I mention this as a bit of a joke, but also quite seriously.
Many years ago a colleague of mine applied for a new job, in a managerial role.
His current manager was a decent and supportive individual and my colleague knew he could speak to him about it and get some advice.
His manager said to him, 'the best advice I can give you will stand you in good stead for any aspect of life, not just as a manager. It's this: don't act like a cad.'*
Let's be honest, that's probably the most important aspect of anyone in a leadership role - that indefinable something that just means you get on with people. We can probably all think of friends of whom you would say, 'he's a great bloke, but he can act like a right cad every now and then.'
Not acting like a cad (ahem) every now and then is a good leader trait.
*'Cad' wasn't the actual word used, but it did start with 'c' and was just one syllable.
Many years ago a colleague of mine applied for a new job, in a managerial role.
His current manager was a decent and supportive individual and my colleague knew he could speak to him about it and get some advice.
His manager said to him, 'the best advice I can give you will stand you in good stead for any aspect of life, not just as a manager. It's this: don't act like a cad.'*
Let's be honest, that's probably the most important aspect of anyone in a leadership role - that indefinable something that just means you get on with people. We can probably all think of friends of whom you would say, 'he's a great bloke, but he can act like a right cad every now and then.'
Not acting like a cad (ahem) every now and then is a good leader trait.
*'Cad' wasn't the actual word used, but it did start with 'c' and was just one syllable.