EIGHT CORPORATE LEADERSHIP TRAITS

Many people conceive the notion that personal traits or attributes are inborn. I beg to differ. I opine that traits are inculcated (or should I say cultivated) sub-consciously, stemming from the types of life exposure experienced by an individual.

Particular traits inhered in a leader were gradually germinated by how he had been brought up as a kid, by his academic leanings, and by his early vocation involvement. I would contend his traits were primarily acquired over long years, and perhaps only a nominal percentage is inborn. His traits are always reflected at work by his operating approach.

Each trait carries some positive elements, yet also encumbers some imminent drawbacks if not prudently managed. And every corporate leader should possess at least one prominent trait – better still, a combined spread - otherwise he is of no leadership acumen at all.

I will cite an actual example later in this write-up to substantiate my postulation that traits are mainly assimilated via life exposure. For now, let us look at the traits underpinning the various leadership inclination styles.  On one hand, I highlight the likely positive elements of each trait which could be leveraged on for gearing up leadership impact; on the other hand also depicting the likely drawbacks which warrant corrective measures in order to avoid pitfalls. More importantly is to note the suggestions for harnessing.

1. THE ANALYST/THINKER TRAIT

a) Likely Strengths:

Being aware of facts and causes. Holistic. Cautious. Prudent. Problem identifying and then offering solutions. In-depth knowledge. Strategising. Relevant subject specialist.  Consulting prowess.

b) Likely Drawbacks:

                                                                                                                                 

Over engrossed in analysing and lacking time for actions. Preference for backroom tasks than frontline. Delayed actions/implementations due to much time spent on analysing. May be weak in interaction and networking. Inflexible views. Tendency to procrastinate instead of making firm decisions fast.

c) Suggestions For Harnessing:

To balance time spent between analysing and acting. Promptly translate facts, knowledge, concepts into action plans.  Interface regularly with team members to mutually implement solutions, initiatives and enhancements. Highlight risk areas to team. Consider members’ views as part of conclusions. Explore creativity and innovation for possible enhancements based on findings.

2. THE INSTRUCTOR/TRAINER TRAIT  

a)  Likely Strengths:

Orderly dissemination of knowledge to members. Proper structure at hand for team to implement tasks. Emphasis on academics and techniques. Technically sound in relevant subjects. Can conduct training sessions well, both verbally and scripting. Develops subordinates with regard to knowledge and techniques.

b) Likely Drawbacks:

Over emphasising on instruction/training is at the sacrifice of application/implementation. Insufficient time allotted for team to put into practice their acquired knowledge – imbalance between academic and practical aspects. Normally such a trait expects rigid adherence to the instructions/training contents without allowing flexibility for team to explore alternatives. If not duly cognizant of the latest situations and trends, the syllabus will become obsolete unless updated timely.

c) Suggestions For Harnessing:

Leader must upgrade knowledge and technical skills in line with new trends/situations. Be relevant subject matter expert via constant research. Encourage team members the need to be receptive to training. Include practical aspects like role plays, joint fieldwork (for sales force members). Include personal coaching into the training programmes. Allow some time for members to practise the knowledge they have received, under the guidance of the leader.

3. THE ORATOR/PRESENTER TRAIT

a) Likely Strengths:

Can articulate with flair verbally (not necessarily in scripts). Can convince and capture attention from audience. Elaborate presenter. Articulate use of analogies and allegories to express ideas. Speaks clearly with striking voice. Can attract initial buy-in from audience. May be a charismatic motivator. A good platform speaker. If a sales leader, may captivate a large group of followers, at least at the initial stage.

b) Likely Drawbacks:

Tendency for exaggerating in order to impress. May be deemed a mere story-teller if whatever propounded is not put into practice. Team members may label him as a publicity seeker if the “aesthetic” presentation style is overdone. May run out of substance to support his frequent pep talks, thus gradually losing impact. Preference for oratorical engagement over hands-on tasks – may face shortfall in intended end results.

c) Suggestions For Harnessing:

Maintain a balance between speaking and acting (hands-on implementation). Alternatively, appoint a reliant direct subordinate to implement (hands-on) on his behalf. Keep abreast with the latest pertinent information.  Incorporate updated information/facts to substantiate verbal elaborations. Vary the mode of expression to suit different echelons of team members, e.g. avoid technical jargons when communicating with the lower level subordinates.

4. THE DRIVER/DIRECTOR

(Note: This trait refers to a leader who focusses on driving and directing team members to fulfil their  tasks according to full expectations.)

a)    Likely Strengths:

                                                                                                         

Close follow-up and monitoring.  Firm direction/goal setting. Unwavering conviction. Firm control    on team. Assertive. Result orientated. Sets structured accomplishment guidelines. Keeps members on  the move consistently.

                                                                                                                                     

b) Likely Drawbacks:

                                                                                                                                     

Not tactful. High “pressure” faced by team members. Members ultimately become disgruntled  because of high work pressure and “nagging”.  Not conducive work environment. Negatively affects  efficiency due to members experiencing resilience burnout. Good staff likely to leave the team.  Leader may not win natural respect if he is not a subject matter expert. Worst case scenario –  resentment by team members. 

                                                                                                                                     

c)  Suggestions For Harnessing:  

                                                                                                                                     

Allow members who are resourceful some leeway to manifest their strengths instead of being bound  by orders.  Hold two-way dialogues to elicit members’ inputs. Occasionally go hands-on with  members to show support to his team.  Adequately equipped with all the relevant technical  knowledge in order to guide (not just drive or direct) members. Learn to apply soft communication  skills as alternate to the hard directive mode. Encourage team bonding and sense of belonging via  some relaxation and fellowship activities.

5. THE ADVISOR/PACIFIER TRAIT

a)  Likely Strengths:

Aversion of conflicts within team and between related parties. Ability to quell disputes. Instils a harmonious work environment. Relationship building with members. Interactive. Tactful active listening. Team consensus. Some members may change from negative to positive behaviour after effective counselling. Keeps team intact amid goodwill. Mediates or intervenes to solve problems for the team. Personally involved in rendering advice. Also a strong networker (with peers).

b)  Likely Drawbacks:

Team members being over-dependent on the leader for solutions to issues - tend to pass the buck to him since he is ever willing to step in. Leader may be too engrossed in mediations at the expense of other aspects that also need his attention. Stands the risk of being labelled an ineffective leader if intervention efforts do not succeed.

c) Suggestions For Harnessing:

Guided sessions for members to try resolve issues by themselves with the leader as moderator. Team synergy/building programmes. Formal assessments after each mediation effort to ensure long-term intended result. Time allocation: Keep a balance between intervention tasks and other important responsibilities.

6. THE IMPLEMENTER/EXECUTOR  TRAIT

(Note: This refers to the preference for personal involvement on important functions instead of delegating to subordinates.)

a) Likely Strengths:

                                                                                                                                     

Meticulous. Delivery confidence. Direct control over assignments. Personal accountability. Stringent  monitoring. Institutes accuracy. Hands-on execution knowledge. Subordinates need to be technically  proficient too in their respective functions to keep abreast with leader’s implementation capability.

 b) Likely Drawbacks:

                                                                                                                                     

Not willing to delegate key tasks. No esprit de corps. Team lacks vibrant progress. Members not  receiving proper coaching, thus hindering team efficiency and effectiveness …… hopefully they are  a resourceful lot who can catch up by their own efforts. Leader too bogged down with own numerous  tasks. Team may stand the risk of not meeting timelines for completion of assignments. Members  may not regard the leader as their mentor.

                                                                                                                                     

c) Suggestions For Harnessing:

                                                                                                                                     

Gradually delegating (with guidance) to immediate subordinates. Proper grooming programmes for  members. Team synergy activities. Grant empowerment according to the strengths of each respective  member. Upgrade  the roles of good performers.

7. THE ENFORCER/DISCIPLINARIAN TRAIT

(Note: This trait emphasises on adherence to rigid principles, rules and guidelines as the work culture. It entails clear stipulations what members should observe, and what they should stay clear away, in carrying out their duties.)

a) Likely Strengths:

                                                                                                                                     

Culture of being orderly, punctual and compliant in team. Importance of honouring commitments.    Efficient. Prompt delivery. Neat work. Prim and proper.  Fine audit trait reports on team. Team stays  focussed on work without distractions.

                                                                                                                                     

b) Likely Drawbacks:

                                                                                                                                     

Members feel restricted. Members will lack discerning/discretionary experience; they may adopt the  robotic mode. They may be efficient (doing things the right way) but not necessary effective (doing  the right things crucial for the team). They behave silo.

                                                                                                                                     

c)  Suggestions For Harnessing:

                                                                                                                                     

Relax some guidelines/rules (the less vital ones) to allow a more congenial environment. Should      focus more on delivery effectiveness – be result orientated rather than to tie everything to the books.  Grant some space for members to exhibit discretion (with initial guidance, and periodical monitoring  how they fare in their discretions). However, continue to maintain the vital aspects that bolster the  professional image of the team.

8. THE COMMENTATOR/CRITIQUE TRAIT

(Note: A protagonist manifesting this trait is fond of documenting comments or critiques as his leadership style. This may be a weak leadership trait……unless prudently tweaked for better vibrancy.)

a)  Likely Strengths:

                                                                                                                                     

Conveys candid opinions frequently. Often presents written reports for purpose of updating    members and correcting flaws. Comments/critiques may serve as good advice if supported by  plausible reasons and facts. 

b) Likely Drawbacks:

                                                                                                                                     

If overdone, it is “no action, talk only”, namely lip service. Not portraying leadership by example if only offering comments/critiques without working directly with his team. High risk of not meeting team objectives if leader functions merely as an armchair critique head but stays away from working with his team to implement initiatives.

                                                                                                                                     

c)  Suggestions For Harnessing:

                                                                                                                                     

Occasionally go for hands-on involvement to reflect working as a team. Go to the ground  occasionally to get valid feel of the issues encountered by the team. Also listen to the views of  members, and not just voicing top-down critiques. Encourage members to suggest possible solutions  in response to the leader’s critiques. Substantiate with valid points to support comments/critiques.

Special Note: There is in fact one more trait which prevails in some “so-called leaders” – The Social/Entertainer Trait. I am not listing this down, as to me it is a pseudo leadership trait. So-called leaders in this category transmit the “we are all brothers and sisters” aura to members. Social gatherings with entertainment ambience are held frequently. Nothing much is done to actually lead members to better performance, productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. The feel good ambience actually does not do much good to the overall team. So, let us skip this trait and move on………

Most leaders are endowed with more than one trait, i.e. a combination of a few out of the eight types. The wider the combination, the better is the leadership tenacity. Conversely, anyone without any of the eight traits can only be a follower, not a leader.

For illustration purpose, now allow me to share the example of myself. Please do not jump to the conclusion I am bragging about my past leadership achievements in the corporate world. My intention is to relate a real life case that I know best, which is the cognizance of how my traits were moulded from young and how these traits were harnessed for application during my previous active work engagements. I would list my traits as a combination of the categories:  1 (Analyst/Thinker), 5 (Advisor/Pacifier), 6  (Implementer/Executor) and a tweaked version of 8 (Commentator/Critique).

My traits were “cultivated” due to the life exposure I acquired as a kid and onward. Literally speaking, I was exposed to journalism from the moment I was born. My father, who represented a Chinese newspaper in Singapre, was commissioned to expand the print media’s presence to Malaya (now Malaysia) when World War 2 ended. I was born in Malaya several years later. The family accommodation spanned the upper portion of a two-storey shop-building while the ground floor fronted the office. The space upstairs was our home until my teen days. Being the inaugural bureau chief cum chief editor, my father managed a team of reporters and editors besides other employees.

   

Staying just one floor above, I frequently went to my father’s office to pass time, thus exposed to the newspaper work environment from young. I watched how the reporters sourced and filed in their stories energetically, how they conducted their interviews via telephone, and their social contact networking.  I also noticed that my father had to intervene into the opinion differences of his news team, especially between the reporters and editors. He was able to subdue conflicts from blowing up by holding “peace patching” deliberations with them. I guess they respected his mediation as he was regarded their revered pioneer-mentor.

In 1972, I enrolled into the Mass Communications degree course in a local university, majoring in journalism – all because of my pre-exposure to the newspaper line from my kid to teen days. I learnt in-depth journalism, investigative reporting, analytical commentary and editing, including co-production of the varsity’s English newspaper.

Immediately after graduation, I secured my first vocation as a general journalist, with wide scopes ranging from coverage on different news segments, special feature stories, commentaries, and also stood in as supporting editor whenever needed. Four holistic skills acquired from my experience in this line: observing; perceiving; macro analysing; contacts networking. Journalism prompted me to think and then analyse before writing out my thoughts on a topic (Traits No. 1 & 8.)

My next career move took me to two financial solutions institutions in succession, spanning more than three decades before venturing to freelance consultation work.  In accordance with the traits already honed into me, I often deployed the following approaches:

+ Disseminating information and my views via scripts, newsletters, circulars etc. I was fond of conjuring sales promotion visuals for presentation to the sales force. Writing was my forte. I personally took charge to oversee the contents of such materials and also edited the narratives submitted by subordinates as guidance to them (Traits No. 6 & 8).

 + Establishing fraternity with various stakeholders such as officers of related departments, prime sales force members, external service providers, officers of relevant authorities, branch managers etc. The key objective was to foster the spirit of mutuality to positively deliberate on issues. I made it a point to organise fellowship sessions with the various department heads to pave the avenue for amicable discussions (Trait No. 5).  I had picked up this networking acumen during my journalist days (including networking with counterparts of other newspapers who would co-support one another in covering news events).

·   + Appointed myself as the intermediary between the backroom service units and the field sales force. Complicated unresolved appeals and complaints against processing outcomes came to me instead of being channelled to processing unit heads.  Acting as the buffer for both sides, I struck an agreement with the unit heads on the following process (reflecting Traits No. 1, 5, 6, 8):

# I would first study the facts of a case in contention and then form my conclusion.

# If there was no merit to the appeal/complaint, I would explain to the appellant/complainant (from the sales force) the reason for maintaining status quo.

# If I felt there was an element of merit for reconsideration, I would state my written comments in the file. I would then recommend in writing, as interceding effort, to either accede or offer an alternative.

# For any review in favour of the sales member concerned, I would invite the unit head to join me in relaying the positive outcome. I would impress upon the appellant/complainant that the unit head was instrumental in supporting the quest. My intention was to patch up the communication gap between the two sides.

(Note:  My father’s intermediation approach must have had made a lasting impression into me. In addition, I had to be very much hands-on to ensure such efforts were viably executed)

+ Analysed the likely trends in the industry by perusing reference materials like announcements and recommendations proposed by the regulatory authorities. Highlighted my findings to pre-empt relevant parties, especially the sales force, to face either impending new challenges or opportunities. Normally, I presented my findings via visuals at meetings, sometimes by written commentaries (Traits No. 1,6,8).

Yes, there were drawbacks, I admit. But I took cognitive measures to keep these under wraps as far as possible. For example, my approaches, underscored by the traits I had assimilated over many years of life exposure, necessitated me to frequently engage in personal hands-on involvement (like mediation efforts), thus becoming time consuming. I had to work longer hours in order not to neglect any other aspects of my role, yet it was still worthwhile as long as issues could be resolved. A consolation that evolved later was the unit heads emulating my mediation style, which then enabled them to forge better interaction links with sales members – that eventually took off some load from my shoulders.  

I tried my best to leverage on the strengths in relation to my inherent traits. I kept abreast with the latest developments, analysed the facts to pre-empt the likely trends that were imminent to take place. My mediatory efforts assumed the advisory mode. I personally handled some issues to ensure positive delivery of solutions; however some responsibilities were gradually assigned to my direct downline officers with guidance in order to relieve me.

I reiterate a pertinent note - that those in corporate leadership positions should recognise their strengths so as to capitalise their strengths for enhancement, while also be cognizant of their drawbacks so as to institute improvements. It may not be possible to eradicate all weakness, but making some improvements will also boost leadership qualities.

Question: Can a leader inculcate new traits in the face of new work demands? Answer: It may be possible but difficult. It takes much time – perhaps many years of a new exposure – to assimilate a new trait. A young person has the advantage of time for such exposure. An older person faces a challenge in this respect. In my case, my traits were acquired over more than 20 years. Yet, of course, individual aptitude determines how fast one could naturalise adopting a new trait.

Conclusion:

All traits bear likely strengths and drawbacks. No specific trait is superior to another. Traits should not be classified into strong or weak categories. Whether a particular trait lends to leadership performance depends on the ability of the individual to fully recognise and harness its positive elements besides also taking measures to mitigate some weaknesses.

I believe readers, who are now in leadership roles, can relate their respective traits back to their previous life exposures. I hope you (if you are a corporate leader) may realise your likely strengths and weaknesses so that you can map out your leverage (on strengths) and improvement (on weaknesses) action plans for leadership enhancement.

Quote: “Your traits are not good or bad. What you do or don’t do with them is what determines the result. Give your traits a useful role. Recognise and utilise all parts that make you up. Love and empower yourself as you are. “ (Akirot Brost)