But First, Some History

So how do you define executive skills and traits? Well, I started by reading and reading and reading….. Everyone. Okay, maybe not everyone. But I read A LOT. And I discovered that I wasn’t the only one out there with this question in my mind. Darn, no original thought there. (Which could lead me to wonder, are there any original ideas in business anymore? An interesting bunny trail, to be sure.)

Frankly, there are a significant number of excellent thinkers in this area. And I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. So I started with understanding what past and current thinking was on executive skills and traits.

Surprisingly, the very first thinker in this area was in 1938.… Chester Barnard, who wrote “The Functions of the Executive”. (btw, all references are given below so that you can go to the source.) His ideas started my trail of clues as to what the skills and traits of a successful executive are. Barnard believed that the functions of the executive are to: provide a channel of communication, secure the essential efforts, formulate and define purpose. So…. In today’s vernacular, communicate, hire the right people, and be strategic.

But is that all there is to it? Nope.

Since Barnard’s time, many academicians and business people have entered the discussion on the functions of the executive. This includes such folks as: Mintzberg, Drucker, Heifetz, Laurie, Kotter, and Peters. Just as important are the learnings from the business leaders. They furthered my trail of clues relative to the skills and traits of a successful executive.

These thinkers typically either echo Barnard’s list of functions, or in some cases, add to it. For example, Mintzberg echoed Barnard’s list of functions by defining three broad roles of management. Drucker took a different slant by explaining what it takes to be an effective leader, not just what an executive should or shouldn’t do.

Heifetz and Laurie add to the conversation by explaining how our leaders should be adaptable to the challenges and opportunities within their environment. Kotter echoes this addition. He says, “management is about coping with complexity. Leadership, by contrast, is about coping with change.” In this context, one could argue that this provides a fine distinction between management functions and executive functions.

Peters has an extensive body of work relative to leadership. Most striking, for me, is his approach via the realities of leadership. For example, one reality that Peters describes is that “senior managers will be shielded from most bad news”. In defining the realities, Peters adds to the conversation of executive functions, and by extension the skills and traits of successful executives.

And finally, no conversation about executive skills and traits would be complete without some input from business leaders. There are several places to pick up this information -- books by the business community, articles about their successes and failures, etc. Eric Yaverbaum has the results of a research project where he interviewed over 100 CEOs of corporations across the world. His research asked 3 simple questions about the CEOs leadership techniques. It is fascinating that, 40 some years later, the results of his efforts appear to closely align with Barnard’s 1930s view of the functions of the executive.

After all that reading, so what? Well, it allowed me to create a synthesized model of executive skills and traits that became the conceptual framework and foundation for my research. The model is shown here.

Next time……. How did I add to the conversation about successful executive skills and traits??

Cheers!

References:

Barnard, C.I. (1938). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Drucker, P.F. (1967). The effective executive: The definitive guide to getting the right things done. New York: Harper Collins.

Drucker, P.F. (2004). What makes an effective executive? Harvard Business Review, 82(6), 58-63.

Heifetz, R.A. and Laurie, D.L. (2001). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 131-140.

Kotter, J.P. (2001). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 85-96.

Mintzberg, H. (1976). Planning on the left side and managing on the right. Harvard Business Review, 54(4), 49-58.

Mintzberg, H. (1990). The manager's job: Folklore and fact. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 163-176.

Mintzberg, H. (1994). Rounding out the manager's job. Sloan Management Review, 36(1), 11-26.

Mintzberg, H. (1996). Musings on management. Harvard Business Review, 74(4), 61-67.

Mintzberg, H. (2000). View from the top: Henry Mintzberg on strategy and management. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(3), 31-42.

Peters, T. (2001a). Rule #3: Leadership is confusing as hell. Fast Company, 44, 124-138.

Peters, T. (2001b). Leadership: Sad facts and silver linings. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 121-128.

Yaverbaum, E. (2004). Leadership secrets of the world's most successful CEOs: 100 top executives reveal the management strategies that made their companies great. Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing.