The most talked about word in every management forum, cl­assroom sessions, tra­ining programmes, seminars, research reports and so on

is undoubtedly “leadership”. There is no word that has got more focus at every level in any organisation as “leadership” has. Success breeds talk about leadership, and failure sets off an intense debate about leadership. In today’s day and age, it is the most required skill, and also one that is in extremely short supply.

What is leadership? In a nutshell, the word is defined as one’s ability to get others to willingly follow oneself. The ability to direct a team to achieve organisational goals is something that sets a leader apart from the rest.

If you ever ask anyone what the key traits are to make a good leader, you will get a number of answers, such as vision, decisiveness, integrity, the ability to motivate people, communicate with large groups of people and inspire them. Jack Welch, former chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric, said, "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion."

But this article is not about those who everyone knows and talks about. It’s about the understated traits of leaders, which are so very important but are never spoken about. Traits such as nobility, humility, fairness, being open and honest are very rarely spoken about. But in the final analysis, these are traits that create the difference between a good leader and a great leader

A good leader is one who is magnanimous. He takes responsibility for all failures and passes on credit for success down the line. A good leader does not hoard credit for glorious victories. He realises that credit always cascades up the line and does not hesitate in using every success as an opportunity to motivate his team, and every failure as an opportunity to protect his team and gain their respect. Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A le­ader’s magnanimous appr­oach is what brings his team closer.

Leaders who are magnanimous, are by nature a picture of humility. They recognise that they are a part of the team and are as good or bad as any other member of the team. However, humility is often confused with dilution of stature. It is often said that people take advantage of you if you are humble. A humble leader is not meek, rather he tries to elevate everyone with his humility.

Also, humble leaders do not tend to confuse their stature to that of God. Very often, when leaders get into a position of strength, they tend to think of themselves as God and begin to believe that whatever they do, they are above law. In many a cases, this is what brings about their downfall.

A good leader deals with everyone fairly, consistently and justly. He is not opinionated but listens to all sides before making a judgment in case of a conflict. Strong leaders realise that they are constantly being watched and any unfair act of theirs can get magnified and impact the team. Hence, they always act in complete fairness and integrity. When people feel that they are being treated fairly and honestly, it impacts their happiness, loyalty and performance. People working for a fair and just leader have been found to be a lot more productive and happy and work better as a team with greater dedication.

Leadership is not about vision, strategy, communication and motivation alone. It’s a lot about being fair, noble, humble, open and magnanimous. These traits are a part of the core value systems of any individual and are difficult to change. Individuals who display these traits will be able to win the trust of their team, people and stakeholders.

So, the next time you evaluate a leader, look for these very traits. These are the ones that will separate the good ones from the also-rans. Unfortunately, these are also the traits that are largely ignored and are never taught in any school or training programme. But believe me, these are the traits that are very tough to acquire and require a fundamental shift in the DNA of an individual. Becoming a good leader was never easy. Was it?

The writer is a senior banker at HSBC. These are his personal views