What Makes a Great Leader?

The top sales person in your company just got promoted to Director of Sales. They are a high performer, they’ve proven they can deliver – it stands that they should get the job. On paper, it makes perfect sense.

Fast forward six months: things are not looking so peachy. The new leader is overwhelmed, their team is confused about direction, and revenue has dipped. The newly promoted leader is asking themselves: why am I failing at this when I know sales back to front and I was a great salesperson?

This gap between technical skills and leadership is where Agni Kitsios has worked for over 25  years. She began her career as a change management and transformation consultant at Accenture, later opening her own consulting practice and incorporating executive coaching. Early on, she noticed a pattern: the skills that make someone exceptional in a technical role are not the same skills that make someone an effective leader.

Agni realized that “to transform a function, a department, or an organization, you need to be a strong leader.” This raised the question: what can we do to create strong leaders?

How to Develop the Skills Nobody Teaches

Agni observed a pattern during her years as a consultant. Technically brilliant, competent leaders, that have no training or preparation for managing people. Agni has worked with hundreds of leaders, and she singles out the great leaders for “their ability to navigate complexity and change, inspire others, and continue to grow.” To draw out these skills, she believes the first step is self awareness. Understanding your values, your strengths, and your blind spots helps leaders “lead with clarity and purpose.”

To build this awareness while executive coaching, Agni uses specific tools, including:

• 360-degree surveys that she uses to gather feedback from key stakeholders.
• Personality and leadership style assessments.
• Interviews with people who work closest with the leader.

In addition to  these assessments, Agni guides leaders through reflection exercises which give them the space to step back. She encourages them to think about their life holistically and how their unique experience affects the way  they show up as a leader. From this process, leaders uncover patterns that hold them back professionally and personally.

But awareness alone can’t create change. Agni’s executive coaching approach brings together the strategic, the human-centered, and the practical. She challenges clients to think critically and uncover limiting beliefs and then creates a supportive space where leaders can try on new behaviors. She encourages them to reflect on which behaviors or actions worked and which didn’t and adjust their approach to fit their unique style. Her goal stays consistent across every engagement: “to help leaders become more effective, more authentic, and have more impact.”

What Executive Development Looks Like with Agni Kitsios

Agni was coaching a leader who was brilliant at generating ideas but struggled to step back and think more strategically. He was always in motion, jumping from idea to idea, project to project. His energy was contagious, but that same energy created problems for his team. Agni relates, “it sometimes led to a lack of focus and staying power needed to implement his vision.”

His team felt overwhelmed. There was an almost frenetic volume of new initiatives, but they didn’t always have the support or focus they needed to execute them. Through their work together, Agni helped him carve out time for strategic thinking. They focused on learning to pause, prioritize, and align his creativity with the big picture.

What stood out most to Agni was how this leader transformed every tool or framework she introduced into something visual (mind maps, a storyboard, a drawing), which reinforced what she already knew. “Leadership and growth is not a one-size-fits-all. Every leader’s experience is unique.”

Over time, he found a balance between creative ideas and strategy. His self-awareness and reflection allowed him to harness his natural creativity and visionary thinking to “empower his team rather than overwhelm them.” As a result, he landed his dream role, a promotion to Chief Marketing Officer.

Advice on Building Mentor Networks

Mentor networks are an external extension of leaders who prioritize self-awareness, reflection, and growth. Most leaders have informal mentoring relationships (ever sent a quick chat to someone senior asking for an “quick opinion?”), but Agni pushes her clients to think about mentorship differently.

She starts by helping leaders identify what they actually need from a mentor. Is it strategic guidance? Industry insights? Personal development? The answer changes the type of mentor they should seek out. Then she encourages them to map out their existing network and find potential mentors according to their needs.

Agni also advocates for having mentors both inside and outside your organization. Internal mentors understand your context and culture. External mentors bring a different perspective entirely.

She coaches leaders how to cultivate these relationships so they’re mutually valuable. “That mentor relationship is bi-directional,” Agni explains. Leaders need to think about what they can offer in return. She asks them to consider how they can add value, foster genuine connections, and be intentional in their outreach.

What Executive Leadership Requires Now

When Agni reflects on possible changes to how we look at leadership moving forward, she highlights two: the hybrid workforce and the rapid integration of AI. Agni says, “it’s really going to shift how we manage people and how we lead others.” Leadership capabilities like adaptability and emotional intelligence are going to become more important. She adds, “and human connection, I feel that’s going to be more critical than ever.”

The leaders who invest in understanding themselves, who build networks with intention, who stay curious about their own growth will be the ones to navigate future leadership shifts. Executive coaching helps cultivate self awareness, combined with reflection, and action. It provides you with a trusted partner who gives you honest feedback that helps you and your organization grow and adapt.

About Agni Kitsios

For more than 25 years, Agni Kitsios has partnered with leaders to elevate their impact and authenticity. Drawing on her background in consulting and executive coaching, she helps clients strengthen self-awareness, lead with intention, and build trusting relationships that enable real change.

Agni’s coaching style is grounded in curiosity, reflection, and candor. She creates a safe, supportive space that encourages vulnerability—allowing leaders to explore challenges openly and experiment with new approaches confidently. Her work spans industries including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, financial services, legal, regulatory, food, and consumer packaged goods. Through every engagement, Agni helps leaders grow in ways that are both strategic and deeply human.