Submitted by: Giesler & Kim LLP(21) Giesler & Kim, LLP Log in to become a member of Giesler & Kim LLP's Fan Club!
A few people have indicated they would be interested in my thoughts about the characteristics of successful business leaders versus the characteristics of those who are unsuccessful. Of course the underlying assumption is that the business person under the microscope has a valuable product, a valuable service or both to market. We also assume there is adequate capitalization.
I look back on thousands of people I have observed over 35+ years as a businessman and lawyer and in an instant conclude that the decisive characteristic of a real leader is humility. Of course education, interest, motivation and experience are also important factors, but even with all those, the arrogant ass fails.
The humility characteristic includes personality traits which are essential to leadership and success. Those characteristics include without limitation the following:
Appreciation for the expertise of others.
Communication with others to benefit from their expertise.
Putting ego considerations aside so that expertise and reasoning drive the decision rather than “self".
Properly rewarding those who provide the expertise and labor which brings success.
Constant, honest self appraisal which inevitably creates humility.
We all recognize the arrogant ass syndrome which is not only the antithesis of leadership, but nauseating over even short time spans. The people I have watched fail usually have the following personality traits:
They know everything.
They do not listen.
They are more interested in who is the boss than the best decision.
They are cheap driving others to seek proper reward elsewhere.
They are usually narcissistic.
We all occasionally slip into the arrogant ass mode, but if we recognize we are on that road to failure, we can change course before we really mess things up. Even though during college days beer, girls, poker and bridge pretty much absorbed my time and energy, I was forced under threat of paddle and push-ups to learn the True Gentleman by heart.
“The True Gentleman"
The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; whose does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company; a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.
It took me a few decades to get The True Gentleman concept. It is an expression of the value and ideals which mark a true leader. Thanks to John Walter Wayland, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Virginia 1899 for The True Gentleman.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is
provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice
provided to you by any health care or other professional or
organization.
