What makes a good leader? An excerpt from Leadership, by Tom Maguire (Orpen Press)
A number of contributors asked me the same question when I spoke to them: Why was I only speaking to women leaders? This is a simple question but it’s difficult to answer. It was not a deliberate decision at the start. I sat down to write a list of leaders I wanted to talk to; leaders I admired for what they had achieved and, much more importantly, how they achieved it. I’d written about ten names when I realised that they were all women. That struck me and I sat back and thought about it—I called it my Freudian moment.
I was brought up by three very strong, courageous and empathetic women: my mom, her sister and their mother
I realised that I was brought up by three very strong, courageous and empathetic women: my mom, her sister and their mother. My mom taught me that ‘if you have no word, you have nothing,’ and she—and they—made me into the man who was writing that list. It’s clear to me that although they are no longer with us, their legacy continues. I would love to able to say that it continues in me, but that’s not for to me to decide; that’s up to those who know me and knew them.
Our Lady’s Hospice looked after my mom and her brother Thomas in their final days. I have often described the staff there as earth’s angels. And that’s why I’ve written this book.
What are the qualities of a good leader?
Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese was the President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. When I first met her I asked if I should call her Madam President. ‘Nope,’ she replied, ‘just Mary.’
She went on to say that integrity forms a huge part of the trust that a team should have in their leaders and vice versa. We both talked about the trust we have in our spouses. Mary has been happily married for nearly fifty years: ‘On the day we married, we pledged to be faithful to each other.’ She said that once trust is broken, it is lost forever; it’s the same with a leader—once trust is gone, it’s gone.
Once trust is broken, it is lost forever; it’s the same with a leader—once trust is gone, it’s gone
Trust can be ruptured by a lapse in integrity on the part of the leader: ‘When you’ve given your word, you have to be true to your word. I think that’s essential in leadership—good leaders have values.’ She went on to say that once someone’s word is broken, they are damaged leaders, possibly terminally.
I paused at that point in our conversation to recall an interview with President Barack Obama in 2023 when he was speaking about careers. ‘Worry more about what you want to do,’ he said, ‘rather than what you want to be.’ This speaks to the approach of Mary McAleese, as according to her a good leader is in the service of others. While she has had experience of working with and learning from good leaders, she has also worked with those who fell into the category of ‘pushers and shovers’, people who set out to be bullies.
She notes that they didn’t know how to handle teams of people, how to get the best out of co-workers, and didn’t seem know that as a leader ‘you have a sacred trust to them and that sacred trust involves treating them as human beings with human rights, rights to their own point of view, to human dignity, to respect, not to be bullied, to be supported, to be encouraged, not to be made little of, and particularly not to be made little of in front of other people.’
Mairead McGuinness
Mairead McGuinness, former European Commissioner and Vice-President of the European Parliament, sums up the qualities of good leaders: they make leadership look easy by their calm demeanour and their clarity of thought and expression. Good leaders listen carefully and read body language as much as the spoken word and they see when someone in the team is not in a good place and needs support. Good leaders build resilience in teams and get the best from those around them; they set objectives, act with humility, learn every day. Above all, good leaders create a trusting environment where participation is encouraged.
Good leaders build resilience in teams and get the best from those around them
This has significant echoes with many of the contributors in this book who emphasise taking care of those in your charge. I was very taken with her view on learning every day; what I do for a living isn’t a learning curve, it’s a vertical line – what you knew yesterday may have changed overnight due to a court’s interpretation of a law – but, critically, our jobs are intrinsically hard and we don’t need to make them harder.
Mairead explains that good leaders take time out – away from mobile devices – to think through different scenarios of action. Put another way, they schedule thinking time. When she mentioned mobile devices I remembered the app on my phone that every Monday tells me my average daily screen time.
Mairead says her time-out activity is to retreat to her ‘farmyard in Meath and sweep the yard – preferably in the rain! I get fresh air, activity and time to think, helping me make decisions and plans.’ She has always had a great concern for young people starting out in their careers, which can be a really daunting time. She explains that over twenty years working as an MEP and Commissioner she has ‘had the privilege of working with many interns and guiding them in their early careers. It gives me immense joy to see so many of these young people now on firm career paths, doing really, really well.’
Mairead sees it as one of the best things about leadership – helping others to aspire to lead, and helping them to get there
Let’s pause here for a second: Mairead rightly sees this as a privilege because it is. Has anyone ever told you that you are the reason they chose a particular direction in life? This is something to be cherished, because in that moment you know you’ve made a difference. Mairead sees it as one of the best things about leadership – helping others to aspire to lead, and helping them to get there.
