Corporate leaders and leadership qualities is a favourite subject of everyone in business world. Corporate employees of all levels spend considerable time in discussing their managers and debating about the qualities of a right leader. The topic is as old as one can thing and as new & fresh as you feel. So much has been said and done by academicians, writers and working practitioners for the last many decades on the subject and huge contents available on this subject. And above all, organizations have been spending large amount every year in leadership development training programs
There is a genuine attempt by reputed organization to allocate such position to those who are having right leadership skills. However, despite all such efforts, it is not difficult to find out person sitting on top positions, who are not a so fit for the role. Also, one may see that such persons are sustaining the chair/position for a long time
There may be many reasons and constraints for this role/person mismatch. And one reason could be “whether organizations are fixing right selection criteria” before on-boarding a person for top roles. If the answer is yes, whether recruiters are complying with this criteria while shortlisting, interviewing and evaluating the candidate for the same.
We agree that leadership qualities are more closely associated with a person’s thoughts, beliefs, attitude, values or personality traits. And such attributes are different from aptitude, individual competency, subject knowledge and work related experiences
In view of the above, an organization should appoint its leaders carefully, by giving due important to the behavioural traits and moral values. This is necessary to ensure long term success of the organization by providing healthy work environment for its workforce.
So, now the questions arise: what are those behavioural traits which make a person fit for corporate leadership position? The purpose of this post is to discuss such traits.
Based on my understanding & experience, I have identified 8 key behavioural traits as mentioned below. This is purely based on my understanding & exposure and I may be totally or partly wrong
8 Behavioural Traits of Corporate Leaders
- Secure Person
- Humble and Decent
- Big Thinker and Macro Manager
- Observer and understanding
- A Genuine Person
- Lead By Example
- Fair and Transparent
- Inspiring and Motivating
In this post, we will cover two such traits (Secure Person and A Genuine Person). Balance 6 traits shall be discussed in subsequent blogs. However, first, let us see why behavioural traits are important
Why behavioural traits are important
Corporate world is world of orders which flows from top to bottom as per the set organization structure. Accordingly, persons sitting on top positions by default have a right to direct & instruct the persons below. The team is supposed to act the way boss expects. Organization culture generally does not allow team member to counter his/her manager when it is necessary. Consequently, people afraid to put forward a different view even if it could be in the best interest of organization.
Though every employee harp on that he/she works for the organization, but, unfortunately, people works for his/her manager. In reality, your manager is your employer. Therefore, for leading the team effectively, a leader must use his/her authority wisely and only in relation to his/her role for organization. This is possible when leader possess emotional maturity and strong personal/professional values. This explains why to discuss Behavioural Traits of Corporate Leaders
Behavioural Traits of Corporate Leaders
1) A secure person:
Sense of security is vital for a person to remains peaceful & calm. This is one of the essential ingredients to maintain harmony in personal and professional life. A secure person has full confidence and faith in his skills, experiences and abilities. Consequently, he/she does not live in a fear of losing a position or job. He/she maintains healthy relationship with colleagues at all levels and trusts his/her team members and other people in the organization.
On the contrary, insecurity is mother of poor inter-personal relationships. Insecure person easily perceives threats from people and situations. Accordingly, he/she doubts the motives of others and feels jealous when somebody is rewarded. As a result, she/he takes the things personally most of the time and could behaves rudely out of his/her own fears
Leadership role is all about communication, interactions, managing people, motivating and direction the team. Accordingly, a leader must possess a deep rooted sense of security so that she remains focused on the organizational goals without fear. A secure person does not get disturbed easily and never take the criticism personally. Consequently, he is the first one to appreciate others for good work and achievements and last one to criticize them for mistakes and failure. Insecure person is just the opposite. As a result, this is most desirable trait for leadership position
2) A genuine person
A genuine person is sincere and honest in all his dealing whether personal or professional. She is having a deep desire to honour the promises made. Accordingly, she never commits what she cannot deliver. In view of this a genuine person always present factual picture to top management and team members. Such persons do not mislead the team or manipulate things for survival or personal growth
A genuine person enjoys highest credibility and trust in the eye of team above and below. Accordingly, he gets the full support from top management and whole hearted efforts from his team member. This result in superior organization performance because team put extra effort in meeting the set targets