I have just come back from having lunch with Richard, a former boss.
What is interesting is that we only worked together for ten months and that was over eleven years ago. Whilst we have stayed in contact over the years we probably only connect face to face once a year.
Over the past couple of days as I was looking forward to our upcoming luncheon, I began asking myself WHY out of all the bosses I’ve had in 40+ years, would I class Richard as my #1 boss?
As I started to write down my reasons, I quickly began to realise that Richard ticks all the top 10 character traits, I feel a person requires in order to be a great leader.

1. Honesty: Strong leaders are open and honest with everyone. They are extremely ethical and believe that honesty, effort, and reliability form the foundation of success. They embody these values so overtly that no employee doubts their integrity for a minute. They share information openly, and avoid spin control.
2. A mindful conversationalist: Mindful conversation is about being fully present in a conversation. When you are engaged in a mindful conversation, your whole attention is concentrated in what the speaker is saying. The people you talk to will feel like you are in the conversation, listening to them, hence you are taking them into account. They will feel very good with you and you will bring them joy.
3. Empathy: The best leaders guide employees through challenges, always on the lookout for solutions to foster the long-term success of the organisation. Rather than making things personal when they encounter problems, or assigning blame to individuals, leaders look for constructive solutions and focus on moving forward.
4. Accountability: Extraordinary leaders take responsibility for everyone’s performance, including their own. They follow up on all outstanding issues, check in on employees, and monitor the effectiveness of company policies and procedures. When things are going well, they praise. When problems arise, they identify them quickly, seek solutions, and get things back on track.
5. Optimistic: Best leaders are naturally a bundle of positive energy. They are intrinsically helpful and genuinely concerned for other people’s welfare. They always seem to have a solution, and always know what to say to inspire and reassure. They avoid personal criticism and pessimistic thinking, and look for ways to gain consensus and get people to work together efficiently and effectively as a team.
6. Live a Balanced Life: Great leaders understand the requirement to balance all areas of their life: mentally, professionally, financially, socially, family, physically and spiritually. They rise early in order to look after themselves, creating a healthy body, mind and spirit. They also encourage others to live a balanced life as they know that the health of their bottom line is directly correlated to the health of their employees.
7. Delegate: For a few, delegating comes easily, maybe too easy. For others who are perfectionists, letting go of even the most trivial task is almost impossible. Great leaders realise that delegating isn’t losing control but rather letting go of what could be holding them back from moving the business to the next level. Show people how you want things done, and then allow them to exercise some initiative and bring suggestions to you. Remember: there are infinite ways to do any task, so what makes you think your way is the perfect way!!
8. Mentor: Great leaders know they are the main engine of their area. They are the one who is making sure everything runs like clockwork and assist people when required. They know that through mentoring people they are building a team of people who will have high self-esteem, self-awareness and self-worth and eventually will have a CEO focus where they too will learn to delegate, leverage time, energy & resources.
9. Inspirational: A truly inspiring leader is someone who communicates clearly, concisely, and often, and by doing so motivates everyone to give his or her best all the time. They challenge their people by setting high but attainable standards and expectations, and then giving them the support, tools, training, and latitude to pursue those goals and become the best employees they can possibly be.
10. Intuitive:Trusting your intuition (gut) is age-old advice for a reason: Your instincts are usually right. Great leaders understand that trusting your gut is trusting the collection of all your subconscious experiences. They are in-tune with their instincts and know that in the moment, they might not be readily able to access specific information, but their gut has it at the ready.

Thank you Richard for being my #1 boss. I enjoyed working with you, learning from you and have valued our friendship (and lunches) over the past twelve years, with the added bonus of as long as Queensland keeps winning, you’ll keep paying!!!

All this is possible for you and you can easily make it become a reality.
Not sure where to start?