“Be Attributes” of Leadership

Like many, I have a lot of experience with performance evaluations- as one being evaluated and as one evaluating others.  With my guiding principle of valuing and recognizing the contributions of others, I’ve developed and made best practice to invest much in the performance evaluation process, including feedback and experiences of those who fall under the leadership of those I evaluate.

While my practice seems unique to that of my colleagues, I treasure the expansive nuggets of value in doing so.  It conveys that I understand that there is more to know about the person that I am evaluating beyond my direct interactions with them; I model the importance of communication, feedback and continuous growth and improvement; I demonstrate respect in the experiences that people have- people beyond those I evaluate and those I evaluate; I see, value and recognize them; I am invested and driven to help others (including them) succeed; I show that I care to know more about those who fall under the leadership of those I evaluate; It’s an opportunity for me to understand their strengths, what keeps them engaged, what their long-term aspirations are, what fulfills them, and how I can foster opportunities for their continued engagement and advancement of their aspirations.

The conversations help me know what’s important to them in a leader; what they’re experiencing and noticing about their leader, and what stands out as to how their leader is contributing to their engagement, their investment & contributions, and the likelihood that they, too, will stretch and accelerate their success.

Here are the themes that routinely rise to the top, what I term as the “Be Attributes” of leadership.  Curious how these align with your experiences- drop a note in the comments!

* Be authentic & pure in heart

* Be comfortable with shedding arrogance and egos

* Be respectful

* Be compassionate & concerned for others

* Be honest & transparent

* Be humble about, open to, and model embracing failure

* Be passionate about mission & impact

* Be visionary and invite team to help shape vision

* Be goal-oriented

* Be adaptable

* Be open & invite communication, and listen

* Be clear in articulating goals and expectations

* Be encouraging to build confidence to reduce insecurities and fears

* Be grateful and merciful