Seven Essential Skills of Great Leaders

The first rule of being an effective boss may be acknowledging that leadership qualities do not arrive with a fancy job title or promotion. Even if you’re highly skilled at your job, you could fail when asked to inspire a team to perform at a high level. Think of the way superstar athletes often turn out to be unsuccessful as coaches and general managers, as with the long, futile reign of NFL great Matt Millen as a GM with the Detroit Lions. But leadership skills can be learned. There are seven essential qualities of leadership that help people succeed, according to Robert S. Kaplan, a professor of management at Harvard Business School. In his essay, “What to Ask the Person in the Mirror,” he examines these seven qualities and conveys why they’re so critical in establishing a total package of leadership attributes. His essay is part of the book, HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Managing Yourself, part of a new “Must Reads” series, from Harvard Business Review Press. For more about the book, click here.