Qualities of Leadership

Qualities of Leadership

TIMES change but the qualities of leadership do not and that is why there is still so much to learn from the Florentine diplomat Nicolo Machiavelli who lived in the late 15th and early 16th century.

To be described a Machiavellian is regarded as a pejorative term but this is far from fair.

I once met a politician who in a small gathering stated that courage and intellect are the most important qualities of a leader. Accordingly, it was said that intellect in this context means emotional intelligence, rather than academic capacity.

It is also important to recognise what courage is and what it is not.

There are instances in which people are described as being ‘fearless’ – if such a person exists, they are not courageous because an essential prerequisite for courage is to know fear.

It is said that any leader who is completely without fear is one to avoid at all costs. That is why courageous behaviour and recklessness are not the same thing.

It reminds me of the saying that a good general is entitled to demand courage from his soldiers but never be reckless with their lives.

 Not all risks are the same

Every day of our lives we often unconsciously undertake risk assessment, and it is a key element in the commercial world.

Almost everything we do involves an element of risk – even getting up in the morning but on the other hand staying in bed is not without risk.

At its simplest risk assessment is basically a balance between consequence and probability.

A good example is taking a flight – the risk of something going wrong is extremely small but the consequence of being involved in an air crash is probably death.

One the other hand when we go out in our car there is a relatively high risk of an accident but most often car accidents are minor bumps or result in little or no injury although, of course, they can be serious or even fatal.

Most people would regard both taking a flight and travelling in a car as justified.

In most instances in both life and business the issue is more complex and the balance between risk and consequence less clear cut.

Qualities of leadership

A major investment in a business brings the prospect of growth but also carries the risk of failure and loss of money or even the collapse of the business itself.

Taking on a new member of staff offers the benefit of bringing new skills and experience into the business but also a downside risk if it goes wrong.

Nothing is without risk, but the important thing is that it is calculated and informed risk.