Leadership Qualities That Matter the Most: Lessons from Davos 2014; HuffingtonPost, 2/4/14

Jeffrey M. Cohn, HuffingtonPost; Leadership Qualities That Matter the Most: Lessons from Davos 2014:

"We all know the story by now. The world is more complex, global, latticed, networked and unforgiving. Countless CEOs I sat down with at the World Economic Forum this year reinforced this message. Yet, this begs a very central question. What are the implications for leadership? What qualities will CEOs need to succeed in this more demanding world? And just as important, what qualities should future CEOs begin to develop now, before they are handed the keys to the kingdom?

A small handful of must-have qualities always rise to the surface: empathy, judgment, self-awareness, adaptability, integrity, passion, courage and resilience. Leaders that possess these core attributes -- or underlying drivers of success -- have a remarkably higher probability of performing well, regardless of what context they are thrown into. Interestingly these same qualities matter outside of the corner office -- in politics, sports, entertainment and the military. In that sense, there's a nice lesson for all of us aspiring to be better leaders."