What Great Leaders Do – 10 Leadership Skills to Master (Part 2)

In the previous article, I shared the first five essentials of leadership: curiosity, humility, intentionality, knowing your business, and creating space for diverse thinking. These begin the foundation of great leadership. As I mentioned, none of these stand alone, and none of them are the answer. They work hand in hand with a leader who remains situationally and team member-aware. All of these can be practiced and refined, made your own, to help you be the leader you want to be.

In this second set of skills, we’ll cover five more essentials that build on that foundation, and we’ll finish with the one that quietly holds all the others together. Let’s jump into these next five leadership skills.

6. Lead by Asking, Not Telling

Being a coach is one of the most important parts of leadership, and it starts with asking better questions. Too many leaders feel like they have to have all the answers. But real coaching is about helping others think for themselves. It’s not about solving the problem for them. Leaders help guide their team members through the thought process, helping them reflect and giving them the space to grow. That only happens when a leader leads with questions, not instructions.

A question like, “What do you think we should do?” might seem simple, but it creates ownership. It lets people explore and build confidence. It turns everyday work into personal development. The goal isn’t to rattle off a list of questions. This connects back to staying curious about the person in front of you. Ask something, then listen. If they say something unexpected, follow up with “Tell me more about that.” That opens up the conversation.

The best leaders aren’t just decision-makers. They’re skill-builders. They help their teams grow by creating space for people to think, try, and learn. When they build other strong leaders who can also make decisions, everyone wins.

7. Build Real Collaboration

The most effective leaders make sure everyone at the table feels like they belong there. They set the tone that all perspectives are welcome, whether they’re mainstream or totally off the wall. And they don’t shut ideas down. They ask follow-ups. They seek to learn more from everyone. When people feel heard, they stay engaged. When they don’t, they pull back.

Collaboration also means working across teams and departments to build alignment. When collaboration breaks down, everyone feels it. Stores get separate messages from HR, operations, LP, and finance. None of it connects. It becomes a distraction instead of direction.

Real collaboration creates clarity. It ensures people work together, not around each other. This only happens when the leader intentionally creates space for it. Collaboration is not about getting in a room and talking. Rather, it creates a space where everyone has a real voice and knows that what they say matters.

8. Make Purpose Clear

People want to know that what they’re doing matters. They want to feel like their work connects to something more than just checking boxes. That’s where purpose comes in. Leaders often assume the team knows the purpose. But you can’t assume. You have to say it, reinforce it, and bring it to life. That doesn’t mean reading off the company mission statement once a year. It means connecting the dots between the work and the why every day.

If someone’s setting a display, ringing up a guest, or cleaning up the stockroom, they should still feel connected to the bigger picture. Are they helping create a celebration? Are they helping someone feel proud about their presentation? Ensuring they feel confident in the way they look for that important job interview? That’s the kind of meaning that drives effort.

Without purpose, people do the minimum. With it, they go further. They care more. And they stay longer. Purpose cannot be taken for granted. Connect your team to the meaning their work adds to other people. Teams work harder when they believe in what they’re doing.

9. Be Human

People don’t follow titles. They follow people. The best leaders show up as their authentic selves. They’re honest. They’re vulnerable. They let their team see the human side of leadership. This doesn’t mean oversharing or being emotional all the time. It means being open about how you’re doing, what’s working, and what’s not. If you’re having a rough day, say it. Don’t fake it. Because when the team sees that you’re being honest with them, they’ll be more likely to be honest with you. This builds trust. It creates space for others to speak up, too. When people know their leader is human, they stop trying to be perfect, and they start bringing their whole self to work.

Being human builds connection, which in turn builds commitment. This is what makes a team want to go the extra mile. The strongest teams are built on trusting relationships, bonds supported by openness, honesty, and empathy. 

Empathy bridges this together. A leader who is truly connected to their team understands how they feel, and why. They listen to support, not just fix. They share in the highs and lows of work and life. The notion of not getting ‘too close to your team’ or ‘don’t let them see the softer side’ is old school and outdated. Today’s best leaders know the balance. The environment they create welcomes conversation and connectedness. Accountability is not a bad word; it's everyone giving their word to the team. They know what is expected of them, and they get it done for everyone, not just because it was assigned. Our humanness should not be underestimated. In a world quickly becoming more and more driven by technology, automation, and AI, the value of being a real person is ever increasing. There simply will not be computers that can emulate the care that humans can show towards other humans.

10. Lead with Courage

If we started with curiosity being perhaps the most important, we’ll end with one that may fly under the radar. Courage might be the most underrated leadership skill. It’s not always loud or visible. But it’s working in the background of everything a great leader does. Courage is what allows you to make the tough call, even when it’s unpopular. It’s what keeps you focused when others are second-guessing. It shows up when you choose to be vulnerable, humble, or intentional, because all of those mean taking risks.

Courage is also about standing firm when the easy thing would be to avoid conflict or go with the crowd. It’s saying, “This is the right move,” even when you’re not sure how it’s going to land. And when things don’t work out, courage is what helps you get back up, learn, and keep moving. It takes courage to do less, to slow down, to ask hard questions, and to challenge the way things have always been done.

Without courage, none of the other essentials happen. It’s what ties everything together.

There is a lot to leadership. These ten essentials only scratch the surface of what is really behind each of them. The depth of their meaning and the nuance that comes from any specific situation make it impossible to put together a comprehensive playbook. And there certainly is no single set of rules to lead by. When people believe they can give someone a title, or call them a leader, that is usually when things start to go a little sideways. Leadership takes hard work. It means connecting with other people and learning what makes them go.

These ten essentials are a great starting point. And, you do not need to feel as though you should be perfect at all ten, certainly not all at once. No one is. However, the leaders who keep coming back to these skills and practice them consistently are the ones who make a lasting impact. You don’t need to master all ten at once. Pick one where you want to improve. Start there, then build on that to grow into others. This is how your leadership expands and you make it your own.

What surprised you from the list of ten? Which essential will you tackle to build your practice habits?

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