Welcome to Friday 411, issue #103. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you will have a framework to quickly resolve leadership challenges.
1 Insight
Leadership can feel overwhelming and confusing, but 95% of company challenges stem from just seven leadership issues. Mastering these seven traits will unlock leadership success and create a thriving team.
Meet Jason. A high-performing employee turned manager, Jason was thrilled when his company promoted him to lead a team of twelve. Within months, excitement waned into exhaustion. His inbox overflowed, meetings drained his time, and his initially collaborative team seemed disengaged.
Despite his best efforts, Jason felt stuck, unsure of how to grow as a leader. He searched online for help in his leadership development, but he felt overwhelmed by the thousands of books and websites.
When he discovered his company offered no real training or coaching, he grew frustrated. Jason and his team became trapped in a cycle of discouragement. He could see his team struggling without the backing of a competent leader. But Jason had no means to gain competence in his own leadership.
Sound familiar?
According to a Gallup study, only 10% of people are natural leaders. The rest have to learn leadership skills. Yet most companies provide little to no training, leaving leaders like Jason (and maybe you) to figure it out on their own.
If you haven’t been a reader of ours for long, we have a few key beliefs that drive our work at AdVance Leadership:
1. Your leadership matters.
At the end of every day, you, the leader, are a topic of discussion at dinner tables. Each of your direct reports will talk about you. The way they talk about you will affect their families. We believe your leadership matters because it will either make people’s lives better or worse.
2. Figuring out how you need to grow is often the hardest part of growing.
We believe that you, like Jason, want to grow as a leader. It can be overwhelming to figure out how, exactly, you need to grow.
3. There are 7 traits that will help you continually grow as a leader.
Your leadership development doesn’t have to be complex. We believe there are only 7 traits that you need to continuously develop as a leader. These 7 traits help unleash your leadership.
That’s why we designed this article as your go-to guide for leadership development. Bookmark it. When you’re struggling with any aspect of leadership, return here to find specific resources and articles about the trait you need to strengthen.
Think of this as your leadership development roadmap—a clear path forward when leadership feels overwhelming.
The 7 Traits of Unleashed Leadership
1. Character: The Foundation of Leadership
Character isn’t about being perfect—it’s about leading with humility and integrity. Leaders who take responsibility, have tough conversations, and make hard decisions earn the trust of their teams.
For more on Character see:
– Two Types of Character Every Leader Needs
– How to Take Ownership of Your Life and Leadership
– How to Advance Your Leadership Out of the Blame Game
– Five Ways to Be a Humble and Confident Leader
– Best Practices to Build a Strong Leadership Foundation
2. Competence: Growing the Right Skills
Many leaders, like Jason, get promoted for being great at their job, but leadership requires continually developing new skillsets. Any time your role changes or your goals change, you need to upgrade your Competence.
For more on Competence see:
– The Devastating Effect of Ignoring Your Leadership Incompetencies
– How to Know Yourself Better to Lead Others Well
– One Essential Way to GROW Your Leadership Competence
– How To Upgrade Your Competencies in Six Simple Steps
– The Secret to Better Communication Isn’t Talking or Listening
3. Capacity: Managing Time, Energy, and Focus
Leadership isn’t only demanding; it’s often overwhelming. It requires you to manage your time, energy, attention, and people.
For more on Capacity see:
– How To Accomplish More and Stress Less By Killing Busyness
– The One Habit that Could Double Your Leadership Capacity
– How Five Minutes Can Free Up and Focus Your Mind
– Two Responses to the Epidemic of Workplace Burnout
– Ten Ways To Guarantee You Take A Rejuvenating Vacation
4. Clarity: Providing a Clear Direction
A staggering 78% of employees don’t think their leaders have a clear vision for the future. When leaders fail to set clear priorities, plans, roles, and purpose, confusion spreads—and so does disengagement.
For more on Clarity see:
– Five Negative Effects of Failing to Create Clarity
– Wreak Havoc on Your Team with One Simple Step
– Four Questions Every Leader Must Answer Every Day
– How to Eliminate Confusion and Lead with Clarity
– The Art of Linking Everyday Actions to Big Goals
5. Community: Building Trust and Connection
Great leaders cultivate an environment of trust. Without it, teams become dysfunctional. Leaders must intentionally build trust with each individual on their team. Additionally, you must help others on the team build it with each other.
For more on Community see:
– The Three Biggest Mistakes Leaders Make that Destroy Trust
– How to Increase Trust with Every Member of Your Team
– How to Use a Marriage Method to Strengthen Work Relationships
– How To Help Each Member Of Your Team Flourish
– The Best Tool to Increase Team Collaboration and Decrease Squabbles
6. Culture: Shaping the Team’s Behaviors
Every company has a culture—whether by design or default. Culture is the lived-out values of the organization, and leaders are responsible for shaping it.
For more on Culture see:
– Three Types Of Company Culture: Toxic, Unhealthy, And Healthy
– How Can Ping Pong Tables Destroy Your Company’s Culture?
– Four Behaviors You Need to Shape Company Culture
– Four Simple Behaviors that Create a Healthy Culture
7. Consistency: Creating Stability and Confidence
Nothing frustrates employees more than an unpredictable leader. Inconsistent leadership creates chaos, while steady leadership builds confidence and momentum. Inconsistency can be in the forms of a leader’s attitudes, vision, messages, or expectations.
For more on Consistency see:
– Leaders Must Be Consistent In These Eight Areas
– How to Prevent Company Goals from Crushing Your Team
– Leading By Example Is Insufficient
– How to Uncover the Root Issues in Your Team’s Biggest Challenges
The Path Forward
Jason’s story isn’t unique, but his turnaround was. Once he learned that there are only seven core leadership challenges, he stopped feeling lost and started making real progress. Within months, his confidence grew, his team became more engaged, and he finally felt like the leader he wanted to be.
The same can be true for you. Leadership isn’t about knowing everything—it’s about mastering the seven traits that matter most. Focus on these, and you’ll solve 95% of your leadership challenges.
1 Action
Choose one of the seven traits to focus on for the next 90 days. Create a simple plan and take the first step today.