Photo by Terrawat Wutthikan
Leadership practices and personal competencies are important.
In selecting candidates for leadership, the risks can be great for both the company and managers in lost time, effort and money.
So when deciding which of their corporate managers should be promoted into leadership positions, naturally, companies don’t want any surprises.
Big picture acumen
Among the distinguishing personality traits, companies prefer to promote managers who demonstrate abilities in strategic vision and planning.
To demonstrate how companies can best leverage time and resources, Management Research Group (MRG) studied nearly 30,000 bosses, department heads and managers to look for desirable traits in high-potential managers in 2013.
Companies want leaders, not just bosses.
Companies want leaders, not just bosses.
In addition to strategic visioning and planning, MRG’s study found that high-potential managers with outstanding personality traits are comfortable in a fast paces and changing environment.
They also have a willingness to push themselves and others to achieve more challenging goals.
U.S. managers between the ages of 20 and 35 in administration, technical and engineering, and sales were included in the far-reaching study.
The study determined managers’ promotions to leadership require five personality traits:
1. Strategic visioning and planning for the future.
2. Pushing themselves and others to achieve challenging goals.
3. A willingness to take charge and a desire to influence others.
4. A comfort with change, fast pace, and innovation.
5. A willingness to challenge the status quo and perceptions of those in authority.
High potential managers were found to be fast learners and were four to five times more likely to be viewed as credible with the ability to contribute to team performance.
Strategies to become a leader
Be aware you need to focus on your self awareness and situational flexibility. Pursue three solutions to learn about yourself in order to develop your leadership capabilities:
1. Starting point — Use validated tools like the Truity Big Five Personality Test. It will accurately measure your key personality traits:
- Openness – How open you are to new ideas and experiences?
- Conscientiousness – How goal-directed, persistent, and organized you are.
- Extraversion – How much you are energized by the outside world?
- Agreeableness – How much you puts others’ interests and needs ahead of your own?
- Neuroticism – How sensitive you are to stress and negative emotional triggers.
2. Use your strengths — Especially use your energy to network and motivate your department.
3. Focus on your blind spots — It probably means you should implement project management tools or tell an associate to help keep you focused on priorities. Seek constructive feedback.
Good luck!
From the Coach’s Corner, here are more leadership articles:
Key Differences between Leaders and Managers – Published reports in Google News are an eye-opener. If you Google “leadership crisis,” you’ll get at least 9,000 search results for business and the public sector. If you enter the key words, “management crisis,” you’ll see twice the results.
8 Career Tips to Unlock Your Potential as a Leader – It’s important to note that leaders aren’t necessarily born. They develop themselves. They don’t settle or languish. They evolve by constantly assessing their progress to improve.
Career Strategies: How to Get a C-Level Job – If you’re climbing the corporate ladder and have designs on a C-level job, a noted Stanford University professor has some excellent advice.
7 Tips for a Young Professional to Become a CEO – For a professional to jump to the senior-management level in the 21st century, it’s imperative to demonstrate seven core competencies.
Is Your Career Stalled? Turbo Charge Your Personal Brand – Perhaps you’re struggling in a job search. You’re ambitious but underemployed, or worse – unemployed. You’re not alone. Millions of professionals are trying to solve similar puzzles. The good news is that you can rebrand yourself for a rewarding career.
“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.”
-Peter Drucker
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