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My answer to the question “What does it take to be a great leader?”
When I signed into Slideshare this morning I was asked to “share my advice” by posting my answer
to the question “What does it take to be a great leader?”
To set the context for my answer, I believe the primary purpose of leadership is to achieve
sustainable organizational success by creating a culture where employees are engaged and
motivated to contribute. According to CEO Challenge 2015, an annual survey of CEO's conducted by
The Conference Board, CEO's believe that sustainable business results are best achieved through a
"longer term focus on capacity-building and the development of strong cultures of innovation,
engagement and accountability within their organizations”. The Conference Board’s report also
states "While CEOs see the criticality of Human Capital to long-term success, they are also focused
on an enterprise-wide integrated approach in their growth strategies that equally values
engagement, innovation and customer-centricity, along with excellence in execution.”
So, what are the attributes of a leader who will “create a culture where employees are engaged
and motivated to contribute” to a "longer term focus on capacity-building and the development of
a strong culture of innovation, engagement and accountability”? My answer comes directly from a
July, 1986 article in the Training and Development Journal I’ve referenced for a number of years
now. The article is by N. M. Tichy and M. A. Devanna and entitled “The Transformational Leader”.
Tichy and Devanna identify and describe the following 7 attributes of a “Transformational Leader”:
1. Identification as a change agent. Their personal and professional image is to make a
difference, to create an organization that is adaptive, entrepreneurial, innovative, successful,
and so forth.
2. Courage and outspokenness. These individuals are able to take a stand, take risks, and stand
against the status quo in an organization. Intellectually, they are able to gain a perspective in
which it is possible to confront reality even if it is painful. Emotionally, they are able to reveal the
truth to others who may not want to hear it.
3. Belief in people. Although powerful, these individuals are sensitive to the needs of others,
seeking to empower other instead of acting in a dictatorial role.
4. Value-driven. These individuals typically articulate a set of core values and exhibit behaviors
that are quite congruent with those value positions.
5. Life-long learning. Transformational leaders tend to view failures as learning experiences, with
a strong desire for continuous self-learning and development. They are capable of being self-
reflective, with the ability to make rather dramatic shifts in their styles and approaches to
management when necessary.
6. Ability to deal with complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty. Such individuals are able to
cope with and frame problems in a complex and changing world. They have to deal with the
socio-cultural and political aspects of organizations as well as their technical dimensions.
7. Visionary. Finally, these individuals are visionaries in the sense that they are not only capable of
creating a dream, but they can translate that dream and image so that other can share them.
Dave Fleck, M.A.A.B.S., CEO and Principal Advisor & Coach
Certified Executive Coach in Appreciative Inquiry & Whole System IQ™
dave@c4os.com; www.c4os.com; Mobile: 908-797-7328
Center for Organizational Success, Inc. (C4OS)
7/7/15