Leadership Characteristics – A Shift in Requirements?
For the past 20 years, a piece of work often quoted in relation to the required Characteristics of Admired Leaders has been The Leadership Challenge. First released in 1987 by Kouzes and Posner, the book has become one of the best selling leadership books of all time. As part of their research and ongoing data collection, they ask the question, “What values (or characteristics) do you look for and admire in your leader?” Respondents are asked to select from a list of 20 characteristics, the seven qualities they feel are the most critical for leaders to have.
Over time, across continents and cross culturally, the same four, (and only four) characteristics that have continuously received over 50% of the votes are honesty, forward-looking (visionary), competent, and inspiring. What people look for the most in an admired leader has stayed constant, according to this data, for almost 20 years, and honesty has always been listed as number one. Read on…
I recently lamented to a colleague that I spent an entire day cleaning my home. He said he thought cleaning was a waste of time, that I should really consider hiring a cleaning person and use my time to invest in writing, research and other things pertaining to my profession. Surprised by his comments, I decided to give them some serious personal consideration. Was I wasting my time? Should I really be outsourcing the cleaning of my home? It certainly would free up a great deal of time for me to invest in my work. After careful reflection, I realized this: I really enjoy the satisfaction I receive from cleaning. The results are tangible. I start with a messy, disorganized home, and at the end of the day, it is tidy and organized. It smells like Mr. Clean and it looks staged, like no one actually lives here. Oh, the satisfaction! It is a kind of concrete result I rarely see as directly in the work that I do (which is probably one of the reasons why I find cleaning so personally rewarding). It energizes me. 
