Qualities of Leadership

What makes a leader? 

 The top 10 Business leaders of the 20^th century are noted below.  This listing was resourced based on a survey of 7,000 executives by Harvard Business School's Anthony J. Mayo and Nitin Nohria for their book, “In Their Time”

Greatest Business Leaders of the 20th Century

1.      Samuel M. Walton                       Wal-Mart

2.      Walter E. Disney                         Walt Disney

3.      William H. Gates III                   Microsoft

4.      Henry Ford                                  Ford Motor

5.      John P. Morgan                          J.P. Morgan Chase

6.      Alfred P. Sloan Jr.                       General Motors

7.      John F. Welch Jr.                        General Electric

8.      Raymond A. Kroc                       McDonald's

9.      William R. Hewlett                     Hewlett-Packard

10.  David Packard                            Hewlett-Packard

The impact that these success stories had in building America’s business is evident.  As you review the list of these influential innovators you will come across many similar character traits.  I will take a stab at listing some of those traits and I invite you to comment on other personality and behavior characteristics as you deem appropriate.  Please take a moment at the end of the blog to add your thoughts…

Who will be on this list for the 21^st century?  It may be you!  Take a look at some of the “honorable mentions” who were just short of the top 10.

Warren E. Buffett                   Berkshire Hathaway              #17

Estee Lauder                           Estee Lauder                            #22

Henry J. Heinz                       H.J. Heinz                                #23

Steven P. Jobs                        Apple Computer                      #26

Howard Schultz                     Starbucks                                 #30

Michael Dell                          Dell Computer                        #31

Herbert D. Kelleher             Southwest Airlines                 #34

The Persona of leadership: 7 qualities

Vision~ Jack Welch # 7 on the list & former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co., said, "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion."
Ownership ~ Howard Schultz #30 on the list but a “late bloomer” for the 20^th century top 10 list states “"I think it's very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You won't be able to attract and retain great people if they don't feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you don't give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they won't stay."

Integrity ~ Without honesty you have nothing. As Warren Buffet #17 notes “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy.  And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you”.

Humility ~  “Think small and act small, and we’ll get bigger.  Think big and act big, and we’ll get smaller”.  Herb Kelleher, founder & CEO of Southwest Airlines and # 34 on the list.

Learn from mistakes ~ Bill Gates #3 on our list, founder & CEO Microsoft stated: “It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failures

Belief & Passion ~ ”it’s hard to tell with these internet startups if they’re really interested in building companies or if they’re just interested in the money.  I can tell you though: If they don’t really want to build a company, they won’t luck into it.  That’s because it’s so hard that if you don’t have a passion, you’ll give up”. Steve Jobs, # 26 Apple

Creativity ~ “if I had asked the public what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse”. Henry Ford #4 Ford Motor Company

What are your thoughts on what makes a leader?  There are so many qualities of leadership and I would appreciate your comments.