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Career Advancement: important Behavioral Characteristics to Move Into and Be Successful in a Leadership Role

By Nancy Branton, M.A., PCC, CLTMC, CEQS, CCMC, CCM, CFP, CPBS, CJSS, ACRW, COIS, CJCTC, CLC, CCC

1. Respectable Character: ethical with high integrity inside and outside of work; honors one's verbal and written commitments; and, adheres to company values, code of conduct, and norms.

2. Authentic and Transparent: walks one's talk, appropriately shares vulnerabilities and feelings, displays a consistent leadership brand, and doesn't use people for one's personal gain.

3. Continuous Learner: seeks opportunities to work on new projects, serves on interdisciplinary taskforces, volunteers for interim supervisor or manager roles, reads or listens to books on leadership, is active in professional associations, attends training to stay current with industry and technical area, and participates in leadership development training and opportunities.

4. Ongoing Feedback: asks colleagues, boss, and customers for feedback, thanks them for it, acts on it, and avoids punishing people for their feedback; and, participates in 360-degree feedback to identify and develop in important areas.

5. Relationships of Respect: appreciates and acknowledges others' good work; has a good sense of "give and take;" addresses and resolves conflicts; respects authority; avoids going around the boss; avoids gossip and doesn't speak negatively of others; appreciates and values people's differences; and, seeks out and builds positive relationships with colleagues, managers, customers and stakeholders.

6. Influential Communicator: learns about people's positions on issues; gets to know people on personal level; regularly shares useful and appropriate information up, down, across, and outward in a convincing manner; has solid written communication skills; speaks in a persuasive manner; listens and is open-minded; and, demonstrates politically savvy.

7. Quiet Strength and Humility: is approachable, avoids self-promotion, and speaks up for others as well as self.

8. Team Player: shares credit, participates in the "grunt" work, helps others out, gets along well with others, adheres to team norms, raises issues that need to be addressed, works well across disciplines, holds others accountable, and successfully completes work assignments.

9. Informal Leader: steps up to lead in situations when a leader hasn't been identified or isn't present, and takes charge in emergency situations.

10. Confident and Optimistic: has a "can do" attitude, is energetic, motivates others to move forward in a positive direction, and brings levity to the group.

11. Purposeful: works toward the company vision; is goal-oriented, implements a piece of the companies' mission; displays passion about the work; and, focuses on the most important work.

12. Bottom Line Impact: shows initiative, tackles tough problems, develops innovative solutions, quickly adapts to changing circumstances, takes wise risks, gets the job done right, is able to work independently, and continuously strives for improvement.

13. Emotionally Health: is aware of own emotions and curbs anger, is calm in stressful situations, and harnesses emotions for positive outcomes.

14. Fair & Reasonable Decider: makes wise decisions based on logic as well as the considering the impact on people, recognizes both the details and big picture, is known for the ability to make tough decisions, and is also recognized as being compassionate toward staff who are experiencing professional and personal challenges.

15. Resilient & Balanced: works hard but takes breaks, may work long hours on a big project but takes vacations, avoids a routine of late hours and weekend work, and takes care of one's physical and mental health.

16. Career Builder: establishes career goals and works steadily toward them; seeks out mentors, reaches for that next promotion; has a polished style and look; and, furthers one's education to become qualified for a desired position.

17. Cultural Awareness & Sensitivity: seeks to understand and adapt to the culture of the company, geographic area, and country; and, is accepting of and works well with people from varying cultures.

Coaches can be instrumental in helping clients to become aware of their strengths and areas of development. Also coaches can ask questions to assist clients in determining which areas of development are most critical for advancement in their current or desired company.

Below are some excellent books for leaders to gain further knowledge and skills in order to develop one or more these behavioral characteristics.

Resources:

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