than you.”
Pro Tip: Delegate outcomes, not just tasks.
12. Resilience
Why it matters: Setbacks happen. Great leaders bounce back and lead others through. Example: Oprah’s rise from adversity to media mogul status.
Pro Tip: Reframe failure as feedback, fast.
13. Curiosity
Why it matters: Curious leaders spot trends, ask better questions, and evolve faster. Example: Jeff Bezos’s “Day 1” philosophy.
Pro Tip: Schedule time to explore new ideas outside your industry.
14. Influence
Why it matters: Without influence, leaders are just managers. Example: Simon Sinek doesn’t manage your team, but he influences how they think.
Pro Tip: Tell better stories. Influence is often emotional, not logical.
15. Focus
Why it matters: Prioritization is a leadership multiplier. Example: Steve Jobs cut Apple’s product line by 70% to focus on essentials.
Pro Tip: Weekly, ask: “What’s the ONE thing that moves us forward?”
What Professional Strengths Make You Most Effective?
Not all leaders need to excel in all 15 areas. The best leaders identify their top strengths and actively develop complementary ones.
They build on what they already do well, while surrounding themselves with others who can fill in the gaps. That’s the essence of effective leadership: leveraging the full strength of the team, not trying to be everything to everyone.
Ask yourself:
- What leadership strength comes naturally to me?
- Which one holds me back?
- Who on my team has a strength I lack?
- How am I creating space for others to lead where I’m still learning?
This reflection isn’t just a feel-good exercise. It’s a practical leadership strategy. When you lead from your strengths and actively seek support in weaker areas, you model self-awareness, humility, and growth, the very traits that make people want to follow you. You can also reinforce these skills through focused Leadership Team Building Activities designed to develop and practice core leadership strengths.
Leadership isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress and about making others better in the process.
How to Build on Your Leadership Strengths
Understanding the 15 characteristics of a good leader is just the beginning. The next step is action.
- Reflect on your current strengths: Set aside time to regularly review what you’re doing well. Journaling or weekly reviews can help you track patterns in your behavior and leadership outcomes.
- Get honest feedback: Use tools like 360° reviews or anonymous surveys to hear how others experience your leadership. You can’t improve what you don’t see.
- Build a plan to grow one area each quarter: Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to improve everything at once. Choose one leadership strength to sharpen and create a simple, realistic growth plan around it, books to read, mentors to consult, and ways to practice.
- Find your complementary strengths: Great leadership isn’t about being the best at everything. It’s about creating the conditions for others to shine. Surround yourself with people whose strengths differ from yours, and let them lead where they’re strongest.
- Measure your progress: Leadership growth is often subtle. Document your wins, track changes in team performance or morale, and revisit your goals monthly.
- Revisit and refine: As your role evolves, so will the strengths you rely on most. Periodically revisit your leadership strengths map and refine your development focus.
Becoming a better leader doesn’t require a new job title. It starts with knowing your leadership strengths, using them with intention, and helping others grow alongside you.
Start where you are. Lead from who you are. And commit to getting just 1% better every day.