The FIVE “Cs” of Leadership

In this final posting on the current topic of leadership, I complete our review of some of the different approaches to discussing the traits that are commonly identified with an effective leader.  Those of you who have read the previous postings will recall that I began the discussion with models that involved more simplified structures and approaches, and I have been progressively working through various models that involve greater and greater complexity and identified traits and leadership factors. I will then share my views about the common threads that become apparent in reviewing the research and publications.

John Maxwell's: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

Before discussing the themes that develop in reviewing many of the popular works relating to leadership, our final review is of John C. Maxwell’s 1999 work, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. This book identifies – you guessed it – 21 qualities that his research shows maps to good leadership. Mr. Maxwell devotes a tidy chapter to each of the following attributes and provides interesting and enlightening anecdotes to illustrate what he means by each of the traits he discusses.  Because Maxwell’s list is broken into far more individual characteristics than most of the other authors, I will not go into detail relative to each trait.  The traits, as he characterizes them are fairly straightforward and, thus, more explanation on my part is not really necessary.

Summary and Themes

We have now reviewed five leading researchers and authors whose work in the field of leadership is widely recognized for their significant contributions. Having recently re-read each of these writer’s works, themes became clear to me in the process.  After reviewing the writer’s works that I have discussed in this series, I found that I could sum up the qualities of someone who is an effective leader in five words.

The effective leader is someone who is:

• Capable – they are good at what they do and have the proper balance of depth and breadth of subject-matter expertise to enable them develop a vision and a properly-scoped focus, execute on that vision, generate gates and be self-assured and self-confident without being arrogant.
• Committed – the best leaders have a strong sense of self-mastery.  They demonstrate character and courage, initiative and passion.  Their passion and courage is balanced by their sense of responsibility to something larger than themselves and a sense of self-discipline.
• Connected – they like people and value relationships. They have a natural power with people, charisma, and an ability to create coalitions.  They value their connectedness with others and tend to have extensive and diverse networks that they draw on for their support. Because of their connectedness, they have built in support and a greater, more natural opportunity to anchor new approaches among the larger community.
• Communicative – effective leadership demands effective communication. The most effective leaders are dynamic communicators who can sell their vision effectively to others and generate excitement in the process. However, effective communication goes well beyond just the ability to be highly persuasive. The best leaders demonstrate that they are also great listeners, who allow themselves to be influenced by the thoughts and inputs of others. They are teachable, and in the process they garner wider support and shared ownership for their vision and strategy because others, likewise, feel ownership.
• Caring – finally, effective leaders have a strong sense of servanthood.  They are recognized as giving to their community and being generous in sharing their time, expertise, personal support, and positive attitude to further something larger than themselves.

I have mapped the traits that the leading authors identified into the table below to illustrate how the “Five C’s of Leadership” really do emerge, as one reviews the literature.