Researchers from Imperial College London, Cornell University and Harvard University analyzed job descriptions for top executives over a time period of 17 years from 2000 to 2017. Their analysis shows that social skills are gaining more and more relevance compared to “traditional” management skills. The researchers used methods that are typically also used in machine learning algorithms to analyze how C-suite job descriptions (e.g. for CEOs, CFOs, CIOs) have changed over time. The data was…
You get what you see. If you see potential instead of deficiencies, you will get the chance to unleash potential. If you see strengths instead of weaknesses, you will get the chance to use these strengths. If you see the achievements instead of the failures, you will get more engagement. What do you see in other people?
Here is our first leaderspresso book tip of the month: “Open Strategy: Mastering Disruption from Outside the C-Suite” by Christian Stadler, Julia Hautz, Kurt Matzler and Stephan Friedrich von der Eichen. Smart leaders involve a wider group of both employees and experts from outside the organization in strategy development processes to create better strategies (as a higher diversity of perspectives will result in more unique strategic ideas) and facilitate strategy implementation (due to higher level…
It is not only through good arguments that leaders can convince and influence others. Recent research results about how entrepreneurs influence investors in entrepreneurial pitches provide insights into the importance of a leader’s visual presence. Chia-Jung Tsay, Associate Professor at the UCL School of Management, tried to find factors that could predict which entrepreneurs would get funded by investors in entrepreneurial pitch competitions. For that purpose, she presented 1,855 study participants with various recordings of…
Hello to all leaders out there, especially the ones who are currently negotating at COP26 in Glasgow! Here´s what Cicero, a wise Roman statesman and philosopher tells us about wise leadership – let us take it to heart!
What do leaders regret when they are reflecting on their prior decisions and actions? The research of Helen Mary Meldrum from Bentley University (USA) reveals the lessons that leaders have learned from professional disappointments. Leaders need to make a lot of choices, and every choice has opportunity costs attached to it (otherwise it would not be a choice in the first place). This, however, also means that there is potential for regret inherent in every…
Fear of failure is a strong driving force for leaders, a driving force that often leads to indecisiveness, control mania and an inability to trust other people. Brené Brown in her book Dare to Lead argues that we need more courageous leaders – people who take a stand for their values, who trust themselves and others, who have the courage to be vulnerable. What do you think: Do we need more leaders who dare more?