Recent Survey Reveals 4 Of The Top Leadership Behaviors

There’s a leadership gap that exists in industry today. In government, education, business and non-profit sectors, leadership have become an exception rather than the rule due mainly to the “me” centric approach that governs self-interest. If leadership is about authentic self-expression that inspires others to act or think in a certain way, then when was the last time you were led by someone?
A recent McKinsey & Company study looked at just this. Specifically, researchers asked 189,000 people in 81 different companies across the globe what types of leadership behaviors they esteemed (and therefore sought to apply within their organization), and which ones they wanted to avoid like the uninvited guest at your last party.
Here are the top leadership behaviors people espouse:
Leaders are doers. For lack of a better word that could potentially ban me from the Forbes contributor sphere forever, leaders get “stuff” done. They understand the big picture and clearly assign roles, responsibilities and expectations that will lead the company in the right direction. Additionally, they work with a laser-like focus on the priorities that drive value, such as building the company and managing relationships. Moreover, they focus on the business rather than on your business.

They seek diversity of thought. Leaders—the smart ones—know that if they want to improve themselves and their company that the only way to do so is to surround themselves with people smarter and more experienced than themselves. Nobody learns from dummies. Sorry, but it’s true. Actually, I take that back. We can all learn what not to do. However, in the leadership realm, listening to diverse perspectives only serves you (if you’re the leader) to make better, more informed decisions. Can’t find anybody? Woe is me. Effective leaders also have a mentor or coach who questions their thought processes and forces them to grow—as people, and as leaders.

Leaders show support. Leaders have a thankless job sometimes. Not only are they expected to know their role as leaders, but also the roles of their people. They must be emotionally, socially, and self-aware enough to know when to promote, grow, and challenge their people. Furthermore, they oftentimes have to resolve conflict and make difficult decisions that support the best interest of the company rather than themselves.

They solve problems. Leadership entails making difficult decisions, but that only comes after you have solved the problem. The most effective leaders solve problems by sharing information up, down, and across the corporate chain (of command) because doing so feeds back into diversity of thought above.

Although the McKinsey survey only highlighted four leadership behaviors, I would add a fifth item to the list and that is problem recognition. Before any solving can take place, you must first isolate the problem, which is not a natural skill. Doing so necessitates a contextual awareness of the environment–and oftentimes, training–since so many internal and external factors come into play. Different stakeholder interests, politics and relationships, minimal resources, and time all have the potential to contribute to the problem, and knowing how to recognize those factors will either help the problem rise to the surface, or keep it hidden below.
Everybody has their own interpretation of the “ideal” leadership behaviors they espouse. What are the leadership gaps that you see in your organization? More so, how can they be filled?