What would be the three most important qualities a leader who models positive leadership behavior must possess? Why?

There are more than three qualities effective leaders possess, so differences of opinion exist as to which three should be considered the most important. In other words, it is a subjective matter, and will vary according to personal experiences and observations. Having studied business leadership and worked professionally for 40 years, my own personal list of top three qualities possessed by effective leaders are honesty, willingness to delegate, and communication abilities. 

In order to be effective, an executive, officer (e.g., in the military or law enforcement), or supervisor needs to have a reputation for honesty. Personal credibility is a hallmark of the best leaders in business as well as in other endeavors. Leaders whose integrity is questioned by subordinates will not be effective. Subordinates will question, mainly privately and among each other, the veracity of comments made by the supervisor or leader and doubts about the leader's integrity will translate into a more lackadaisical and sometimes outright dishonest approach to professional responsibilities on the part of the staff. A leader perceived as being fundamentally honest, however, will enjoy the trust of his or her subordinates, and will receive a greater level of dedication on the part of those subordinates.

Another quality important to effective leadership is a willingness to delegate, admittedly a weakness of this particular educator, whose lack of confidence in younger, less experienced staff usually translated into lower morale and, consequently, lower productivity. An effective leader understands the importance of delegating authority and responsibility to subordinate staff in order to both increase productivity through more efficient use of manpower and to display confidence in the abilities of that staff—confidence that is rewarded in greater loyalty up the chain of command as well as in the higher quality of work performed by more dedicated employees.

Finally, an effective leader knows the importance of communication both up and down the chain of command, and even the highest level corporate officials know they are answerable to boards of directors and to stockholders. The ability to communicate responsibilities and functions to subordinate staff is crucial for the execution of all missions, and, conversely, subordinate staff needs to know that superiors are receptive to their input. Open channels of communication as well as clarity in the transmission of information are essential for the effective operation of an organization. Effective leaders are receptive to suggestions and complaints by subordinate staff, and are able to communicate both up and down the corporate hierarchy information important to the corporation or other type of organization. Clarity and completeness of communications—in other words, simply issuing “bottom line” instructions or orders may degrade morale if staff does not understand the context in which those orders are issued—are keys to effective leadership.

As noted, there are many more than three traits of effective leaders. The above are the three that this educator has learned from experience are of particular importance.