There are at least 6 traits that contribute to someone being a “good leader”.
I say “at least 6”, because I’m constantly adding to/modifying this list based on people’s feedback and challenges.
They are, in order of importance (with the most important first):
Some caveats.
Because I have the most experience with leaders in businesses, this essay uses a lot of examples from the business world. But everything is connected to everything else - so I believe in these traits, whether someone is leading a country or a hiking group.
Additionally, like with my spoken word, I suggest using this text as a starting-point and using ChatGPT to refine the ideas, come up with counterpoints, and ask about more examples/data.
The number one trait of a good leader is, in my opinion, an extremely high level of self-awareness.
It can be summarised as “I know what I’m good at, and what I need to improve”, but truly achieving this self-awareness is really, really hard.
It starts with balancing confidence and humility. If you are overconfident or overhumble, you are not ready to lead.
Being overconfident will lead you to ignore evidence that your ideas aren’t working, or that you need to change your approach, or that you need to work on your weaknesses.