Views on Leadership Attributes
Bennis (1994) believes that
everyone has the capacity to become a leader if desired. Leaders come
in different shapes, sizes, genders, etc. However, they share the
following ingredients:
Guiding Vision - The leaders must have a clear purpose and the
strength to persist to achieve it.
Passion - The leader must have a
passion for a course of action.
Integrity - The three essential parts
of integrity - self-knowledge, candor and maturity - provide a basis of trust,
and without it a leader cannot function.
Curiosity and Daring - Leaders want to learn and are willing
to take risks to try new things.
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Even though Bennis refers to these traits as basic, he believes that true leaders are not born, but they invent themselves.
In 1998, Linkage,
Inc. and Warren Bennis completed a study of over 350 companies involved with
leadership development. The results of this study are published in the book Best
Practices in Leadership Development Handbook. A summary report in the book identifies the following top ten
leadership competencies (pp. 440 -
442):
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Building Teamwork: Builds effective teams
committed to organizational goals and results
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Understands the Business: Knows the
organization and stays abreast of business and competitive trends
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Conceptual Thinking: Conceives and selects
innovative strategies and ides for the organization; balancing innovation with
big-picture thinking
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Customer Driven: Strives to create value for
the customer resulting in mutual long-term success
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Focused Drive: Focuses on a goal and
prioritizes-and harnesses-energy to meet that goal; balances focus and drive
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Drives Profitability: Achieves shareholder
and/or stakeholder benefit by securing cost-effective and efficient operations
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Systems Thinking: Connects processes, events,
and structures; balances process orientation with mental discipline
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Global Perspective: Addresses cultural and
geographic differences in driving corporate strategies for competitive
advantage
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Emotional Intelligence: Understands and
masters one's own emotions (and those of others) in a way that instills
confidence; balances perception and emotional maturity
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Sirje Virkus, Tallinn University, 2009