Who could possibly want to be FBI director James Comey right now?
Half of the US hates him while the other half has only just warmed to the bloke but only out of self-interest. Amidst this intense scrutiny and criticism, all of it justified considering what's at stake, is a man with a profound view of leadership you don't often hear from those at the highest levels of an organisation.
![James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has advice on leadership worth heeding despite his own ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170906043242im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/f/6/f/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsgtrd.png/1479030051247.jpg)
In a guest lecture he delivered this year at the Catholic University of America, he emphasised that "what matters most in a leader is whether you possess a common set of attributes that will make you able to connect well with people, listen well to people, make sound judgments, and be a person of integrity, balance and restraint".
What he's essentially referring to are interpersonal skills. Granted, some could say he's failed to take his own advice, but it's still advice worth heeding – as per an analysis published a few months ago in the Journal of Managerial Development by scholars at California State University.
They've identified, for the first time, the five interpersonal skills deemed to be most essential to the success of managers and leaders. These are:
· Self-management
· Communication
· Supportiveness
· Motivation
· Conflict resolution
Self-management is about self-awareness. There's so much research now that proves you can coach crappy leaders to be excellent so long as they're at least a little self-aware. With that core element in place, it's easier for them to see how their emotions and actions influence the emotions and actions of their employees, and to then modify how they behave accordingly.
Communication, according to the researchers, is more about what isn't said than what's actually spoken. Or as director Comey says: "People who are confident enough in their own skin to shut up and listen to the people who work for them; to learn from the people who work for them."
This is most evident in relation to active listening, which is difficult for managers who feel as though it's their job to issue instructions and to do all the talking. It's also evident in non-verbal cues, such as our ability to interpret people's body language as well as a cognisance of how our own is perceived.
Supportiveness is a tough one, not necessarily because managers are uncaring but because, in many cases, they're working in environments that are extremely time poor, resource poor and budget poor. Their capacity, then, in a context of scarcity, to be vigilant about their employees' needs when they themselves are distracted and consumed by myriad priorities demanding their attention, well, you can see why so few make the grade.
What's needed, says Comey, is for leaders to "create an atmosphere where the people who work for them know they are loved. It's an atmosphere of mutual consideration – and I don't use the word love accidentally."
As for motivation, the scholars refer to it as customising our interactions to suit people's needs and wants in the hope that influence then materialises.
Comey's reference to interactions is a metaphor of a mansion we build for ourselves. Each brick represents every human interaction we have throughout our lives. All of those human interactions, and each of those accumulating bricks, construct the mansion that is effectively our reputation (and our consequent ability to cultivate greater performance from our employees).
Lastly, conflict management. I wrote several years ago that Australians have one of the highest rates of avoidance leadership in the Western world, which means we often shy away from giving negative feedback or from dealing with conflict because we're fearful of the social repercussions. Comey similarly admits he was avoidant early on in his career until he realised that refraining from hard conversations was doing "a disservice to the person". Which is entirely true.
Say what you like about his decisions today, but there's still a lot about the FBI director that's quite inspiring.
James Adonis is the author of How To Be Great.
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