High performing leaders share a number of common traits. With only small shifts over time, it’s interesting to observe a recent move in the number one attribute.
Virginia Mansell, Executive Chairman of Stephenson Mansell Executive Coaching, says “For the vast majority of organisations, change has become the new norm. This means we need leaders who are agile, flexible and able to manage through ambiguity. They also need to be courageous enough to take risks.
Stephenson Mansell’s The Art of Leadership study found the top five leadership competencies we need to develop for this ‘new world order’ are:
- Agility to manage complexity
- Strategic thinking
- Communication skills
- Influencing skills
- Ability to lead and develop talent
Through our Search assignments across all industry sectors we have seen the same trend emerging in the profile for high performing talent.
What’s your Point of View?
Bill, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Good Business concludes (from his research) that the number one characteristic of highly effective business leaders (ie they lead financially, culturally and socially-responsible successful companies) is Optimism. In my experience as a recruiter, I would agree strongly with the importance of this trait, especially in the challenging times many businesses are facing now. Maybe optimism is implied, or integrated within some or all, of Mansell’s top 5 leadership competencies?
Thank you Ross, I agree and while the competency labelled ‘Ability to lead” implies Optimism, I also believe stating this more explicitly would round out the list.