Leadership resources abound. There are books, courses, conferences, coaching, and mentoring.
I can’t even pretend to make any significant contribution to the discussion. But there is one area that fascinates me. It’s the matter of the leader’s personality. Again, I know that a plethora of materials and data exist on personality assessments and characteristics, so I’m probably not going to make any new discoveries. But in the process of over two decades of research and consultation, I’ve seen and worked with a lot of leaders, most of them in churches or other Christian organizations.
Some of them are effective. Some are not.
And I’ve found that some of the most effective leaders share common traits. That is not to suggest that they are personality clones. They do, however, have some things in common.
Seven common traits
Since my research is more subjective than not, I don’t want to suggest that this list of personality characteristics is exhaustive. Nor do I want to suggest that the order is one of a particular priority. But enough disclaimers—here’s my list:
Effective leaders are loyal. They are loyal to God, their families, and the places where they serve. They are loyal to friends. And their loyalties are intense and obvious to everyone who knows them.
Effective leaders are joyous and fun. One of the main reasons that leaders are effective is because they have eager followers. People like to follow leaders who are fun and demonstrate obvious joy in their lives. Who wants to follow a grumpy, joyless leader?
Effective leaders have a strong work ethic. In fact, one of the greatest challenges of these leaders is maintaining balance. They are prone to be on the task 24/7.
Effective leaders are self-aware. They are able to see their strengths and weaknesses with a great deal of objectivity. They seek out critical evaluations from people they trust to tell them the truth. Because they are self-aware, they are constantly seeking to improve.
Effective leaders take initiative. These leaders do not need to be prodded to complete a task. To the contrary, they go well beyond others’ expectations. Good managers complete an assigned task. But good leaders are regularly envisioning a better way and better strategy.
Effective leaders love people. Some effective leaders are extroverts; they are energized when they are around people. Other effective leaders are introverts. Put them in a crowd sharing small talk, and they will be drained by the end of the day. But both types of leaders have a love for people. They truly care about others. They embody servanthood.
Effective leaders are tenacious. You rarely hear about them giving up. While others may view a setback as failure, effective leaders see it as an opportunity to move in another direction.
They can be learned
Notice what is not on the list. There is no mention of charismatic personalities. And though most of the effective leaders I have observed are pretty smart, they are not necessarily the most intellectual people I have known.
The good news is that these seven personality traits can be learned. Sure, some traits come more naturally for some people than others. Still, none are beyond the capacity of any leader.
Do you really desire to be an effective leader? Maybe you need a personality change. Well, at least in part. Effective leaders are relatively few in number. But, in God’s strength, you could be added to a group who are really impacting the world with their great leadership personalities.
Thom Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. © 2009 ChurchCentral.com
