Bennis (1994)
believes that everyone has the capacity to become a leader if desired. Leaders
come in different shapes, sizes, genders, etc. However, they share the
following ingredients:
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Guiding
Vision - The leaders must have a clear purpose and the strength to persist
to achieve it.
Passion - The leader must have a passion for a course of action.
Integrity - The three essential parts of integrity - self-knowledge,
candor and maturity - provide a basis of trust, and without it a leader cannot
function.
Curiosity and Daring - Leaders want to learn and are willing to take
risks to try new things.
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Even though Bennis refers to these traits as basic, he believes that true leaders are not born, but they invent themselves.
In 1998, Linkage, Inc. and Warren Bennis completed a study of over 350 companies involved with leadership development. The results of this study are published in the book Best Practices in Leadership Development Handbook (2000). A summary report in the book identifies the following top ten leadership competencies (pp. 440 - 442):
- Building
Teamwork: Builds effective teams
committed to organizational goals and results
- Understands
the Business: Knows the organization and
stays abreast of business and competitive trends
- Conceptual
Thinking: Conceives and selects
innovative strategies and ides for the organization; balancing innovation
with big-picture thinking
- Customer
Driven: Strives to create value for
the customer resulting in mutual long-term success
- Focused
Drive: Focuses on a goal and
prioritizes-and harnesses-energy to meet that goal; balances focus and
drive
- Drives
Profitability: Achieves shareholder and/or
stakeholder benefit by securing cost-effective and efficient operations
- Systems
Thinking: Connects processes, events, and
structures; balances process orientation with mental discipline
- Global
Perspective: Addresses cultural and
geographic differences in driving corporate strategies for competitive
advantage
- Emotional Intelligence: Understands and masters one's own emotions (and those
of others) in a way that instills confidence; balances perception and emotional
maturity
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Sirje Virkus, Tallinn University, 2009