Basic Skills Composing Leadership

Much literature has been devoted to the different styles of Leadership. What seems to be more debatable are the different elements of Leadership.

Manfred Kets de Vries, professor at INSEAD, a business school established jointly by the Harvard Business School and the French Ministry of Finance, has examined the leadership skills of Alexander the Great.

According to the professor, Alexander:

- Had a Compelling Vision

- An unsurpassed Execution

- He created a well-rounded executive team.

- He walked the walk.

- He encouraged and supported followers.

- He invested in Talent management.

- He Consolidated gains.

- He planned his succession.

- He created mechanisms of organizational governance.

Joshua Horn, an historian, on his part analyzed the skills of Napoleon thus:

- He was always learning, reading on all matters, studying all subjects he would confront.

- He was a good general, won 60 battles and lost only 7. He was very close to his soldiers.

- He was an efficient organizer, very good at logistics.

- He was brilliant, could handle many topics at once.

- He managed good government, organized, and instituted many public systems, including the Legal Code of France.

- He was very good at his propaganda.

- He had popular charisma.

On the basis of these two analyses can we state that the fundamental traits (setting aside good oratory and charisma skills) of Leadership are:

- Reasoning and Understanding

- Foresight

- Sociability

- Fairness

- Firmness in resolution

- Audacity.

What do you think?