• What makes a successful leader? Is it someone that acts with integrity and builds trust, or someone that encourages you to think differently and develop innovative ideas?
• According to the Full Range Leadership Model, there are six key leadership behaviours that successful leaders demonstrate. 
• Read on to discover what these behaviours are and get some examples of how transformational leaders use them to enhance their teams' performance 

What are the leadership behaviours that have been proven to enhance performance and retain talent? The Full Range Leadership Model (Bass & Avolio) has the answers.

I’ve been a fan of MLQ Leadership Assessments since first coming across them in 2006 and can bare testament to the number of successful leadership development journeys people who have taken the assessments have taken.

For some, the assessment helped them tweak their behaviours to get the most from their teams. For others, it was a wake-up call that, once heeded, helped them stem the flow of talent leaving their business.

In this article, we will introduce the six key leadership areas successful leaders focus on and provide some examples of the behaviours that transformational leaders use.

For those not familiar with the Full Range Leadership Model, you can see it below (courtesy of MLQ International):

The Top Six Leadership Behaviours

The top 6 leadership behaviours are:

1. Building Trust
2. Acting with Integrity
3. Inspiring Others
4. Encouraging Innovative Thinking
5. Coaching People
6. Rewarding Achievement

1. Building Trust

The first of the ‘Transformational Leadership Behaviours’ is Building Trust. Ensuring that your people look upon you with respect by doing the following:

• Instilling pride in people for being associated with you;
• Going beyond your self-interest for the good of the group;
• Acting in ways that builds others” respect for you;
• Displaying a sense of power and confidence.

2. Acting with Integrity

Being seen as a leader who always acts with integrity and ethics, displaying a real sense of purpose by:

• Talking about your most important values and beliefs;
• Specifying the importance of having a strong sense of purpose;
• Considering the moral and ethical consequences of decisions;
• Emphasising the importance of a collective sense of mission.

3. Inspiring Others

The extent to which you demonstrate a positive view of the future and of what needs to be done by:

• Talking optimistically about the future;
• Providing positive communication about what needs to be achieved;
• Articulating a compelling vision of the future;
• Expressing confidence that goals will be achieved.

4. Encouraging Innovative Thinking

Challenging your people to be innovative and encouraging input by:

• Re-examining critical assumptions to question their appropriateness;
• Seeking differing perspectives when problem solving;
• Getting others to look at issues from different angles;
• Suggesting new ways of completing assignments.

5. Coaching People

Being seen as someone who  focuses on developing the individuals within your team/business by:

• Spending time teaching & coaching;
• Treating people as individuals rather than just members of a group;
• Considering each persons’ differing needs, abilities and aspirations;
• Helping people to identify and develop their strengths;

6. Rewarding Achievement

Making sure that you provide appropriate and timely awards for achievements by:

• Providing others with assistance in exchange for their efforts;
• Talking specifically about who is responsible for achieving performance targets;
• Expressing satisfaction when expectations are met;
• Clarifying exactly what outcomes are expected;
• Delivering what is promised in exchange for support.

Which leadership behaviours do you think are most important? Share your thoughts in the comments below.