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The Right Stuff
Have you got what it takes to be an effective leader? Here's how to tell

BY: Michael Stern April 2004

It was one of those questions professional recruiters love to ask. One of those open-ended questions where what the candidate says is usually less important than the way he or she says it.

I was interviewing for a VP position, and my question was simple: What recent accomplishment was the candidate most proud of?

Peter, head of real estate for a well-known retailer, thought for only a moment before telling me about his greatest challenge. He had had a frustrating time finding just the right site for a store in a certain mall where his company had to have a presence. The best location he could find was obscure, cramped and out of the way. Finally, he agreed to take the space – but only after negotiating for architectural upgrades, enhanced, eye-catching signage and a special entrance to ensure every passerby would know the store existed and how to get there easily.

For me, this answer signalled the sort of leader I am always looking for. Too often, executives have too narrow a focus. They are masters of their own functional or divisional silos, but rarely see the bigger picture. Peter could have done only his job: bargained hard with the landlord for a break on the store's rent that may or may not have made up for its lousy location. Instead, he considered the whole company – its need to be perceived as a leader in its sector, and its day-to-day needs for continuous traffic and professional promotion – and he worked out a deal that made all the company's departments equally proud. Peter's understanding of his role in building the whole company marked him as a leader to be watched.

Indeed, if leaders were easy to find, few of my clients would need to hire professional search consultants for their senior positions. Talent, by comparison, is plentiful, and ambition is common enough. But leadership, that splendid combination of competence, vision and communication, remains as elusive as ever.

Do you have what it takes? Here are the hallmarks of leadership that one executive search consultant looks for, and a few ideas on why so many candidates fail the test.

Graciousness The best leaders come off as authoritative, but modest. They don't need to tell people how much they know and how important they are; they let their accomplishments speak for themselves. People who are always talking about themselves, their power or the people they know may attract lots of attention, but they are rarely good leaders.

Leadership is not about "Hey, look at me" (sorry, Donald Trump). For his book Good to Great, American management expert Jim Collins studied a number of U.S. companies that had improved their results significantly and sustained those gains for at least 15 years. He found the best CEOs turned out not to be overhyped celebrities such as Ted Turner or Jack Welch, but unassuming, workaday business leaders most people have never heard of. "A paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will," writes Collins, "more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton and Caesar."

Of course, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu had all this nailed more than 2,000 years ago. "The best type of leader," he wrote, "is one of whose existence the people are barely aware."

Ability to Listen I worry when I meet executives who have all the answers. Businesses are communication networks that are built to funnel market information and customer feedback to the top of the pyramid – so the people at the top had better listen.

I was impressed recently by an example of proactive listening by one of my clients. The president of a fast-growing technology firm had hired us to find them a regional VP, and he got attached a bit early (in my estimation) to just one candidate. This president is no shrinking violet, and he was sure this prospect was the One. Nonetheless, he made sure that all his key reports got to meet this candidate – and he listened carefully when they expressed reservations. He ended up hiring another person, whom I believe was the right choice. And I remain impressed by this CEO's ability to consult, listen and change his mind based on the feedback from his team.

Maybe there was a time when blustering, table-pounding bosses were actually useful. But in today's flatter, more collaborative workplaces, you have to take people's feelings into account. The current succession crisis at Coca-Cola illustrates the importance of people skills. Wall Street wants Coke's No. 2 executive (a former head of Turner Broadcasting) to be named CEO, but those in charge of the search are said to be concerned about his "abrupt and impolitic" management style.

Discipline I look for signs that candidates can execute a plan (after all, that's where the word "executive" comes from). I ask for examples of times they carried out a strategy in the face of uncertainty and opposition. I am not looking for intransigence – I like to see tactics modified by circumstance and experience – but I do want to see gumption, guts and stick-to-it-ness. I admire one of our firm's clients for staying the course. In an industry that's been hard hit by a slump that began back in 2001, she has kept her business on track and focused on the long term. Yes, she has made cutbacks, but as few as she could justify, knowing the cost of rebuilding her team would be greater than the savings from dismantling it. By focusing on strengths and refusing to give in to short-term pressures to make the numbers look good, she has kept morale high, maintained quality customer service and reduced employee turnover to the lowest rate in her industry.

Vision Leaders understand that their job is not just to lead a team or build a department. As Peter's success in the shopping mall demonstrated, the leader's mission is to help move the whole organization forward. When I ask candidates about their accomplishments, the leaders set themselves apart by telling me (usually without realizing it) that they want to succeed on more than just their departmental level.

Having adopted an uncommonly broad viewpoint, leaders then come up with plans and strategies for moving forward. And they share that vision with others in the organization: subordinates, peers and superiors. Of course, attitude is all; I look for evidence that candidates have pushed agendas for change, but not too stridently or abrasively.

Expressing a vision, of course, is also essential day-to-day. To get the most from your people, you have to keep them focused on inspirational, but achievable, goals. One of the best leaders I ever met was the musical director of a men's chorus I sang in a few years ago. It was a volunteer group, but she ran a tight ship. When members had trouble doing their homework or showing up for practice, she calmly and professionally reminded them why they were there. "If you're serious about representing Canada in the internationals competition," she said, "this is what you have to do. If you're not committed to that, then you have a decision to make."

Judgment The best leaders show good judgment in all they do. This doesn't mean that they are always right; it's just the natural result of common sense and a consistent effort to stay on top of things. One of my favourite questions to ask candidates is, "Tell me about a decision you made that turned out to be wrong, and what you did about it."

They say that good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. Good judgment has to be learned. Leaders network widely and read up on a broad range of subjects so they are well versed in current events and issues. They prepare diligently for meetings and discussions. And if they don't know what's going on, they confess their ignorance and ask shrewd, perceptive questions designed to bring them up to speed. When it's time to make a decision, they solicit input from a broad range of sources and then weigh all the evidence.

Even when they make a decision, it is rarely with the attitude that they are unfailingly right. Leaders show good judgment in the way they frame a decision, reflecting the input of as broad a coalition as possible. And they establish benchmarks, measurements and other feedback mechanisms so that if their decision turns out to be flawed, the mistakes are caught early on.

Presence If you saw Peter Jackson, the multi-talented but dishevelled director of The Lord of the Rings, take home all the statuettes on Oscar night, you know that leadership and appearance don't always line up exactly. When you're a search consultant with about 60 minutes to size up somebody's leadership ability, however, appearance does count.

A candidate for a leadership position has to be impressively well-dressed and groomed. (Remember how John Manley lost the Beaker-like glasses back when he was planning to run for the Liberal leadership?)

But this doesn't mean leaders have to live on a pedestal or look too slick. Good leaders are at ease with people and make other people feel at ease. They're not so tightly wound that they intimidate others; they smile regularly, laugh often and encourage others to come out of their shells. They leave a lasting impression of humanity, decency and patience. (Sorry, Donald – you're fired.)