The change has been made and we now have a new Prime Minister of Australia. The question is, will Julia Gillard prove to be a better leader than Tony Abbott? To answer this we need to consider what makes a great leader.

Our research has found that great leaders are adept in 13 crucial leadership skills displayed in the model below. This model underpins the Linking Leader Profile which diagnoses gaps in leadership abilities and helps individuals improve their strengths.

To answer our question: Is Julia Gillard a better leader than Tony Abbott? Let’s have a look at some skills pertinent to their current performance. You may also like to think about how you fare on them.

Active Listening

To be a great active listener, clear your head of internal dialogue and be physically attentive next time someone is talking to you. The newspaper photo of Tony Abbott in parliament with his hands over his ears and the caption “La, la, la, la, not listening” is a nice example of what not to do.

Team Relationships

For Julia Gillard this Linking Skill could prove tricky considering the way she gained PM status by usurping Kevin Rudd. Tony Abbott is using this leadership Achilles heel to his advantage. In a recent statement Tony asked “why should people trust Julia Gillard when even Kevin Rudd couldn’t?”.

How do you foster respect, understanding and trust within your team?

Motivation

Do you articulate a clear and compelling vision of your team’s future? Do you energise your team to “move forward” with repetitious slogans like Julia Gillard? Or do you prefer shock tactics in the form of bright red budgie smugglers? Remember that teams can quickly lose their way without genuine inspiration to guide them.

These are only a few skills which help leaders achieve success at work. Remember that there are 13 skills you need to be competent in. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in the great debate this Sunday...that is if people can wrench themselves away from the MasterChef grand finale.

Sarah Eqbal