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Mark E. Lee
Fire Chief
Garland Fire Department

What Makes a Great Leader?

When I think of great leaders there are many faces that come to mind. Some were fire chiefs and some were not even in the fire service. What commonalities do they have? Some are women and some are men. All different age ranges and diverse backgrounds are represented. So again, what do all of these people have to make them be seen as leaders?

I’ve given it some thought and here are the characteristics that I’ve identified in them. Those traits are honesty, courage, trustworthiness, good communicators, and defenders of what’s right. Some were better at some traits than others but I think they all had these characteristics about them.

By honesty, I’m not saying that they were always honest when asked by their spouse about clothing and weight. But they were honest when discussing behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. They weren’t afraid to say “I don’t know” but they followed it up with “let’s figure it out.” Pretentious wasn’t their thing. They were who they were so they were honest with themselves, too.

Courage was exactly what it sounds like. They were brave in the face of fear. Yet they didn’t deny their fear. They used the fears to put themselves in motion. Sometimes it was to move forward and other times it was a motion to retreat until another option can be employed. But in the face of fear, they took action. They monitored the action and would change course as needed.

Trustworthiness is another of those traits that these leaders have in common. You could confide in them. When I needed someone they were there. You could share your wildest dreams, greatest ambitions, darkest moments, and deepest secrets without being concerned that they couldn’t be trusted with this stuff.

Communications were critical. The funny part to me is that some of them were quite charismatic and full of charisma. Others were eerily quiet. But all of them had the right words at the right times. They not only spoke wisdom, but they listened with all of their hearts. You knew they heard you. Their posture, their head nodding, and their responses all indicated that they were great listeners. Then their words sometimes were directions, some were questions, and others were affirmations. And many times their words were presented in stories. These leaders just seemed to know how to listen and what to say.

Defenders of what’s right are one of the commonalities that all make them special. Through their honesty, courage, trustworthiness, and communication skills they understood what right things are and more importantly what wrong things are. I know some folks that when faced with someone doing something wrong that doesn’t involve them, they let it go. This group of leadership faces I’m thinking of takes action even when it doesn’t involve them personally. When they hear someone speak in a derogatory tone about another they speak up and call it out. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t stand in the way of conflict. They just make sure the conflict is handled appropriately. They know how to guide conflict for positive outcomes. They know how to make people feel good about addressing things head-on.