(CNN) -- I recently interviewed more than 60 chief
executives of very large global companies. Virtually all of them said
that recruiting and promoting general managers with true leadership
potential was the key ingredient to their organization's long-term
success. Fair enough. But the CEOs were then quick to admit that this
task is much easier said than done.
Time and again, externally recruited "stars," as well as freshly
promoted general managers from within their companies' ranks, failed to
live up to lofty expectations. This leads to an important question: Why
are we bad at picking good leaders?
The short answer is, we focus on all the wrong things, like a
candidate's charm, their stellar résumé or their academic credentials.
None of this has any bearing on leadership potential. And despite claims
to the contrary, even a candidate's past results have little bearing on
whether the promoted individual will succeed once promoted.
At best, a "track record" tells only half of the story. In a new
position, the candidate will have to face new obstacles, deal with a new
team, manage more people introduce new products and do it all without a
clear road map.
So what qualities should you focus on before handing out the next big
promotion or making big promotion decision? One thing is certain: You
better get it right. Nothing short of your reputation, and your
organization's success, are at stake.
Let's cut to the chase. There are seven fundamental leadership
qualities that the candidate must possess to be effective. Take just one
of these away, and sooner or later, the newly elevated manager will
fail. Having studied the careers of nearly 1,000 executives, over the
past decade, it is clear to me that failure results when a leader lacks
of one or more of these seven attributes.
Integrity
It all starts with integrity. Like a foundation for any
well-constructed house, integrity is the core foundation for leadership
effectiveness. It is a blend of honesty, consistency and ethics. Once
integrity is squandered or even thrown into doubt, it is very hard for a
leader to regain the trust of his or her troops.
Passion
Yet integrity alone doesn't matter without several other key
attributes. Passion, for example, enables a leader to keep moving
forward even in tough times.
Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, was ridiculed in 2001 for clinging to a
company that many called "Amazon.bomb." It is now valued at $89
billion. Bezos told me that it was his inner passion that fueled his
drive to keep pushing forward even in the darkest days of the dot-com
crash, when the company was teetering on the brink of collapse.
Passion enables a leader to keep moving forward even in tough times.
Jeffrey Cohn
Jeffrey Cohn
Courage
Courage, another make-it-or-break-it quality, is necessary to make
the difficult decisions when facing conflicts and mediating adversity.
Courage springs from a leader's core values and commitment to a vision.
Vision
Without a compelling vision or destination, how can a boss
effectively persuade people to embark upon a new direction? Visionary
leaders inspire employees to imagine a better future and work hard to
achieve it.
Judgment
Actually achieving this vision, however, requires judgment. Good
judgment allows the leader to make solid business decisions and choices.
When I assess an aspiring leader, I want to see whether she can
confront a complex new challenge and quickly zero in on the most
important issues.
Does she ask good questions? Can she prioritize and make difficult
tradeoffs? Does she know where to focus and where not to waste her time
and energy? Even when looking at an individual piece of the problem,
does she keep the entire chessboard in mind, recognizing the potential
unintended consequences of her decisions? Judgment is needed to develop a
strategy that will enable the organization to achieve its vision.
Lack of empathy is a key reason why otherwise analytically brilliant leaders often come up short.
Empathy
No matter the organization, diversity of its people is the one
constant. Each team member has a different personality, motivation and
underlying agenda. Empathy is the attribute that allows a leader to
effectively understand what makes other people tick.
Identifying the fundamental drivers of their bosses, peers and
subordinates is critical. Same goes for getting people aligned and
motivated around their common goals. Outside your specific organization,
it is invaluable that a leader be able to quickly and accurately figure
out why an important customer seems dissatisfied, even though they say
everything is fine.
If a potential employee doesn't have empathy, they have very little
chance of getting these, and many other, important constituents on their
side. Lack of empathy is a key reason why otherwise analytically
brilliant leaders often come up short.
Lack of empathy is a key reason why otherwise analytically brilliant leaders often come up short.
Jeffrey Cohn
Emotional intelligence
While empathy is externally focused, another key leadership
attribute, emotional intelligence, is internally focused. An emotionally
intelligent leader habitually takes a hard, honest look at himself and
accurately discerns his strengths, weaknesses and blind spots. Putting
personal pride aside, he actively solicits the input of others and
incorporates the team's best ideas into the overall action plan.
Without emotional intelligence, hubris sets in, and a leader will
overestimate his own ability and alienate others. Even though the hubris
may convince him that he can bite off more than he can chew,
subordinates will not be so blind. A leader who continuously lets down
his or her team won't stay in the organization's good graces for long.
From my vantage point, a lack of emotional intelligence is probably the
top derailer of previously successful managers moving into fundamentally
new and ambiguous roles.
These seven leadership attributes -- integrity, vision, judgment,
passion, courage, empathy and emotional intelligence -- are all the
hallmarks of great leaders, regardless of industry or geography. By
gearing any candidate assessment towards these traits -- and away from
false predictors of success, like a sparkling personality, a polished
résumé or good interview skills -- you will be one big step ahead of the
rest of the crowd who are still scratching their heads wondering why
they are so bad at picking good leaders.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeffrey Cohn
Editor's note: Jeffrey Cohn was most recently a
succession planning and executive assessment expert at Spencer Stuart.
He is former fellow at both the Harvard Business School and the CEO
Leadership Institute at Yale, and his latest book is "Why are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders?"
Why we pick bad leaders, and how to spot the good ones
February 14, 2012 -- Updated 1853 GMT (0253 HKT)
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/14/opinion/cohn-pick-leaders/index.html