Characteristics of a Good Leader

There are numerous books, articles, even entire courses on leadership. Some are written or taught by celebrity leaders such as Jack Welch (Jack: Straight from the Gut) , former CEO of General Electric. Some are written by newly christened celebrities, such as Carolyn Kepcher, Donald Trump's COO spotlighted on the hit television show, The Apprentice (Carolyn 101: Business Lessons from The Apprentice's Straight Shooter).

Sometimes it is easier to define an abstract concept by describing what it isn't. In this case, a recent best selling book, Why CEOs Fail, summarizes several key behaviors or derailers that may lead to disaster for a CEO or a leader. These derailers are summarized in the column to the right.

At the end of the book, the authors conclude with a poignant discussion of why CEOs succeed. Given the list of possible derailers to one's leadership abilities, the authors ask leaders to honestly identify what kind of environments produce an unmanageable level of stress. Once these triggers are recognized, a leader is in a better position to avoid situations that lead to derailers. In addition to taking time for an introspective analysis about one's own failures, the authors also suggest that leaders find a confidant. This latter suggestion is often difficult for leaders to accept since having a confidant means an admission of vulnerability and weakness to another. Ideally it should be someone who understands the type of business one is involved with and mature enough to give objective feedback. Thus, friends and spouses are often not ideal candidates.

The authors close with these words of wisdom.

To deal effectively with stress, the first step is to accept that you-that all leaders-are fallible. Although many corporations do not acknowledge it, their entire leadership ranks are made up of flawed human beings. What needs to be more openly acknowledged is that flawed human beings can still be great leaders.

Paul K. Shitabata, M.D.

Last Updated March 16, 2005