Leadership: a balanced approach; Effective leadership requires equal parts personal character traits and business habits. Understand the strengths that you and your team possess and you will nurture the right attributes in yourself and your potential successors.

Effective leadership is much sought after in both the private and public sectors. It's the competitive edge that every organization is looking for today.

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Leadership is an art, not a science. Nevertheless, there are attributes that I believe are essential for thriving in a leadership role today. I say today because as society's values have changed so have our expectations of our leaders. Today's successful leaders require six key attributes: three that are personal honour, humour and health; and three that are business-specific--foresight, focus and friends. The right balance of these can create an excellent leader.

Honour

Perhaps no characteristic better reflects the changing times than does honour. Today there is zero tolerance for unethical behaviour. Private and public organizations are expected to have developed and promulgated codes of ethics to guide behaviour. Violators not only embarrass themselves, but their families and organizations as well.

The price paid for unethical behaviour also goes well beyond one particular issue. Typically, all other activities of an organization get hijacked by it. Management's attention is diverted from fulfilling its goals to addressing the scandal both internally and publicly.

Unfortunately, senior executives are often unwilling to acknowledge their accountability. Instead, blame is directed to their underlings. Such posturing erodes the credibility of the senior executive. It's far better to admit responsibility at the outset and introduce appropriate measures to ensure the situation doesn't recur. This approach often brings prompt closure to a problem. At the end of the day, our legacy is our reputation--nothing is as valuable. We should protect it at all costs.

Humour

By humour I don't mean the ability to tell a joke. Rather, it's the ability to inject some lightness and warmth into daily routines. It's the ability to calm a highly tense situation through laughter.

In the waiting room outside my office is a large digital clock. It reflects the number of days, hours and minutes until 8:00 a.m. Monday morning. It was created by my staff because, typically, on Fridays when exchanging greetings with employees, I will be asked, "How are you doing?" Rather than responding with the typical "I'm looking forward to the weekend," I would say, "darn it's Friday, but luckily I have Monday morning to look forward to." This generally makes people smile. Life is short and stress levels are high in the workplace. It's management's obligation to create an environment in which employees can succeed, and humour is a key ingredient for this.

The mood of the senior executive permeates an organization. Presenting a constantly positive outlook is crucial. It's often as simple as smiling as you greet employees while passing them in the corridors. Excessive demands and a sour disposition can create fear and perhaps short-term results. Long term, however, productivity will suffer, and attracting the best and the brightest will prove difficult, if not impossible.

Health

There are two dimensions to this attribute. The first dimension is for a leader to be in good physical condition. The old maxim "healthy body, healthy mind" is ever more applicable today. Executives' bodies are punished not only with long working days but with extensive travel. This disrupts eating and sleeping patterns, zapping energy levels. Staying in shape is vital.

I try to work out every morning between 6 and 7 a.m. I have noticed three benefits of doing this. First, once I complete my morning routine, I feel that there's nothing I can't do. Second, it gives me a chance to work out with employees of all levels. In the gym, there are no ranks everyone is equal. Such an environment removes mystiques and presents the human side of senior management. Finally, I hope that by setting an example others will follow my lead.

The second dimension involves ensuring a proper balance between the office, home and community. Employees should be provided with sufficient time for other pursuits and for promoting community involvement. A one-dimensional employee doesn't have appropriate stress relief valves.

An organization that cares about the health of its employees must "walk the talk." The Department of National Defence, for example, has a broad ranging employee assistance program. Under a joint union-management umbrella, hundreds of employees are trained as referral agents to help those in need in areas such as work-related concerns, emotional and psychological problems, financial troubles and legal difficulties. Over 8% of the department's public servants have availed themselves of these services.

Foresight

Every senior executive must be able to both articulate a vision and communicate it effectively. The vision should be bold yet reasonably achievable. It should energize the organization and inculcate pride in teamwork. Typical mistakes are leaders who create goals that are clearly out of reach in the time frames projected, or so trivial that they belittle employee abilities.

Not enough emphasis is placed on communicating a vision. Leaders should take their message directly to their employees and, to the extent possible, to all levels in the organization. It should be articulated with passion and excitement. E-mailing isn't sufficient.

Particular emphasis should be placed on gaining the support of middle managers. Senior executives come on board quickly, but unless middle managers are brought on side the message won't be reinforced among employees. Some organizations, like the Department of National Defence (DND), are especially sensitive to the impact of middle managers. DND has created a middle manager forum that periodically gathers all middle managers. It's championed by a member of the executive committee and addresses key issues that affect middle management's development, increasing their understanding and relevance to the department. It's a way of ensuring that middle managers are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Focus

A leader's time is limited. Therefore she should focus on the work that only she can do. If others can perform a function, let them. Empowering others fosters a great sense of accomplishment and loyalty. Periodically, of course, it's useful to burrow deeply into a file. Such an initiative can: provide insight into processes and controls that otherwise might be missed; allow for direct feedback from staff at different levels; and, in general, heighten your understanding of the organization's central issues.

It's also critical that a leader define the key activities critical to the success of the organization and monitor these. Cascading his priorities into the performance criteria of direct subordinates ensures everyone is on the same page.

One area often ignored by senior executives is rewarding or recognizing exceptional performance. This activity shouldn't be delegated, or at least not fully delegated to others. Employees at all levels appreciate a "thank you" from the boss.

Another area that must be nurtured by the senior executive is the union-management relationship. The value and benefit of this relationship can be profound, but only if it is built from the top.

To be effective, an executive must listen and listen well. Employees are often in the best position to advise on process optimization, what constraints are inhibiting top performance and how quality can be improved. Companies that have been most successful in introducing "lean" manufacturing processes have done so not by imposing top-down direction but by listening to their employees.

Friends

For any organization to operate effectively, its leaders must be able to effectively cultivate positive and productive associations. Having the credibility and stature to pick up the phone, call a colleague and resolve issues can dramatically improve an organization's efficiency and effectiveness. Issues that are bogged down between organizations can be put back on track if the commensurate senior executives reach agreement and provide top down direction to their managers.

For instance, in my recently completed position as Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) I was accountable for capital acquisition and support for the Department of National Defence. Nevertheless, I was dependent upon the support of my colleagues, in particular those at the Treasury Board Secretariat, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Industry Canada and Privy Counsel Office. As such, I spent a great deal of time cultivating these relationships.

This collection of ideal leadership attributes doesn't guarantee success--no formula can. Nevertheless, individuals possessing these characteristics are more likely to be effective in their roles.

Alan Williams, CMA, FCMA, is president of The Williams Policy, Programs and Procurement Group Inc., based in Ottawa.