Characteristics of an Effective Leader

Many executives are hired for their technical skills and experience and then, ultimately, fired due to a lack of leadership skills.

Of 462 executives who were asked, "What are the necessary characteristics of an effective leader today?"

The results were pretty telling:

• Ethical Behavior was ranked as the most important characteristic, gaining votes from 56 percent of the leaders interviewed, followed by
• Sound Judgment (51%) and
• Being adaptable and flexible (47%).

When asked, "What are the biggest challenges to implementing leadership coaching in your organization?"

• 56 percent of 220 human resource professionals polled said the lack of HR inclusion in decisions was the biggest hurdle.
• Other responses included, time constraints due to business demands (39%),
• management unaware of coaching's value (20%) and
• a perception that coaching is punitive (8%).

If your employer hires an executive coach to polish your prowess should you celebrate or worry that they think less of your leadership skills?

Leadership coaches are frequently brought in to help a star player navigate to a new role or advance more rapdily within a company. Other businesses, however, hire a coach to fix a potential leader's flaws, such as poor interpersonal skills.

Whatever the reason, be smart and maximize the career benefits of having a coach. Outright resistance or passive aggressiveness are bad ideas. Coaches cost a lot of money and using this personal development resource wisely is in your best interest. Getting an outside point of view can help you become clearer on who you are and what you need to do to get to where you want to be.

Do you need a coach? http://home.att.net/~coachthee/next/index.html

John G. Agno Certified Executive & Business Coach

--Sources: American Management Association, DBM, The Wall Street Journal

Steve Richards: Clegg could be an engaging and Effective Leader. But how much does that matter? (Independent)
The Liberal Democrats' leader, Nick Clegg, has attracted more publicity for his parliamentary contortions over Europe than for his speech to the party's spring conference at the weekend. Yet for several reasons his speech was more significant.

RHR International White Paper Shows Authenticity is Vital for Women Leaders (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
CHICAGO----When a woman is operating at her most authentic self, she simultaneously feels and is viewed as being a more effective Leader. In a recent study of highly accomplished women conducted by RHR International, a world Leader in executive and organizational development, authenticity was consistently cited as making the greatest positive difference in accelerating and cascading the ...

New Russian Leader warns Europe over NATO expansion (Euro Observer)
25.03.2008 - 09:21 CET | By Lucia Kubosova Incoming Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has warned that expansion of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia would affect Europe's security.

During talk, San Fransisco mayor calls for more risk taking in politics (Stanford Report)
As demonstrators lined up outside the California Supreme Court building during the debate over the constitutionality of a law banning same-sex marriage, San Francisco's charismatic Mayor Gavin Newsom was talking to a Business School audience about the difference between sweet talk and concrete action when it comes to being an effective Leader.

Buffett's Plan for Successful Succession (BusinessWeek)
Drucker would applaud Berkshire Hathaway's Leader, whose approach to finding a replacement is rational, virtuous, and free of "force, fraud, or favoritism"

Trustees select Graeff to lead schools (Ramona Sentinel)
Maureen Robertson 14.MAR.08 Intelligent, creative, student-focused, visionary, personable, talented, dedicated. Those are a sample of words school officials use to describe Dr. Robert Graeff, soon to be Ramona Unified School District's new superintendent.

The most critical knowledge is self-knowledge. www.CoachedtoSuccess.com