How To Be A Leader

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Management Today – How To Be A Leader

Faith in leadership is being tested: character and values hold the key to restoring confidence, argues Egon Zehnder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Damien O’Brien in MT Management Today.

Last year the Edelman Trust Barometer revealed trust in business leaders is at an historic low and, since trust is highly correlated with productivity and innovation, companies urgently need to address this issue. In O’Brien’s experience, leadership today is more than ever about character. True leaders are inherently motivated by a desire to positively influence others and are often distinguished by character traits like curiosity, resilience and determination. “It is only after we have looked at motivation, identity and leadership character that we focus on the ‘hard’ elements like skills, competencies and industry knowledge,” continues O’Brien. “These hard things are, of course, essential – but not sufficient to be an inspiring, trusted business leader,” he adds. In his view, companies need to adopt a bolder, more creative approach to identifying their leadership.

Full story: Damien O’Brien: MT Expert: How To Be A Leader in MT Management Today (18 December 2013)