Business Executive Coaching

Coaching Business Owners and Executive Teams

  • ABOUT
    • Pitstop Coaches
  • COACHING
  • TEAM PROGRAMS
    • Priority Track
    • Critical Teams
    • Critical Projects
    • What Happens When the Adrenaline is Gone?
    • Strategy Under Pressure
    • COVID-19
    • Clarity on Results
    • First Mile
    • Project Double Jeopardy
    • Ways of Working
  • PRAISE
  • PODCAST
  • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • BOOK A CALL
  • ABOUT
    • Pitstop Coaches
  • COACHING
  • TEAM PROGRAMS
    • Priority Track
    • Critical Teams
    • Critical Projects
    • What Happens When the Adrenaline is Gone?
    • Strategy Under Pressure
    • COVID-19
    • Clarity on Results
    • First Mile
    • Project Double Jeopardy
    • Ways of Working
  • PRAISE
  • PODCAST
  • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • BOOK A CALL

search

6 Critical Traits of Leadership

Leadership

This post was first published on the highly successful blog “About Leaders” and I was honored to be a guest writer – check it out HERE.

I will put my hand up and admit that it took me a number of years, after I became a manager, to understand the difference between a manager and a leader.  I simply did what my own manager was doing and thought that would work. How naïve that was!

I was fortunate to be approached to work with another company where my boss was a real mentor. He understood leadership and I learned the simplest of lessons from him – you manage things and you lead people! Simple but so profound! He also taught me that these critical traits of leadership must be learned – over and over!

Working with companies in different industries in different cultures, I am frequently fascinated how leadership is misunderstood, and very often not valued as highly as it should.

There is the token “acknowledgment” and “talk” about leadership but it is not alive in the culture of the business. Those companies are at risk if they do not change – sustained success is a consequence of great leadership.

I am not dismissing management as unimportant. Process and systems need to be managed with efficiency and excellence – they are what I call the “hygiene” factor. Leadership is what sets you apart.

I am often dismayed when I observe that those who are charged with leadership so often struggle to know what it means, and what it takes.

I was asked recently to speak at a business conference where I took the opportunity to talk about leadership traits and I wanted to share them here with you.

So, here are my 6 leadership traits – (there are others, but focus on these first!):

1.    Leaders get results.

To have a reputation as a leader you must have a track record of getting results, but getting the results in the right and honorable way. Many are surprised when I put this first as they often equate leadership with “soft” skills and not the hardnosed business results. But it is fundamental to any leader to have a track record of achieving the required results. No avoiding it!

2.    Leaders care about their people.

Not just in words, but in their behavior. There is an old saying – people will not remember what you say, nor will they remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel – and that is so true. The bottom line is that your people know you care about them – for their sake!

3.    Leaders share their “why”

We all know that businesses must make a profit – that is a given. But that is not the purpose. When Steve Jobs set up Apple his “why” was not about money, or computers, or mobile phones – it was about giving a “new experience” True leaders are clear about their purpose and mission and spend time communicating that to their people. They also clearly live it!

4.    Leaders deliver on their commitments

Leaders always do what they say they will do. When you say you will do something, your people must have the mindset that it will definitely happen – not that “all things being equal it will happen” mentality. There must be no doubt!

5.    Leaders develop talent.

Your people are more developed and have acquired more skills as a result of your leadership. If you cannot say that, you have failed. You must motivate and encourage your people to reach levels they thought impossible or unattainable. If you don’t, what benefit have you been?

6.    Leaders clearly value people over process.

If you clearly do not trump people over process, then process becomes more highly valued than people, and your people are lost in the milieu of statistics and reports. As a leader you must demonstrate through your behavior and decisions that people are above process – all the time.

So, what do you think? If you had to pick your 6 traits, what would they include?

———————————————

FREE STRATEGY CALL 

If you would like to sharpen your skills as a leader and a manager, then why not take advantage of a free 45 minute session which will give you actions you can take straight away to make you more effective. Then go to  www.johnmurphyinternational.com/call to schedule that session.

Previous EpisodeNext Episode

You may also be interested in...

Determining Leadership Potential with Dr. Kim Janson | Episode #113

VIEW EPISODE

Strategy Sprints with Simon Severino | Episode #112

VIEW EPISODE

Comments

  1. Tom McGrath Sr. says

    April 3, 2013 at 6:55 pm

    John………As I read your traits and those offered in addition, one must conclude they are all important. Each contribution may be unique or may enhance one already stated. It is the sum of these traits, and others, and how they are applied that will cause an individual to be an able leader. In a long career in business and public service I would like to have had leaders gifted with all of those attributes. I hope that when I was in that role those I influenced saw most of them in me. The only item I would add would be trust. If you ask someone to follow your lead they must believe that the goal you are seeking is in the right direction.

    • John Murphy says

      April 3, 2013 at 7:48 pm

      Tom, thanks for your comments. Trust is so critical – it reminds of a great book 5 Dysfunctions of a Tea, by Patrick lencioni where he highlights that the basis for all successful teams is trust. Good read to get your hands on. Thanks again

  2. Maeve O'Byrne says

    April 2, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    Listening and empathy as mentioned but also vulnerability, good leaders allow their people to see their vulnerabilities. I always believe in investing in your people, which is developing talent. Honesty, giving your people the whole picture, your why.

    • John Murphy says

      April 2, 2013 at 10:04 pm

      Maeve, thanks for this contribution. Your comment about the why is so true – companies focus too much on the what and not enough on the why!

  3. Mark Howard says

    March 30, 2013 at 2:17 pm

    “I know 6 characteristics of a leader are: Integrity, Accountability, Responsibility, Resiliency, Compassion, Empathy, Perseverance. These charateristics will insure that you do the right things, the right way, and that you get it done, with the right people.” – Capt. Mark Howard

    • John Murphy says

      March 30, 2013 at 8:07 pm

      Mark, Thanks for your contribution – even if you did give 7! They are all relevant to leadership!

  4. Kuldip Singh says

    March 26, 2013 at 2:18 pm

    One of them 6 traits would be listening.

    • John Murphy says

      March 26, 2013 at 3:23 pm

      Hi Kuldip, thank you for your comment. Yes, listening is definitely up there with them!

Connect with John

What Our Clients Say

"John's leadership coaching and team building efforts have really helped unleash the full potential of my team as a people manager."

Andrew Otoo President, Global Vaccines, Merck

“In the first twelve months since using John Murphy we grew the business by 40%, we won the biggest single account in our industry and successfully created an entire new operating structure for Rothco. I would be and have been delighted to recommend John Murphy to any CEO looking to establish an external partner to help harness exceptional talent within their organisation.”

Patrick Hickey Rothco Ltd

“As an executive and business coach, John stands out from the pack in two key ways. First, his depth of experience as an actual former senior executive – meaning he can coach you on content and strategy as well as process.

Second his structured approach to coaching coupled with a relentless drive to “dig deeper” and ask the bold questions you don’t really want to be asking yourself.

If you’re looking for a coach or mentor to help you navigate the crossroads of your professional life, get unstuck or take your business up to next level, I would seriously consider John.

If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll be glad you did.”

Ago Cluytens Practice Director EMEA – Rain Group

“I worked with John for a full year and was delighted with the results. He is a dedicated professional and great to work with. I would highly recommend him to any individual or company looking for lasting improvements”

Fergal McGarry Johnson & Johnson Ltd

“The success of our group (and a subsequent group as a direct result) can be clearly related to John’s sharp intellect, obvious integrity and no nonsense approach. I value his views at all times.”

John Mulcahy Irish Tourist Board

“John is a true professional, very results driven. He was a tremendous help to our business, enabling us to get the focus we required. I would have no challenge whatsoever in recommending him”

Ian Masterson M Communications Ltd

“Johns approach is to talk about the elephant in the room and challenge the sacred cows. John delivers huge value to any business”

John Horkan Horkans Lifestyle

“John particularly taught me the importance of working “on” my business as well as working “in” the business and in doing so has ensured that I have a more successful and a more interesting and fun business to work within"

Paula Weir Lighthouse Consulting

“John is a consummate professional. He has outstanding personal skills.John is considerate, thoughtful and always brings his many years of business skills and experiences to the table”

Aidan Murphy Managing Director, MSI Ltd

John is an action orientated advisor and coach. He gets executives and teams to focus on the key activities that will get results. He makes sure people drive through on their weekly and monthly activities and coaches them to develop areas that don’t come naturally.

John OGorman ASG Group

  • Popular
  • Recent

CATEGORIES

  • A Life and A Living Podcast Episodes
  • Attitude
  • Awareness
  • Blog Posts
  • Business
  • Change
  • Conflict
  • Customer Relations
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Goals
  • Human Resources
  • Leadership
  • Life
  • Management
  • Personal Development
  • Planning
  • Productivity
  • Team Development
  • Time Management
  • Winning Teams TV

Footer Links

  • ABOUT
  • COACHING
  • TEAM PROGRAMS
  • PRAISE
  • PODCAST
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT

Copyright Menu

  • © JohnMurphyInternational
  • All Rights Reserved
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Site Map

Social Menu

Access My Industry-Leading Knowledge Bank of Leadership Content ’10 Key Traits of Top Leaders’ eBook

Enhance your leadership skills and take your business and team to the next level with my free eBook containing many of the strategies I teach Fortune 500 company leaders.

We will only send you awesome stuff

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

1.   INTRODUCTION

This privacy notice provides you with details of how we collect and process your personal data through your use of our site johnmurphyinternational.com

By providing us with your data, you warrant to us that you are over 16 years of age.

Focus Point Ltd T/A John Murphy International is the data controller and we are responsible for your personal data (referred to as “we”, “us” or “our” in this privacy notice).

Contact Details

Full name of legal entity: Focus Point Ltd T/A John Murphy International

Name of Data Controller: John Murphy

Email address: info@johnmurphyinternational.com

Postal address: 9 Exchange Place, IFSC, Dublin 1, Ireland

It is very important that the information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if at any time your personal information changes by emailing us at info@johnmurphyinternational.com.

2.  WHAT DATA DO WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU, FOR WHAT PURPOSE AND ON WHAT GROUND WE PROCESS IT

Personal data means any information capable of identifying an individual. It does not include anonymised data.

We may process the following categories of personal data about you:

Communication Data that includes any communication that you send to us whether that be through the contact form on our website, through email, text, social media messaging, social media posting or any other communication that you send us. We process this data for the purposes of communicating with you, for record keeping and for the establishment, pursuance or defence of legal claims. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to reply to communications sent to us, to keep records and to establish, pursue or defend legal claims.

Customer Data that includes data relating to any purchases of services such as your name, title, address, email address and phone number. We process this data to supply services you have purchased and to keep records of such transactions. Our lawful ground for this processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps at your request to enter into such a contract.

User Data that includes data about how you use our website and any online services together with any data that you post for publication on our website or through other online services. We process this data to operate our website and ensure relevant content is provided to you, to ensure the security of our website, to maintain back-ups of our website and/or databases and to enable publication and administration of our website, other online services and business. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business.

Technical Data that includes data about your use of our website and online services such as your IP address, your login data, details about your browser, length of visit to pages on our website, page views and navigation paths, details about the number of times you use our website, time zone settings and other technology on the devices you use to access our website. The source of this data is from our analytics tracking system. We process this data to analyse your use of our website and other online services, to administer and protect our business and website, to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and to understand the effectiveness of our advertising. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business and to grow our business and to decide our marketing strategy.

Marketing Data that includes data about your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences. We process this data to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and measure or understand the effectiveness of this advertising. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to study how customers use our services, to develop them, to grow our business and to decide our marketing strategy.

We may use Customer Data, User Data, Technical Data and Marketing Data to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you (including Facebook adverts or other display advertisements) and to measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve you. Our lawful ground for this processing is legitimate interests which is to grow our business. We may also use such data to send other marketing communications to you. Our lawful ground for this processing is either consent or legitimate interests (namely to grow our business (see Section 4).

Sensitive Data

We do not collect any Sensitive Data about you. Sensitive data refers to data that includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.

Where we are required to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of the contract between us and you do not provide us with that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to deliver services to you). If you don’t provide us with the requested data, we may have to cancel a service you have ordered but if we do, we will notify you at the time.

We will only use your personal data for a purpose it was collected for or a reasonably compatible purpose if necessary. For more information on this please email us at info@johnmurphyinternational.com. In case we need to use your details for an unrelated new purpose we will let you know and explain the legal grounds for processing.

We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.

We do not carry out automated decision making or any type of automated profiling.

3.  HOW WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We may collect data about you by you providing the data directly to us (for example by filling in forms on our site or by sending us emails). We may automatically collect certain data from you as you use our website by using cookies and similar technologies. Please see our cookie policy for more details about this.

We may receive data from third parties such as analytics providers such as Google based outside the EU, advertising networks such as Facebook-based outside the EU, such as search information providers such as Google based outside the EU, providers of technical, payment and delivery services, such as data brokers or aggregators.

We may also receive data from publicly available sources such as the Companies Registration Office in Ireland or equivalent elsewhere and the Electoral Register based inside the EU.

4. MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Our lawful ground of processing your personal data to send you marketing communications is either your consent or our legitimate interests (namely to grow our business).

Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), we may send you marketing communications from us if (i) you made a purchase or asked for information from us about our services or (ii) you agreed to receive marketing communications and in each case you have not opted out of receiving such communications since. Under these regulations, if you are a limited company, we may send you marketing emails without your consent. However you can still opt out of receiving marketing emails from us at any time.

Before we share your personal data with any third party for their own marketing purposes we will get your express consent.

You can ask us or third parties to stop sending you marketing messages at any time by following the opt-out/unsubscribe links on any marketing message sent to you or OR by emailing us at info@johnmurphyinternational.com.

If you opt out of receiving marketing communications this opt-out does not apply to personal data provided as a result of other transactions, such as purchases, warranty registrations etc.

5.  DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We may have to share your personal data with the parties set out below:

Service providers who provide operational, IT and system administration services.
Professional advisers including lawyers, bankers, auditors and insurers.
Government bodies that require us to report processing activities.
Third parties to whom we sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or our assets.
We require all third parties to whom we transfer your data to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We only allow such third parties to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

6.  INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

We are subject to the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that protect your personal data. Where we transfer your data to third parties outside of the EEA, we will ensure that certain safeguards are in place to ensure a similar degree of security for your personal data. As such:

We may transfer your personal data to countries that the European Commission have approved as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data by; or
If we use US-based providers that are part of EU-US Privacy Shield, we may transfer data to them, as they have equivalent safeguards in place; or
Where we use certain service providers who are established outside of the EEA, we may use specific contracts or codes of conduct or certification mechanisms approved by the European Commission which give personal data the same protection it has in Europe.
If none of the above safeguards is available, we may request your explicit consent to the specific transfer. You will have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.

7.  DATA SECURITY

We have put in place security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, altered, disclosed, or accessed without authorisation. We also allow access to your personal data only to those employees and partners who have a business need to know such data. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they must keep it confidential.

We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach if we are legally required to.

8.  DATA RETENTION

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

When deciding what the correct time is to keep the data for, we look at its amount, nature and sensitivity, potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure, the processing purposes, if these can be achieved by other means and legal requirements.

For tax purposes the law requires us to keep basic information about our customers (including Contact, Identity, Financial and Transaction Data) for six years after they stop being customers.

In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal data for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

9.  YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

Under data protection laws you have rights in relation to your personal data that include the right to request access, correction, erasure, restriction, transfer, to object to processing, to portability of data and (where the lawful ground of processing is consent) to withdraw consent.

You can see more about these rights at:
http://gdprandyou.ie/gdpr-for-individuals/
If you wish to exercise any of the rights set out above, please email us at info@johnmurphyinternational.com.
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive or refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you.

If you are not happy with any aspect of how we collect and use your data, you have the right to complain to the Data Protection Commissioner’s Office (DPCI), the Irish supervisory authority for data protection issues. We would be grateful if you would contact us first if you do have a complaint so that we can try to resolve it for you.

10. THIRD-PARTY LINKS

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy policies. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

11. COOKIES

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly. For more information about the cookies we use, please see our cookie policy.

Get exclusive, actionable leadership insights
for leading your team via my members’
only weekly email dispatches.

We will only send you awesome stuff

Privacy Policy

Book John To Speak

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY

We will only send you awesome stuff

Privacy Policy

Subscribe with your
favourite podcast player

Choose one from below