What does it take to be
a successful leader today?
The elements of leadership are connected and should be aligned for optimum performance. Trying to drive change in a piecemeal way is doomed to fail.
Great leaders create the conditions for success
Leaders are the bridge between context and outcomes. By focusing on the four conditions below, they can optimize performance.
Our model takes a holistic and systemic approach to leadership, looking beyond the individual to consider how they can unify their teams and energize the organization to achieve great outcomes.
Coherence
Clarity
Alignment
Vitality
Clearly articulate a mission and destination, expressed through purpose, vision, strategy and a target culture.
Ensure the most critical resources of the organization are available, organized and strategically deployed to maximize performance.
Ensure people are motivated and inspired with a sense of energy and purpose so they go the extra mile and do extraordinary things together.
Continually monitor the context, ensuring that the other conditions remain aligned with the needs of the business and with one another.
Why is a systems view of leadership more important today?
The most powerful elements of leadership are less visible and can be harder to address
While it’s important to consider traditional leadership elements, as visualized above ground, it’s also essential to address the below-the-surface elements that are harder to see and manage. Under-the-surface leadership dimensions help organizations be more agile in responding to today's more dynamic, faster-paced and disrupted world.
ORGANIZATION
INDIVIDUAL
Example 1
Example 2
How to think about the right leader for your context
Leadership selection needs to be grounded in the context and the desired outcomes for the role. Defining the experience, capabilities, character traits and other leadership attributes that matter for success in a particular position can help you find the person best equipped to create the conditions for success in your organization. While most companies spend more time assessing individuals’ career and capabilities, our research tells us that capacity and character are more important factors for predicting a leader’s potential for success in the future — and make the most difference at the top.
Learn how we can help you apply our leadership model to address your leadership challenges.
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Compatibility
Career
Capabilities
Capacity
Character
How well do the leader’s attributes align with the business and cultural context of the organization and the desired outcomes?
Professional experiences and expertise are the most visible and accessible ways to evaluate whether an individual can perform in a given role in the near term.
Career
Strategic planning, leading people, and influencing and collaborating are three of the six key aptitudes that are most important for predicting leadership performance. They reveal how a leader gets results.
Capabilities
Capacity
An intrinsic indicator of potential, capacity predicts how far and fast a person can adapt and grow.
Deeply held preferences, motivations and personal style speak to why people do what they do, which informs how a leader will work with a team, align with a culture and respond to development needs.
Character
More visible
A leader’s career experience and the capabilities they have developed are traditional factors for determining success.
Going deeper
However, attributes such as agility, ethics, motivations and personal style that speak to a person’s character and capacity are
more important factors for predicting a leader’s potential
for success in the future.
When selecting a leader, you must consider the potential impact on team dynamics
When trying to change culture, consider what kinds of leaders are needed to support the shift
TEAM
EXAMPLE 2
Hover over to see the difference between
As organizations confront new challenges and opportunities amid an increasingly fast-changing context, appreciation has grown for the power of leadership and talent. All too often, though, leaders focus on more visible and traditional areas, such as refining strategy, articulating values and establishing formal team objectives. All those matter, but organizations that will win over time will be those that go deeper to tackle the harder-to-manage, less visible elements of leadership and take a systems view of leaders and what they do.
Compatibility
Leadership
Context and Objectives
Outcomes
Individual
Career
Capabilities
TEAM
Composition
Formal Objectives
ORGANIZATION
Strategy
Structure
INDIVIDUAL
Capacity
Character
TEAM
Team Dynamics
Trust
ORGANIZATION
Purpose
Culture
Conflict and lack of trust among C-suite leaders multiplies as it trickles down in the organization, potentially influencing cultural behaviors. Conversely, alignment and trust in the top team increases alignment and trust throughout the organization.
A team of leaders who are all exceptional strategic thinkers but lack character traits required to cultivate trust and positive team dynamics — such as self-awareness and emotional intelligence — is doomed to fail.
The more visible parts of the tree, including the branches and leaves, represent a traditional approach to leadership. Our model goes deeper, looking below the surface at the roots and foundation that support leadership from the individual level across the organization.
Clarity
Alignment
Vitality
Coherence
EXAMPLE 1
SYSTEM
And all the elements are connected in a system that must be addressed holistically.
Going deeper
Strong relationships, trust and healthy team dynamics
equip organizations to be more adaptable and successful over time.
More visible
Team composition, formal agendas
and well-defined areas of
responsibility are prioritized.
INDIVIDUAL
TEAM
Going deeper
Purpose, values and culture
are increasingly important for inspiring and energizing the organization to achieve outcomes.
More visible
ORGANIZATION
Strategy and structure are a major focus for leaders.
more visible and going deeper.
Organizations that win over time will be those that go deeper to tackle the harder-to-manage, less visible elements of leadership, and take a systems view of leaders and what they do.
TELL ME MORE
Clarity
Alignment
Vitality
Coherence
Clearly articulate a mission and destination, expressed through purpose, vision, strategy and a target culture.
Clarity
Ensure the most critical resources of the organization are available, organized and strategically deployed to maximize performance.
Alignment
Ensure people are motivated and inspired with a sense of energy and purpose so they go the extra mile and do extraordinary things together.
Vitality
Continually monitor the context, ensuring that the other conditions remain aligned with the needs of the business and with one another.
Coherence
MORE VISIBLE
GOING DEEPER
INDIVIDUAL
TEAM
ORGANIZATION