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What makes a good leader? It's not an easy question to answer. You've likely met and worked with numerous leaders over the years, some more impactful than others.

However, while good leaders have a variety of styles and personalities, there are some traits that all great leaders share.

In this article we'll cover 5 essential qualities of a good leader:

Communication

Vision

Empathy

Accountability

Gratitude

1. Communicate frequently.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that communication is top of the list for essential leadership qualities. Communication can make or break your efforts to connect with your team, manage and coordinate initiatives, and build trust within your organization.

Good leaders communicate with an employee-first lens. They communicate based on the needs and preferences of their team members and seek to listen to and understand the employee experience.

There are countless ways to build a culture of good communication, but good leaders often employ the following strategies:

Conduct regular one-on-ones with employees

Solicit and provide feedback formally and informally

Use multiple communication tools, such as email, chat, project management software, and meetings

Avoid gossip

Connect work back to the team or organization's goals, values, or mission

Follow up and follow through with action

33% of employees said a lack of open, honest communication has the most negative impact on employee morale . Leaders who communicate thoroughly, consistently, and honestly build trust with their teams, increase employee confidence in the organization, and help create an environment where employees thrive.

2. Have a vision for the future.

Vision provides focus, motivation, and direction to move through change and obstacles. What is your purpose? What goal are you trying to reach-as an individual, team, or organization?
Good leaders have a clear vision and are able to articulate the path forward to their team.
Leaders should be able to connect the work on the ground to the bigger picture and provide the why behind everything they do. Leaders who can do this help employees understand and align their work strategically and engage with their work more meaningfully.

3. Show empathy for their employees.

Empathy isn't just a nice-to-have when it comes to leadership-it's fundamental to building trust, confidence, and engagement among your team.

Empathy is the ability to perceive and relate to the thoughts and experiences of others. Leaders who operate from a place of empathy, understanding, and compassion establish stronger connections among their employees and improve performance across the board.

Empathetic leadership can take many forms, but there are a few ways you can demonstrate empathy in your day-to-day management:

Look for and recognize signs of employee burnout. Burnout is a real cost for businesses, leading to lower productivity and engagement among employees. Empathetic leaders have a skill for recognizing when people are over-stressed or overworked and intervening to prevent it.

Show sincere interest in your employees' personal lives. In other words, good leaders treat their employees as people and recognize their individuality and unique contributions. Get to know your employees on a personal level and show genuine interest in their hobbies, needs, and goals.

Support your employees outside of work. Attend events that are important to them, like birthdays, sporting events, or performances. Showing support for your team outside of work settings demonstrates you care and strengthens your personal connections with your employees.

4. Hold themselves accountable.

Good leaders hold themselves accountable and are always working to improve and progress. They are never satisfied with the status quo. Accountability and continual improvement require a commitment to seeking and acting on feedback, learning from mistakes, and course correcting.

Accountability includes communicating plans, setting expectations, and following up on promised actions. Good leaders hold themselves and their teams accountable so that everyone is on the same page and can rely on one another to get the job done.

When accountability is modeled from the top, everyone improves.

Accountability strengthens culture, inspires excellence, sets expectations, and builds trust-not only in leadership but among the team.

5. Show gratitude.

A grateful leader is a powerful leader. Gratitude breeds positive interactions and connection, increases engagement, and builds resilience

Grateful leaders understand that success is a team effort and they make sure to recognize the work and contributions of their team. This is an important skill when 79% of employees who quit their job cited lack of appreciation as a major factor.

Good leaders make a point of showing gratitude and recognizing the work of their employees by:

Complimenting employees daily

Celebrating wins

Listening to employee feedback and addressing needs

Acknowledging employee contributions in private and in public

Leaders who practice gratitude in small and big ways can make a meaningful impact on employee engagement. Good leadership is about more than just managing tasks and tracking performance. Leadership means going ahead and paving the way for your team

Great leaders do that through compassion, gratitude, communication, and a healthy dose of humility and accountability along the way. Learn more about how to be a great leader with our ebook, How to Be a Great Leader: 15 Skills to Work on Right Now.

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What makes a good leader? It's not an easy question to answer. You've likely met and worked with numerous leaders over the years, some more impactful than others. However, while good leaders have a variety of styles and personalities, there are some traits that all great leaders share.

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Thank you for registering for our free training, "4 Steps to Unlocking Your Career Potential So You Can (FINALLY) Find A Job You Like".

Check your email for instructions to access the event at the time you chose.

See you there!

Sincerely,

JT

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The Top Characteristics Every Leader NEEDS To Be Successful

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Thank you for registering for our free training, "4 Steps to Unlocking Your Career Potential So You Can (FINALLY) Find A Job You Like". Check your email for instructions to access the event at the time you chose. See you there! Sincerely, JT

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Spread the loveAll great leaders have unique qualities that make them effective, inspiring, and admired. Nevertheless, there are identifiable traits and skills successful change-makers possess that separate them from the rest of the pack. Let's dig in and explore 6 skills of great educational leaders, and how they impact the school community.

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Visionary Leadership

You've probably heard a term like "visionary leadership" used in reference to a site leader. But what does that mean? How do you know if a leader is a visionary? A visionary leader is clear about what he or she believes and knows is best for children -- for their academic, social, and emotional learning. The leader's individual beliefs have developed in collaboration with other stakeholders and articulated into some kind of vision or mission statement. You might ask the site leader as well as staff, students, and parents, "What's really important at this school?" Or "What are you striving to create here?" That's where you'll hear elements of a vision. Also important element is that the experiences of students and outcomes are at the center of this vision. You'll know if you hear a vision if it makes you feel something good: inspired, motivated, excited, and so on.

A visionary leader talks and walks the school's vision. Her actions consistently align with it. Furthermore, she has a plan for how to implement this vision and every day takes actions towards leading all stakeholders towards this vision. The vision is consistently acted up, all initiatives align to it, and the principal is its primary champion.

Community Builder

A head of school who is a community builder knows that he cannot implement the school's vision alone. He knows that high-functioning teams are essential; he knows that a healthy community (for children and staff) will contribute to stability, retention, and investment. He knows that human beings crave connection and deep bonds with other human beings. And he knows how to create these connections and bonds.

You'll know if you're entering a healthy community by the way you are greeted as you arrive on campus -- by security guards, office staff, children and parents. Just register how many smiling faces you see. That'll give you a big insight into the health of communities at the school. Ask teachers and administrators: How is community intentionally built here? What happens when relationships break down? How well (personally and professionally) does the staff know each other? Are there cliques of teachers here? How are relationships across differences (race, age, background, etc.) built? And ask the school leader: What is your vision for community at this site?

Find yourself a healthy community and you'll see your happiness increase, your health improve, and your professional practice reach new levels of excellence.

Emotional Intelligence

The third quality of a great leader is one who is emotionally intelligent. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and recognize, understand and manage the emotions of others. An emotionally intelligent leader is usually calm and grounded, empathetic, and is able to deal with conflict between people. Another important quality of an emotionally intelligent leader is the ability to take care of herself -- to manage her stress, health, relationships, and so on.

You'll recognize an emotionally intelligent leader if you feel listened to and understood. He won't be distracted, seemingly impatient, or offering what might feel like rote responses to your questions. You can also ask a leader questions such as: How do you care for yourself? How do you manage stress? How do you respond to your staff's stress? And you can ask staff about their leader: How does the principal show his frustration or anger? Do you feel that your principal listens well and cares about you? How does your principal deal with conflict amongst staff? How does your principal demonstrate appreciation for you?

Emotional intelligence in a leader has been found to be the number one predictor of an organization's ability to be successful. Although leaders with high EQ are less common, they are out there.

In Memory of Tom Little

It is with great sadness that I write this blog because perhaps the most amazing school leader I have ever known passed away in early May. Tom Little was the Head of School at Park Day School in Oakland, CA, where my son is a student. Tom had been at Park Day School as a teacher and leader for 38 years and the evidence of his impact is apparent to me every time I walk on campus. He fully embodied the three qualities I've suggested make a great leader; he was a visionary leader, a community builder, and a highly emotionally intelligent person.

One moment stands out that exemplifies these qualities. My son transferred to Park Day at the beginning of third grade. We'd moved him from a school where communities were weak, a vision was non-existent, and where I regularly observed the principal screaming at kids. At Park Day's orientation for new students, Tom Little greeted the group of children with these words, "Hello. My name is Tom and I'm your friend." As my eyes welled with tears -- I was so moved by his kindness and humility, by his awareness of how the new students might be feeling -- I whispered to my son, "That's your principal!," because I knew that otherwise he wouldn't connect this gentleman with a site leader. "He's your friend," I repeated, stunned that such simple words could have such a profound impact on me.

My son is thriving at this school. He is cared for and known and feels connected to children and staff. My son will benefit for the rest of his life because of his schooling at Park. I also know that I am a stronger coach, educator, and leader because of knowing Tom and witnessing what he helped to create at Park Day School. I have more hope, more inspiration, and more ideas for transforming schools. I will be forever grateful to Tom Little.

What makes for a great school leader? Please share your thoughts and stories in the comments section below.

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You've probably heard a term like "visionary leadership" used in reference to a site leader. But what does that mean? How do you know if a leader is a visionary? A visionary leader is clear about what he or she believes and knows is best for children -- for their academic, social, and emotional learning.

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What is transformational leadership? A model for motivating innovation

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The transformational leadership style inspires workers to embrace change by fostering a company culture of accountability, ownership, and workplace autonomy.

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Transactional leadership and organizational creativity Examining the mediating role of knowledge sharing behavior

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An exemplary citizen is made, not born. Just as we learn mathematics and languages, we should also become specialists in those lessons that are fundamental to living in harmony and social progress such as respect, empathy, equality, solidarity and critical thinking. Without these and other ethical principles that define us as human beings, it will be difficult for us to build a better world.

THE AIMS OF VALUES EDUCATION

This concept is about the educational process that instils moral standards to create more civil and democratic societies. Values education therefore promotes tolerance and understanding above and beyond our political, cultural and religious differences, putting special emphasis on the defence of human rights, the protection of ethnic minorities and the most vulnerable groups, and the conservation of the environment.

Values education is the responsibility of us all and not just of schools. The family, universities, businesses and sport, for example, are all ideal contexts to teach those ethical principles. Even so, for a number of years now, countries like Australia and the UK have actually been contemplating including values education as part of compulsory education.

Characteristics of values education.
SEE INFOGRAPHIC: Characteristics of values education [PDF]
TRADITIONAL EDUCATION v. VALUES EDUCATION

Both traditional education and values education are essential for personal development and they help us to define our objectives in life. But whilst the former teaches us about social, scientific and humanistic knowledge, the latter trains us to be good citizens. As opposed to traditional education, in values education there is no distinction between what happens inside and outside the classroom.

The importance of values education has driven European schools to introduce subjects such as Education for Citizenship. By 2017 was already part of the national curriculum in all the EU countries analysed by Eurydice, either as a cross-curricular or separate subject, or as part of other programs. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also undertakes a global assessment - as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - of the level of implementation of Global Citizenship Education (GCED) in national education policies, training plans and programmes, teacher training and student assessment.

PRINCIPAL EDUCATIONAL VALUES

Values education covers various topics related to citizenship and ethics, including:

Critical thinking
This way of thinking makes us more analytical and observant, teaches us to recognise quality information and helps us to solve problems.

Consult the corporate purpose and values of the Iberdrola group
VALUES EDUCATION METHODOLOGIES

There are currently two distinct theories about the nature of values. Traditional teaching covers objective and universal ethical standards that may be acquired through learning and ongoing practice. But a more innovative approach maintains that morals are relative and depend on the individual, so it is very difficult to teach at the pedagogical level.

The most common strategies in values education include the following:

The rejection of discrimination, enlivening debate on moral matters and promoting collaborative leadership.

Denouncing harmful attitudes for society as a whole without stigmatising individuals.

Stressing the idea that we can all change and that we deserve a second chance.

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The importance of values education in today's society

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We want to create a more sustainable world, with stable economies and more just and inclusive societies. A difficult but not unattainable target if we can count on involvement of governments, institutions, businesses, and, above all, a responsible and committed public.

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Why are values so Important in Education? | CoreEssentials

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In today’s world, teaching values to our youth is more important than ever. From the moment they are born, children are extremely impressionable. They begin to form their opinions and view of the world before they even hit their adolescence. As parents and educators, we are children’s biggest and nu…