It isn’t unexpected really that many leaders would aspire to becoming the perfect leader. After all we live in a world that seems to be driven by perfection.  Our magazines, advertising, movies, etc show us a world of beauty and prestige (they rarely show us the real world).  Great leaders are no different.  We see them as confident, humble and genuinely nice people.  We see perfection in them and believe they must be perfect.

The truth is that the greatest leaders across the globe all have flaws.  And not just one flaw, probably many.  You see, at the end of the day they are just human like the rest of us.

So what has helped them become so great?  I believe luck has played a part so too has their abilities and knowledge.  But the greatest contributor to their success lies within.  Great leaders know, understand and manage their flaws.

Over the years they have come to understand the impact their flaws have on their performance and their people.  They’ve discovered what their trigger points are and how to manage them.  They have practiced and perfected control mechanisms so that they appear cool and calm on the outside despite having doubts or fears running rampant internally.

To be a great leader you need to understand firstly who you are as a person and as a leader.  Being a skilled leader isn’t just about how well you manage a budget or execute on a project.  Its also about the soft stuff – your emotions, perceptions, fears and self esteem.  Its about understanding why you think and behave the way you do and always looking for opportunities to improve.  Over the years I have known a number of leaders who were great at managing but poor at leading.  I really felt for the teams they looked after.

Fortunately many leaders are looking to improve and become a better leader for others.  Some embark on a personal journey through reading leadership development books in their own time and gaining insight this way.  Others use a Leadership Coach who holds them accountable for the improvements they commit to making.  A third group rely on the formal leadership development training they receive from their organisation.  It doesn’t matter how you do it, the important thing is to take action.

If you are keen on being a good leader you need to be self aware and dive deeply into understanding how and why you behave and think as you do.  You need to be open to asking and receiving feedback and advice and be courageous enough to change and improve.  This form of leadership development never stops.  You will always have flaws but that’s ok because at the end it is how you manage these that makes the greatest change.