Successful Leaders Are Not Who You Think They Are.

I’ve been doing some research recently for an upcoming keynote on Influence targeted at a C-Suite audience and I stumbled across the CEO Genome Project by Elen Botelho and Kim Powell from ghSMART.

Their research looks at and blatantly challenges what we assumed and perceived to be a powerful or successful leader.  I appreciate this contrarian approach as it challenges people to think differently and challenge their existing views of who / or what success looks like (we have the same view and belief at The Influence Authority) – challenge the status quo and never allow the external view or opinion to shape your success or direction. 

The short version is that they conducted research and interviewed 27 000 C Suite Executives over 15 Years covering most major industries and Companies from the Fortune 100 down to businesses which did $10 million in revenue per annum.

The research was astounding and probably not what you’d expect either.  We all make assumptions regarding what a successful leader “looks like”, “how they show up”, “what credentials or academic background they have”, etc.  Turns out, most of that is irrelevant.  

“80% of Large Companies pick an insider  – where the board assumed they know who they are looking for, and who would be a natural successor… it turns out to be a bad hire and ends up costing US Businesses $112 Billion per annum”. 

We see this time and time again, and we’ve written about various studies where group think take over, or people or are persuaded and manipulated into decision making as a result of a few loud or obnoxious voices dominating the room. 

We love how the study goes on to shed light and buck a few trends and perceptions specifically related to: 

• Being Charismatic is Good – It had/has no bearing on performance results.
• Academics and strong educational background are important – 8% of participants did NOT finish college.
• A flawless track record is essential – 45% Had massive failures and 100% made “significant” mistakes.
• Having a strong accent is a detractor – Strong accents led to being 12% less likely to get the top job…  Accents have NO bearing on performance. 
• Women are 28% less likely to get the top job – Data shows Women are equally as successful as their male counterparts. 

So that leads us to the question of what actually makes the big difference, well based on the data set, it is divided into 4 key areas (DARE)

DECISIVENESS:
Speed of decision making vs Accuracy and precision (Leaders who scored highly here were 12 more times likely to achieve success)

ADAPTABILITY:
Rather than recognising and being the first to catch onto new trends, ironically it was the ability of dropping old behaviors and strategies that led to success. (Leaders who scored highly here were 7 more times likely to achieve success)

RELENTLESS RELIABILITY:
Highly Reliable Leaders were twice as likely to get picked for the CEO job, it seems like the easiest and most straightforward to achieve yet, it was the lowest scoring metric across everyone who was assessed and ironically had the most significant impact. (Leaders who scored highly here were 15 times more likely to achieve success).

ENGAGING FOR RESULTS:
The Successful Leader’s focus was on results not on being liked or charismatic.  Good balance of rewards system focussing on a well balanced “carrots and sticks” approach.  (Leaders who scored highly here were twice as likely to achieve success).

So what does this mean for us aspiring to climb the ranks and be more influential.  Like with everything else…  Success leaves clues and by being intentional and deliberate about our actions.  Being strategic and clear about our goals, and by developing skills and competencies to counteract our weaknesses we can ALL achieve so much more.

You might be wondering what the direct tie into Influence is here…  Quite simply…  Develop more self awareness, regularly request and solicit feedback from those we like and trust and be aware of our internal dialogue and self talk.  DARE is the framework and the competencies and Influence is the vehicle…  Specifically what I mean by that is, its all very well to possess the DARE characteristics, yet if we are not able to inspire a room through a verbal and non verbal communication, if we cant inspire trust through our actions and demeanour and if we use language which lacks substance, certainty and depth – everything else will evaporate and become meaningless too.  

To make this more practical and tangible: Conduct a DARE audit and intentionally focus on how you can develop these competencies and reflect on “how” you can present or convey these characteristics more credibly and confidently. 

Authority is given, Influence is earned.