Hardwired Results^®  Publication - Issue 1

Leadership Foundations: Ten Traits of Great Leadership

Learning Lab Resource

 

Defining Leadership in Your Organization

Imagine you signed up for a marathon. You show up early, ready for the run, only to find out there is no defined distance, no finish line, no rules, no path, no judges and none of those nice volunteers that staff the water cup stations along the way. You line up with the other confused runners to begin. The starting shot is fired, and everyone runs in different directions, tripping over each other as they look for the track. Ridiculous? Maybe. Yet sometimes, that is exactly how leaders feel as they take to the “leadership track.” 

Admittedly, there are those individuals who seem to be born with innate characteristics that make becoming an effective leader seemingly easier for them. But, as leadership scholar Warren Bennis says, “leaders are not born,” to remind us that there are leadership characteristics that can be learned and refined.

So, how well has your organization defined the characteristics and skills expected of them? Do you have a sound guiding framework for leadership success? Do your leaders know “what right looks like”?
At Huron, we believe that defining leadership principles is critical and investing in your leaders’ development and enabling them to demonstrate these leadership qualities is vital to your organization’s overall success.

When organizations clearly define and communicate leadership roles and expectations, it not only builds a solid foundation for leaders as they run the race, but it allows an opportunity for leaders to know upfront what is expected of them. They have insight into what they can expect to find in their peers and other leaders and what “winning” looks like. They can clearly see how to be a living expression of your culture, growth, and future success.
 

What does it take to be a great leader today?

Huron recently conducted a survey of 715 healthcare workers, including clinicians, nurses, staff, and leaders. We asked what these leaders value in their workplaces and their satisfaction with those factors. From this data, areas such as leadership excellence, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, team rapport, as well as work-life balance, emerged as direct needs of our workforce today. (Huron’s Healthcare Talent Research, 2022)

This new data provides excellent insight into what leaders should be aware of and where they should maintain and focus their efforts. After reviewing the data mentioned above, you might agree that some of the areas defined in this research would not have appeared on the list even a short time ago.  

There may not be a formula or checklist to follow that instantly “makes you a great leader.” However, Huron has studied and identified leadership foundations that we believe successful leaders consistently demonstrate.

The next pages will help define ten leadership foundations that successful healthcare leaders and organizations around the country demonstrate. It can be used as a guide to define what common characteristics great leaders have and need to lead, engage employees, strengthen cultures, and achieve goals today.

Download the resource here to read more...