We have it wrong. Well, actually, we have it backwards.
What we’ve traditionally assumed about key traits for successful leadership in organizations—and implicitly and explicitly valued—is only part of the story.
For decades, organizations have celebrated the analytical skills of their leaders. As a legacy of the industrial economy and the scientific method of management, we have heralded and rewarded analytical and problem-solving skills as key leadership attributes. Indeed, most of today’s leaders grew up in a world that rewarded analytical smarts and individual problem-solving ability.
What’s the problem with this? Well, in short, this skill set is insufficient to solve today’s complex business challenges. It assumes a rational and scientific approach to solving problems and leading and executing strategy when, in fact, we are learning in tangible and scientific ways that emotions and social relationships may be even more important.
Beyond the Analytical: A Broader Set of Leadership Traits
In "Strategic Leadership Development, Global Trends and Approaches," a research report by The Conference Board (2013), these key leadership traits were noted:
What’s the problem with this? Many, if not most, of these traits are not really analytical. They may have analytical components, but clearly there is more going on here: There are strong social, interpersonal, and self-awareness skills and behaviors embedded in these traits.
The converging worlds of neuroscience and leadership, grown out of social neuroscience (Matthew Lieberman) and neuroLeadership (David Rock), have shed some useful light on this tension. In "Why Organizations Fail," Rock (2013) notes:
“We have hired and promoted generations of managers with robust analytical skills and poor social skills, and we don’t seem to think that matters.”
The problem is: It does matter. In fact, according to Rock, it’s worse than that: Not only does it matter, but the more senior the leader, the lower their capacity for self- and social awareness.
The Evolving Imperative: Leading People, Not Just Strategy
The more complex the world becomes as a senior leader, the more difficult it is to hold both analytical thinking and social skills equally, and the former all too often crowds out the latter.
What’s the implication for us as leaders—and as organizations that must develop more effective global leaders in order to meet the challenges that keep CEOs up at night? We must recognize and embrace that we must increasingly focus on the social and interpersonal skills of leadership to complement the necessary analytical skills we have so long revered and rewarded. They are still important.
Indeed, strategic thinking, business acumen, and systems thinking are key leadership skills, but they are not enough. They must be integrated with increased social and self-awareness in recognition that, in the end, leaders do not lead organizations. They lead people.
References
The Conference Board. (2013). Strategic leadership development: Global trends and approaches. https://www.conference-board.org
Rock, D. (2013, October 23). Why organizations fail. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2013/10/23/why-organizations-fail/
