5 Traits of the Most Effective Leaders

masterful leaders
listen with humility
surrender with grace

This is week 7 of a 7-week series exploring the seven core emotional attributes that drive human interaction, as presented by the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

This week is about Malchut, the realm of mastery and leadership.

Leadership is not conferred by a title; it is earned based on how you show up.

The element of Hod of Malchut teaches us about how to show up as an embodied leader.

The most effective leaders have these 5 traits:

1. Show up grounded, even — especially — in turbulent times. They have the ability to be in the present even when they don’t know what the future holds.
2. Listen with humility and curiosity. They don’t need to have all the answers. They are willing to be wrong and eager to learn something new.
3. Surrender with grace. They realize that the plan for the future is not necessarily their plan. They are not invested in a particular outcome.
4. Recognize others’ sovereignty. They do not try to control others behavior or reactions. Nor do they shame people into compliance. They endorse and protect the agency of those around them. They honor all voices, even those who disagree with them.
5. Recognize others’ mastery. They do not need to be the expert in all things. Confident in their own mastery, they acknowledge the limits of their domain of expertise and eagerly promote others.