By Jeff Custer | Monday, July 18, 2022
Welcome to the final entry in Level Up Course’s blog series on the “12 definitive traits of a leader.” Over the past 11 weeks, we’ve been dissecting, acquiring, and working to perfect these skills. It’s a tall task. In fact, none of us will ever perfect our leadership skills, but rather spend a lifetime striving to improve them.
This basket of traits must be consistently practiced and applied to everything we do. If we don’t, we risk being labelled as hypocrites. The people who insist that others do what they say but they themselves fail to do the same. The bottom line: practice what you preach.
We’ve covered a lot of ground. So, here’s a quick recap of our top 12 traits:
Focused
Motivated
Courageous
Knowledgeable
Strong
Optimistic
Enthusiastic
Risk Taker
Skilled Communicator
Imaginative
Independent
And finally…
We’re tying it all together with consistency and integrity. Without it, all the things we’ve been discussing in this series are nothing but charades, lip service. Lacking consistency and integrity when utilizing these skills will undoubtedly be perceived as superficial.
Too often in the news we’ve seen stories of leaders who fail because they led without integrity. So approach everything you do with integrity—let it be the bedrock of your leadership legacy. When I looked it up in the dictionary, it defined integrity as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness.” I think simply put, do what’s right.
As I’ve worked through writing this series, it’s become even more clear to me that these traits can and must be practiced. We’re all going to be at different places in regard to displaying these 12 traits, so take heart in knowing that every one of us has something (or somethings) to work on. If you’ve been following the series each week and recognized an area of weakness, go back and study on how you can improve in that area. (We provided some suggested ways to practice in many of the blogs). And if you’re just joining us now, work your way through the other posts and identify areas you may need to improve.
Leadership isn’t for everyone. As harsh as that statement may seem, there’s a lot of truth in it. The demands and expectations on the people and for the leader role itself is high. But don’t let that scare you off. If there’s any part of you that’s intrigued by the idea of leadership or of how you could implement some of these leadership traits into your everyday life—know that it can be extremely satisfying and rewarding. We’re here to help you on your leadership journey because we’re passionate about helping leaders become the very best they can be.
Visit levelupcourses.co and check out our First Cup of Joe Show podcast that airs new episodes every Wednesday or our 5-hour online Level Up: Leadership Course. We’ve developed real-world knowledge and experiences into tools and practices that can be the key to your professional (and personal) success. If you’re already on your leadership journey and need an outside perspective, we’d love to come alongside you. If you haven’t started or are just starting that journey, we specialize in teaching the foundational skills you’ll need to position a strong start to your leadership legacy.
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Are you struggling to improve your effectiveness as a leader? Email me at jeff@levelupcourses.co for a free consultation.
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Jeff Custer is a long-time leader at both private and Fortune 500 companies where he has developed and led both high performance individuals and teams. He is passionate about developing leaders and building high impact teams. Jeff resides in the United States.