We all want to get ahead, to be successful, to be more powerful, to be happy. But it is a fallacy that getting ahead has to be coupled with managing status. Many executives unfortunately think this to be so and promote excellent men into jobs for which they are not qualified.
The perfect example of this is the president who makes his best salesman sales manager. A year later he wonders why the sales department is such a mess.
What, then, are leadership qualities? What should you be looking for and developing in yourself if you think you must be a manager? The following is a description of an unquestionably great, if controversial, leader.
He acted, he emoted; he was angry, he was smiling. He was persuasive, he was demanding; he was philosophical, he was elemental. He was sensible, he was unreasonable; he was benevolent, he was malicious. He was satirical, he was soothing; he was funny, he was gloomy. He was exciting. He was human.
This successful executive, Franklin D. Roosevelt, as described by Washington newsman Jack Bell, may not have been everyone's ideal, but he was an impressive human being and leader.
The successful boss thinks rationally and objectively, but can be imaginative and creative when the situation requires it. He is perceptive-sensitive to form and affected by beauty. He is articulate and has a feeling for language, a respect for clarity and directness of expression. He is at home in the world of quantity, number and measurement. In making decisions, he acts with maturity, balance and perspective. He is tolerant of the beliefs of others because he respects sincerity and is not afraid of ideas. Not only is he not afraid of responsibility, he thrives on it.
If these descriptions do not fit the presidents of companies you know, you shouldn't be surprised. Great leaders, as we have said, are rare. If you feel that you are missing some of these qualifications, don't despair. Many of them can be learned or developed.
More to the point, if the challenges implied here are exciting to you, you may be the man we are looking for. If, however, they strike you merely as means to a successful end, I uncharitably wish you failure.
Leadership is a specialty. It is no tragedy if it doesn't hap pen to be yours. You may be a fine salesman, auditor, engineer, designer or carpenter. Don't make your life miserable by fighting to get into a specialized field like leadership if you are unqualified.
Experts on Leadership Ability
The question "Who ought to be boss?" is like asking, "Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?" Obviously, the man who can sing tenor. Henry Ford
Personal deficiencies might be termed negative qualities and include unreliability, failure to cooperate, laziness, un tidiness, trouble making, interference and dishonesty. Positive qualities would include willingness, cheerfulness, courtesy, honesty, neatness, reliability and temperance. Many fail in their work because they are unable to overcome one personal deficiency. Check up on yourself. Don't be afraid to put yourself under a microscope. Eliminate your negative qualities. Develop your positive ones. You can't win with the check mark in the wrong place. M. WiNETTE
Many imagine that the higher you go, the easier the climbing. Don't be governed by that theory unless you have a soft place to fall back into. J. L. Boggus
Contrary to public opinion, an executive is a specialist. He is a specialist who became a generalist, one who used his particular specialty as the ladder upon which to climb to success. Even a chief executive is a specialist-a specialist at picking the brains of other specialists. WiLBERT E. SCHEER
Courage, ability to inspire confidence, patience, persistence, adaptability, judgment and more judgment. These are qualities top executives look for most when they try to identify men for management responsibilities. Charles A. Cerami
