In my 10+ years of career, I’ve come to appreciate the one value in a leader that stands out above the rest. Of course there are many qualities that make a good leader - honesty, transparency, intelligence, charisma, communication, the list goes on. Perhaps it is some sort of privilege that most leaders I work with already come packaged with all this good stuff, and have become things that I take for granted.
However, above all, the one quality that distinguishes a great leader from a good leader, is how genuine the person is. Genuine leaders are so amazing because it is not a value that you can force out of yourself or fake (it is the very opposite of fake), it has to be your identity. As James Clear points out in his book Atomic Habits, all good habits start from your identity. And a leader that is truly genuine will almost always act with good intent, even subconsciously.
Genuine leaders make working with them truly enjoyable. You will feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback, and act with the peace of mind that there are no hidden agendas. It doesn’t mean that genuine leaders don’t keep secrets or intentionally withhold information (because sometimes you just have to do it), but you can always trust that there is no ill intent. Most importantly, it is a sign that they care for you as individual people, not as employees.
If you ever receive any feedback or comment from me and I use the word genuine, know that it is probably the highest form of praise I can give.
How do we find genuine leaders? What signs do we look for? It’s really hard because a lot of it depends on how they make you feel. How much do they actually care about your work? How much do they actually care off work? Are they always trying to probe for information for some other purpose? Are their communication channels still open even if you’ve stopped working with them? Are they sincerely happy for you if you leave because of a better opportunity?
You’ll likely know it when you see it.