The Inquisitive Project Manager

Are leaders born or are they made? That's a tough question, and probably as old as time itself. It's like wondering what came first, the chicken or the egg. I'd have to say there are some inherent traits that one needs to be a good leader, but many of these skills can be learned. If one has a propensity to read a lot, to be a good observer, to engage ideas with others, willing to have mentors around you, learn to be a good communicator, willing to accept failure and move on, then a great leader can grow from that. Persistence and fortitude are very important. And, you need an aptitude and a natural leaning toward learning.

Having an aptitude to want to learn and excel, and refining those skills over time through training and practice, helps immensely in becoming an effective leader.

Other elements at play are environmental and cultural. Can one resonate well with one's community? As a leader can one embrace these cultural expectations. Can one navigate well through constant change? Does one know when to be a transformational leader, a servant leader, an authoritarian leader, a laissez-faire leader? Can one delegate effectively?

There are so many factors at play for leaders to consider. It can be like playing chess sometimes. You need to train on the job, and even when playing the game, there is no guarantee one will win. Strategy, chance, hard work, and being at the right place at the right time can all be key ingredients in making a successful leader.

1. Established leadership qualities shared by some modern entrepreneurs

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Ma all share some similar leadership traits which are worth examining. Most of all they are passionate about what they do, and they hold values which they want to posit to others within their organization, and to the world as a whole. They are not resistant to change, and irrespective of their initial low chances of success, they are resilient to move forward, and take a huge risk to bring their goals and dreams to resolution. And, their transformational leadership style motivates and inspires people to take on new challenges. Other common themes among Musk, Ma and Zuckerberg include:

a) Organizational Change and Emotional Intelligence

Effective leadership is at the core of any form of successful change. All these leaders share an aspect of emotional intelligence. They all possess the traits, disposition and ability to understand and appeal to the mindsets of those around them. This enables them to successfully facilitate thought and change, and identify crucial skills needed to help build their businesses. For change to occur, there needs to be confidence to build an environment of open communication. By communicating a need for change to employees they can pointedly focus, process social and emotional information, and apply it appropriately when needed, benefiting themselves, and those around them.

And, for any resistors to change, they can persuade and inspire them by building better relationships, and encouraging more participation within the decision making process. This is how these leaders skillfully inculcate in others the motivation and positive purpose for change.

b) Team Building

The three leaders are goal oriented. They all have a shared sense of enthusiasm, opportunity, and commitment, and are motivated to achieve excellence at all costs. And, they are all devoted to instilling and perpetuating these values into their teams. This contributes to successfully building and managing teams within an organization. Successful teams build successful companies.

c) Trust and Respect

Trust and respect is essential for team work and businesses to flourish. These three leaders embody these elements within their organizations and community. The trust and respect is reciprocated toward them, thereby creating a win-win environment for all parties involved.

2. Is this a new breed of leadership?

When compared to leaders of the past, Musk, Zuckerberg and Ma appear to focus on transparency of ideas, innovation at the forefront, constant adaptation to rapid change, and a conscious effort to make sustainable development all end-to-end elements of their businesses. It's not to say these ideas were not present in the past. However, there is more emphasis on them today than say decades ago. Part of this is due to a shift in the cultural milieu of our time. And, part because these leaders are acutely aware of the positive impact their ideas can have on the environment and world community.