Many people asked me how I would list the elements making a great leader:

(1) Personal humility fortified with professional will, which is much different from ego-drive, or the capacity for show-off combined with a large dose of personal PR. Humility leads managers to effortlessly take responsibility, but also naturally share success with their team.

(2) Integrity: walk the talk, and lead by example. These people do as they say. Such individuals always operate from within an aura of transparency and openness, as there is few or nothing they need to hide or shy away from.

(3) Passion, which I see as a combination of energy, creativity and focus. Passion allows leaders to develop vision, and the gives them the energy to implement it. It makes them mobilize their team to realize a shared mission.

(4) A genuine positive outlook on life and people, with a total absence of cynicism. Personal and organizational growth can only be sustained through optimism, or a deep positive belief that people and situations can change for the better. Its a main attractor for what one can define the good things in life: health and valuable friendships.

(5) Last but not least I would list intelligence, on both an intrinsic and emotional level. I once read an IQ test can account for one third of the success of an executive, and I do not completely disagree. Throw an equal measure of EQ and one will go a long way.

Great leaders develop a culture where the truth can be heard, and they do not devalue contrary views or idea's. On the contrary, like Jack Welsh, they will relish and promote candor in their organizations. As such they promote a culture where respect tends to be equally given as it will be received. Those leaders confront facts, ask the necessary questions, and will focus on what has the greatest impact;  they will be a major source for the job satisfaction of those working for them.

 

Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel wrote a book Only the Paranoid Survive on how the success of business creates the seeds of its own destruction.

"The more successful you are, the more people want a chunk of your business and then another chunk and then another until there is nothing left."

Hence, one needs to worry especially about competitors finding out how to run your business better, cheaper and more efficient. Managers therefore cannot be complacent, and should always be on their guard. In other words, a manager should always be on the look-out for strategic inflection points.

A strategic inflection point is a time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end.

Such points are deadly when unattended too. Examples of such strategic inflection points are the bank teller machine, the PC, the internet, VOIP and so on...

For instance, I believe a company like Microsoft today is faced with several such inflection points simultaneously: the slow demise of the importance of client computing, the emergence of open source software, the convergence of telephony, consumer electronics and enertainment devices. Yes, Microsoft has the XBOX, the Zune player and MSN. None of them however are category leaders, and still make losses since the time they were introduced. Their main competitors hoard huge profits and free cash flow. The verdict is still out on how Steve Ballmer, the shy, introverted and soft-spoken CEO of Microsoft is adressing those particular inflection points.

If such inflection point will lead to disaster or a period of new growth depends on the management of the company. Andy Grove stated in this regard that

A company cannot change when its management is not changed.

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Difficult times require more than often a change of management to infuse an organization with energy, intuition, and more importantly, creativity and courage.

When companies come to us to help them change management, we must make clear we do not just bring a change of a person, but effectively a change of management, more specifically, a positive change of both the tangible and intangible value of a business.

At times this involves telling a client what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. Prospective clients seeking out such advice have the potential to become great clients, and winners in their marketplace.

Great search firms can effectively help companies overcome strategic inflection points. They bring in the required change for the client company to start a new period of sustained growth instead of disaster. The search firms or consultants retained for this type of work are the ones at the height of their game. Therefore, the amount of trust, responsibility and professionalism required for such work can only be found with the best and most dedicated search consultants in the marketplace.