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What Does It Take To Lead: “Can You Be Tough?”

When Brad Smith, a now former CEO of Intuit (2008-1018) was offered a CEO position at Intuit, he asked his predecessor (Steve) if the decision was unanimous. Steve answered that yes, they all agreed that Smith was the right person, but they also all had one open question: 

“Can You Be Tough?”

Intuit was going through difficult period and they were worried that Brad’s ‘Southern kindness’ isn’t going to cut it. He needed to ‘get tough’. Smith made a decision to ‘Have empathy while also making hard decision’. 

Smith must have delivered on his convictions, because after he retired the company put his name on the building with his phrase on the wall: Work hard, be kind, take pride (Dewar et al, 2019).

Harvard Business School Professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership would put ‘being tough’ probably under the category of ‘Adaptability and Resilience”.

Here are 8 most important qualities for successful leadership, by Hill:

1. Authenticity

Being genuine and true to who you are is fundamental to success in any role.

“This understanding ties deeply with your ability to be self-aware: “You need to figure out how to create the conditions for your success, and don’t assume others will do it for you.” 

Authenticity has gained in importance in the last 10 years (Click here to learn more.)

2. Curiosity

Curiosity is a mindset, but it’s also deeply derived from our personality traits. Great leader have an ability to look at from broader, and different perspectives. Great questions to ask is: What could we be doing? 

3. Analytical Power 

Great leaders have the ability to break down complex problems, identify their root causes, and develop innovative solutions. 

4. Adaptability 

Great leaders get out of their comfort zone, embrace new opportunities and challenges, respond quickly to different dynamic and pivot when needed. They foster agile teams. 

5. Creativity

Great leaders establish and nurture a creative environment. They are most likely going to be creative themselves, and they also promote diverse opinions and embrace learning from failure. 

6. Comfort with ambiguity 

Successful leaders embrace linear thinking (analytics) as well as systems thinking. 

7. Resilience 

Successful leaders recognise the fluid nature of the environment that they are and, uncertainty. 

8. Empathy 

Understanding and connecting with others on an emotional level is a key trait of strong leadership, according to Hill. Leaders must foster relationships, build trust, and actively engage with their team members.

Image: Alamy, Jack Nicholson, A few Good Men, 1992.

Rebecca Knight, ‘8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leader’, Harvard Business Reviews, December 2023.

Dewar C, Keller S, Malhotra V (2019) CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish The Best Leaders From The Rest. Scribner.

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