When asked who a successful leader is, some people will say Barack Obama, some will say Jean Luc Picard, and others may say Oprah Winfrey.
For many people, a successful leader is someone who has vision, a well-defined strategy, and is great at decision-making. These skills help a leader to motivate teams, drive sales, and ensure that the teams they oversee offer great long-term performance.
However, some hidden skills are not often considered, which can help leaders to solve problems and to act in fast-changing environments. So, what are those skills?
Pattern Recognition in Human Behavior
Yes, data analysis is prioritised in business, and, with the ever-growing integration of AI, it seems that the entire world will soon be digital and overseen by computers.
However, computers are still quite poor at predicting human behaviour, and one thing that a great leader does is predict behaviours. This can look like spotting emerging points of friction, changes in morale, and motivation before they become a problem. These skills enable them to adjust their communication tone, redistribute the workload, or intervene if an issue is growing. On an interesting note, this skill can also be helpful in the world of games of chance and poker, meaning that most great leaders would likely be great at live dealer games online, too!
Context Switching Without Losing Depth
Leaders need to be able to move quickly between tasks. In the modern day, this can look like responding to a crisis. Chairing a meeting and engaging in strategic planning, all in the space of an hour. However, exceptional leaders are also able to switch contexts with clarity, such as being able to switch from a high-level vision to a small detail, without mixing their thoughts. This helps them to maintain a sharper focus, minimize decision fatigue, and create clearer directions for themselves and their teams.
Constructive Silence
There is a scene in the movie “Good Will Hunting” where both Will and his therapist, played by Robin Williams, sit in silence for an entire therapy session. Why? They are engaging in a game of dominance, engaging in the mindset of “whoever talks first loses.”
Silence and the implementation of silence is an underused tools. Leaders know when they need to pause, when to give an idea silence, as well as when to listen rather than speak. Constructive silence helps with everything from negotiation to resolving conflict in a board meeting and is a skill that more people could benefit from developing.
Micro-Resilience
Most people know that great leaders have resilience. However, only truly exceptional leaders have what is known as micro-resilience. This is the ability to recover from issues quickly. It can look like taking a five-minute break between meetings, as well as being able to mentally close the book on one task before starting the next one. It is also the ability to not take setbacks as a sign of personal failure, which can help prevent issues from snowballing. Leaders who have this skill down will often remain calmer, more patient, and more creative.
Read more:
Five Hidden Skills Every Leader Needs: Knowing When to Take the Right Risk