Recently over cocktails I asked a former Bain colleague who gets hired by the top private equity firms in the country to evaluate the leadership teams of prospective portfolio companies what he has learned that is not so obvious about the qualities of good leaders.
In short, he said, we’ve learned that a failing profile for a leader is the Lamb!! The lamb is the individual where if you interview the person’s direct reports, they praise him or her for being a good guy or gal. This is a big red flag he says. They are well-liked, sociable but do not hold their team accountable.
Just the opposite, he said, is the winning leadership profile of one who sets high expectations and holds their team accountable.
At a recent TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs Society meeting, Kelly Gay spoke about this topic. 80% of what she focused on was the key job she has in helping her 7 VP’s be true leaders, taking accountability and responsibility for their actions and the actions of their team. Gay added that to make this work, a chief executive needs to be willing to let his or her leaders make decisions that she would not have made herself. Click here to view Kelly Gay’s presentation.
Are you the type or leader who truly bears the burden of leadership even when it means requiring leadership from your employees?
The next TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs Society Meeting and Roundtable on Thursday, October 4th will feature Claire “Yum” Arnold, on The Journey to Entrepreneurship:
Some entrepreneurs are born, for others it’s an evolution. Yum Arnold will explain how she moved from corporate roles at Coca Cola to forming Leapfrog Services, Inc. in 1998.
Click here for more information or to register.