Is unselfishness an outdated concept in today’s hyper-competitive, self-absorbed society? Is successfully gaining a position of authority an entitlement to behave selfishly? Can a leader with a sole interest in his/her advancement make it to the top of an organization?

My answers to the above questions are: No, no, and maybe, but not for long. Selfish business and political leaders, among others, make it to the top of organizations every day. Once at the top, however, will those same leaders be effective under all conditions, both the routine and the demanding?

Probably not.

Why? For starters, unselfishness is a key leadership trait that is both noticed and valued by others. A leader whose personal climb is widely seen as coming at the expense of others will eventually stall and lose altitude, with the potential unpleasantness that can follow. Conversely, a competent leader who is unselfish, who has the best interests of the organization at heart, and whose employees duly recognize such, will have a level of support that could provide significant advantage in difficult times. The unselfish leader’s chances of maintaining altitude and eventually resuming the climb are considerably higher given the strong support of others.

What is it, then, that unselfishness accomplishes? How does an unselfish leader behave? Let’s use the following as examples. An unselfish leader:

• Shares the credit. Employees who are recognized for their winning efforts, whether in the foreground or background, feel a sense of pride in and loyalty to their company and their leader. Since everyone wants to work for such a leader, a deep pool of talent very often ensues.

• Takes the time to teach. Teaching is a critical role for a leader. The unselfish leader makes time to teach employees not only about business processes and results, company goals and objectives, but also about ethical and behavioral standards that are important to the organization and the leader.

• Accepts responsibility for employees’ shortcomings. An unselfish leader isn’t quick to blame others or make excuses when employees inevitably mess up. The leader first finds the fix to the problem, followed with coaching and counseling, and then looks for ways to improve the process and the training. Learning from mistakes is critical to continuous improvement. Giving employees room to make mistakes and then gaining learning and confidence as a result, is an unselfish and courageous act for a leader.

• Accepts and shares the ideas and input of others. An unselfish leader is open to new ideas and concepts, and from a variety of sources. So very often the employees actually doing the work have the best ideas on how a particular process can be improved. Let others be the experts. Build the bench strength by developing technical and leadership skills in employees. Help others to succeed and reinforce the unselfish trait.

An unselfish leader whose openness and generosity is seen by those with whom that leader comes into contact will very likely accrue significant benefits in both a personal and professional sense. A selfish leader who grabs all the credit and deflects all the blame will at some point find the world a very lonely place.

All the leadership traits I write about in this series of posts are clearly identifiable in my main character, Conor Rafferty, in my novel That Deadly Space. Find it on Amazon by clicking here.