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8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders

• Rebecca Knight

And how to cultivate them.

Becoming a great leader is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It’s a process — one that thrives on embracing challenges, seeking feedback, fostering connections, and cultivating understanding. In this article, the author outlines the eight most essential leadership qualities, according to Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership. Star leaders aren’t born with superhuman capabilities, Linda explains. Rather, they tend to have intentionally put themselves in situations where they have to learn, adapt, and grow — a crucible for developing the tenacity and fortitude to motivate and guide others.

Do you have what it takes to be a great leader ?

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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Becoming an Effective Leader

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Chapter 12 Leaders and Leadership

Chapter 14 Leadership.

Chapter 10 Leaders and Leadership

Introduction to leadership

Copyright ©2011 Pearson Education

Chapter 13: Contemporary Issues in Leadership

Review trait theory research, and the Leadership Grid as points of reference. Explain, according to Fiedler’s contingency model, how leadership style.

Leadership Ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals I) Trait Theories II) Behavioral Theories III) Contingency Theories.

Schermerhorn - Chapter 11

HRM 601 Organizational Behavior Session 11 Leadership.

Transformational Leadership

Foundations of Leadership Studies

Providing Effective Leadership

Leaders and Leadership

LEADERSHIP Chapter 12 MGMT 370.

11-2 Leadership: What makes an Effective Leader Copyright © 2008 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Organizational.

Leadership &Trust . 1.

Becoming an Effective Leader. Are Leaders Born or Made?

Chapter 10 LEADERSHIP. 2 Types of Power 1. Legitimate (authentic right) 2. Reward (control of valuable rewards) 3. Coercive (control over punishments)

PowerPoint Presentation to Accompany Management, 9/e John R. Schermerhorn, Jr. Prepared by: Jim LoPresti University of Colorado, Boulder Published by:

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How to be a great leader

What makes a great leader? These TED Talks offer surprising, nuanced approaches on how to inspire and empower others to do their very best.

Simon Sinek

How great leaders inspire action

Fields Wicker-Miurin

Learning from leadership's missing manual

Itay Talgam

Lead like the great conductors

Drew Dudley

Everyday leadership

Roselinde Torres

What it takes to be a great leader

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Trial, error and the God complex

David Logan

Tribal leadership

Stanley McChrystal

Listen, learn ... then lead

Jacqueline Novogratz

Inspiring a life of immersion

Derek Sivers

How to start a movement

Sheryl Sandberg

Why we have too few women leaders

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7 brilliant ways successful leaders start presentations

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“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” —Plato

When we speak, we have about 60 seconds to capture our audience’s attention, establish credibility, orient them to our topic, and motivate them to listen, says Darlene Price, president of Well Said, Inc., and author of “Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results.”

If you waste those precious opening seconds with a joke, an agenda, an apology, housekeeping details, a string of thank-yous, or a rambling, pointless paragraph littered with “ums” and “uhs,” your audience’s minds are likely to drift, and you may not get them back. “You need to put the art in the start, the most important part of the work,” says Price.

That’s a tall order for any speaker — and it requires us to develop and rehearse a well-crafted, attention-getting opener.

Price offers seven options:

1. Tell a captivating story.

“Of all the starters in your toolkit, storytelling is among the most powerful and consistently successful,” Price says. “As humans, we’re hard-wired to enjoy and learn from stories. From bedtime stories and campfires, to Broadway theaters and boardrooms — heroes, villains, conflict, plots, dialogue, and lessons learned draw us in, remind us of our own lives, and hold our attention.”

The story can be about you personally, which tells the audience first-hand why you’re invested in and passionate about the topic. Or you can tell a story about another person who the audience can learn from. “Another option: Tell a fable, wisdom tale, historic event, or anecdote,” Price says. “The idea is, start with a brief 60- to 90-second narrative that launches your speech and captivates your listeners, and make sure the story encapsulates the key point of your message.”

She suggests you consider these questions as you craft your version of “Once upon a time”: What challenges have you (or another) faced in relation to your topic? How did you (or another) overcome them? Who or what helped you or harmed you? What lessons were learned? What do you want your audience to gain, feel, or do as a result of the story?

2. Ask a rhetorical, thought-provoking question.

“As Shakespeare wrote in ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ ‘If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'” says Price. “As a speaker, you ask rhetorical questions for persuasive effect; you don’t expect the audience to answer aloud, rather silently to themselves.

When crafted and delivered well, rhetorical questions influence an audience to believe in the position of the speaker. “Clearly, Shakespeare’s character Shylock is leading his listeners to think ‘yes’ four times in order to justify revenge against Antonio. What do you want your audience to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to?”

In addition to yes or no questions, you can also arouse curiosity and motivate your audience to think about the answer, she says.

3. State a shocking statistic or headline.

Price says the vice president of sales for America’s leading healthcare IT company successfully sells software solutions to hospitals by starting her presentations with the following:

“According to a new study in the Journal of Patient Safety, medical errors leading to patient death are much higher than previously thought. Preventable adverse events, known as PAEs, cause up to 400,000 deaths per year for patients who seek care at a hospital. That means medical errors are the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. Our vision is to create a world free of medical errors, and we need your help.”

“The statistic, bold claim, or headline needs to be directly related to the main purpose of your presentation,” Price explains. “Its impact ideally persuades the audience to listen and respond positively to your recommendation and next steps.”

4. Use a powerful quote.

“Employ the wise words of a well-known person, because the name allows you to tap into his or her credibility, likeability, and notoriety,” she says. The quote must have meaning and relevance to the audience.

Imagine you’re urging a group to reach consensus, or giving a talk on conflict management. You could open with: “Mark Twain once said, ‘If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.’ Even though some of us disagree on the xyz issue, each of us is necessary in reaching a resolution.”

5. Show a gripping photo.

A picture is worth a thousand words — “maybe even more,” Price says.

“Use photos instead of text, when possible,” she suggests. A quality photo adds aesthetic appeal, increases comprehension, engages the audience’s imagination, and makes the message more memorable.

Price offers the following example of an effective use of an image:

The president of an electronics equipment company needed his managers to cut costs. Rather than showing mundane charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, he opened the meeting by asking, “What sank the Titanic?” When everyone in unison replied, “an iceberg,” he displayed a beautiful high-definition image of an iceberg on the screen: the tip of the iceberg was clearly visible above the water; the much larger portion was dimly visible below the surface of the water.

“The same thing is about to happen to our company,” he continued. “Hidden costs — the dangers beneath the surface — are about to sink this company. I need your help.” This visual metaphor spawned a creative, productive brainstorming session that inspired every business unit manager to diligently hunt for what they labeled the “icebergs,” says Price. The result was saving millions and ultimately the company.

6. Use a prop or creative visual aid.

“A prop is a magnetic tool that hooks your audience and keeps them watching — or listening,” Price says. A visual aid can also help emphasize a point.

Price uses the example of a sales VP at a large insurance company, who happens to be an avid tennis player. She says he wanted to kick off his annual meeting with a bang — so he “brilliantly used his tennis racquet to emphasize ‘acing the competition,’ ‘rallying together as a team,’ and winning a ‘grand slam’ through great customer service.” Year after year, other speakers were compared to this leader’s creative ability to present a motivational message, she says.

“Think about how you could use items like a big wall clock, a colorful gift bag, juggling balls, a deck of cards, a bunch of carrots, or another prop, to introduce your topic, captivate the audience, inject humor, and drive home your message.”

7. Play a short video.

Imagine kicking off a product management meeting with a video of compelling customer testimonials, or opening a fundraising event for endangered species by showing an Amur Leopard playing with her cubs in the wild.

“Videos evoke emotional responses,” Price explains. “Unlike text and bullet points on a slide, you can employ people, pictures, and sound to reel in the audience, add drama, and communicate the gist of your message quickly.”

As Walt Disney said, “I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.”

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider . Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

To keep up with the Agenda  subscribe to our weekly newsletter .

Author: Jacquelyn Smith joined Business Insider as the careers editor in February 2014.

Image: an empty meeting room is shown. REUTERS.

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10 Presentation Ideas For Leadership Teams and Training

Leadership teams shape organizations for better or for worse. They’re responsible for guiding teams and moving things— big or small— forward. So what makes a great leader versus one that causes employees to leave a company?

When you think of a great leader, it’s probably a specific characteristic that comes to mind. Qualities like respect, self-awareness, trust, influence, collaboration, and strong communication skills can set extraordinary managers apart from mediocre ones. But how leaders listen, learn, and communicate with their employees is just as important. Because of that, leaders— regardless of the industry— need to hold themselves accountable and continuously seek out ways to grow as a manager.   

It’s not uncommon for companies to host offsites or retreats to bring the leadership team together for brainstorming, planning, and training. This helps align leaders across various departments, teams, and offices, while offering them the tools they need to be more successful in their role. 

When preparing a presentation for leadership teams and training, it's crucial to focus on content that resonates with the audience's strategic mindset and their role in guiding the organization. Here are some leadership presentation ideas to help inspire your own content.

Leadership presentation ideas

Presentations can act as a platform to encourage learning and collaboration among different leaders. Do you have a leadership retreat coming up? Here are 10 leadership presentation ideas to help train and motivate your own leadership team. 

Effective leadership strategies

As a recurring training, you might share effective leadership strategies with your executive team. This presentation would act as a refresher of the latest trends and best practices in leadership. This could include insights on empathetic leadership, fostering a positive company culture, and embracing diversity and inclusion.

Change management

How should managers and leadership teams address the challenges and opportunities associated with change within the organization? A change management presentation would provide strategies for how leaders can navigate transitions successfully, with the least amount of disruption to the team.

Strategic planning and decision-making

A strategic planning and decision making presentation will offer insights into the process of setting achievable goals and making informed decisions. Organizations might also use a strategic planning presentation to lead their own company brainstorming sessions at a leadership all-hands meeting. 

Team development and engagement

Team development and engagement is important for the overall success of the team. In this presentation you might share techniques for fostering a high-performing and engaged team, including methods for providing feedback, coaching, and creating a supportive work environment.

Communication skills

Communication skills can make or break a leader. A training session on effective communication in leadership roles could be beneficial for both managers and executives of all levels. Here you could offer practical tips for clear, transparent, and empowering communication.

Leading through uncertainty

Given the current business landscape and layoffs happening across various industries, leadership teams need to know how to handle hard situations. This presentation idea for leadership teams would discuss strategies for navigating uncertainty and ambiguity, including how to maintain resilience and inspire confidence in a team concerned about job security. 

Embracing innovation and creativity

It’s no secret that AI is here to stay, and teams are having to pivot to accommodate new technology. Use a thoughtful presentation to encourage leaders to embrace innovation and promote a culture of creativity within the organization. The slides in this deck could showcase the benefits of adopting innovative approaches and thinking outside the box.

Building high-performance teams

Leaders need the right tools and knowledge to be able to guide positive performance. Employers might offer a training “how-to” on best practices for assembling and nurturing high-performance teams. This deck should include strategies for fostering collaboration, trust, and accountability among teammates. 

Data-driven decision making

As a leader, leveraging data to make more informed decisions should be top of mind. This leadership presentation idea can highlight the importance of leveraging data and analytics in decision-making processes, and offer guidance on how to incorporate data-driven insights into leadership strategies. This could include ways to implement KPIs, OKRs, or other effective ways to track the performance of individual contributors and campaigns. 

Ethical leadership

A wildly important leadership topic is ethics. Upper management should be well-educated in ethical leadership, and how that impacts the success of the team. An ethical leadership presentation could include the significance of ethics, the impact it has on organizational culture, employee morale, and long-term success, and how to ensure it’s top of mind in each department on a daily basis.

Beautiful presentations to drive your message home

You have a presentation topic, now what? The hardest part of presentation design is going from idea to deck with little design skills to back you up. Thankfully, there's a presentation software for that. Insert: Beautiful.ai. Beautiful.ai helps leadership teams create beautiful presentations so they can pack a bigger punch with their message and inspire their audience. Presenters can use one of Beautiful.ai's customizable pre-built presentation templates — like the training presentation — or leverage our AI-assistant to create a presentation from scratch specific to their topic. By creating beautiful decks you can engage your audience, drive your message home, and leave your leadership team feeling inspired to make a difference.

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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How to Be an Effective Leader at Any Career Stage

• 31 Aug 2018

The word “leader” tends to conjure images of that C-suite executive with a corner office and growing team of direct reports. But the truth is, leaders exist at all levels of an organization. You, yourself, can be a leader—no matter the stage of your career.

In a recent Facebook Live session with Ethan Bernstein, an associate professor of leadership and organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, Kirstin Lynde, founder and principal at leadership development firm Catalyze Associates, offers her advice to those looking to become leaders.

What Is Leadership?

Leadership "is all about influencing people,” Lynde said. “Leadership is something that you don’t actually have to wait until you’re a formal leader with five or 10 direct reports to practice.”

Anyone can exercise influence at work. According to Lynde, you can display leadership by being:

• The go-to person on a certain subject within your organization
• Someone who thinks creatively and frequently shares ideas in meetings
• An active listener and consensus builder
• The colleague who’s good at making everyone feel included and valued on the team
• A person who’s effective at articulating how he or she thinks the organization should move forward

If you aspire to become a leader at work, here are some qualities of effective leaders to consider developing, and a step-by-step framework to become an effective leader.

Access your free e-book today.

Qualities of Effective Leaders

It’s true that anyone can be a leader, but there are certain characteristics that are common among successful leaders. Consider developing these relevant leadership skills and abilities.

1. Communication Skills

Successful leaders almost always have exceptional communication skills. By developing your leadership communication skills , you’ll be able to better articulate your vision and foster a more collaborative environment. You should also keep an open line of communication with your team to remain transparent about what you’re doing and what needs to be done.

2. An Innovative Mindset

Simply put, innovation in business refers to generating new ideas and approaches to solve existing business problems and meet organizational objectives. Great leaders foster innovation in the workplace and are always looking for new and improved ways to do things that will help the business overcome organizational change .

3. Decision-Making Capabilities

Effective leaders need to make strategic business decisions under pressure with a limited amount of information, both individually and with their teams . Following a specific decision-making process will help you guide your decisions and act in the best interest of your company.

4. Emotional Intelligence

To be an influential leader, you need to possess emotional intelligence , which is the ability to understand your own emotions and influence others'. Emotionally intelligent leaders also master empathy. Research shows that empathetic leaders perform more than 40 percent higher in coaching, engaging others, and decision-making.

To help develop these leadership capabilities and become an effective leader, follow the leadership self-development model below.

How to Be an Effective Leader

If you want to become an effective leader, you first need to evaluate who you are as a communicator and collaborator, and be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses.

“We all have our behavioral styles and typical approaches that have been baked into us since we were young,” Lynde said. “Some of those styles and approaches work well when you become a leader, and some of them can hold you back.”

Once you’ve assessed your work style, it’s easier to determine which goals to set in order to grow as a leader. Perhaps it’s that you need to improve how you provide feedback , or that you want to become better at spotting business opportunities. Whatever your objective, it should directly relate to how you influence others. In turn, your boss and colleagues should be incorporated into the goal-setting process.

Bernstein and Lynde have created a unique leadership self-development model, called PACE . Each letter in PACE stands for steps you can take to become more effective in your organization—Pick, Apprise, Collect, and Elicit—and are outlined below.

1. Pick a Goal

It’s easier to pick one goal than trying to fix multiple areas at once. If you’re not sure where to start, turn to your colleagues for guidance. It could be as simple as telling your boss, “I have aspirations of advancing into manager-level roles. Can you tell me what you think are the two or three biggest skill sets I need to develop to get there?” Or, “I want to get better at my role and improve as a teammate. How do you think I could have a more positive impact?”

“If the goal of leaders is to influence others more effectively, you need to have conversations with other people about how you can do better at contributing to the group and interacting with others,” Lynde said. “You shouldn’t have to wait until someone signs you up for a leadership development program.”

2. Apprise Others of Your Goal

Once you’ve settled on a goal, share it with those you work most closely with whom you trust. Not only will the process hold you more accountable to achieving your goals, but it can elevate your professional relationships.

Research by Harvard Business School Professors Alison Wood Brooks and Francesca Gino shows that asking for advice makes a good impression. And the more candid you are about your goals, the more others feel comfortable asking for feedback in return—leading to mutually beneficial relationships that can grow your network.

By enlisting others in your professional development, it’s also more likely that your colleagues will recognize and publicly acknowledge the positive changes you make.

“It’s often hard to change other people’s perception of us,” Lynde said. “In order to break through and change perceptions, you often can benefit greatly by letting other people know what you’re doing, so that when you do it, they see it.”

3. Collect Ideas

Simply sharing your goal isn’t enough. You also want to collect ideas on how you can improve. If your colleague is strong in the area you’re trying to grow in, Lynde encourages telling him or her that and asking, “By next week, I’d love feedback. Can you tell me two ideas on how I can do better in this specific area?”

What you want to avoid is putting your co-workers on the spot. Give them time to formulate ideas. You should also avoid asking, “How can I improve?” Not only is the question too broad, but your peers might shy away from providing honest, actionable feedback out of fear they could unintentionally insult you by highlighting an unknown weakness.

4. Elicit Feedback

Once you’ve collected ideas and started working toward your goal, ask for feedback on how you’re doing. You should give yourself enough time to actually make some headway—rather, don’t ask for feedback within the first week. Regularly check in with those you shared your goal with, though, and chart your progress.

Remember: It’s an Iterative Process

As you work through each step of the PACE framework, what’s important to remember is that this is an iterative and continuous process. You can’t take one workshop and say you’ve now learned how to influence others; every leader is a work in progress. What’s important is that you start developing yourself as a leader early in your career.

“It’s gotten harder to develop leadership abilities the longer I’ve waited,” Bernstein said. “Once you’re in the role, it’s much harder to admit the shortcomings than to admit them before you’re there.”

So start with that honest self-assessment and work from there.

“It’s all about building up your own self-awareness of who you are and how you come across,” Lynde said. “And then it’s about taking very real, tangible steps in your day-to-day life—starting immediately.”

Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Download our free leadership e-book and explore our online course Leadership Principles to discover how you can become a more effective leader and unleash the potential in yourself and others.

This post was updated on May 13, 2021. It was originally published on August 31, 2018.

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