The leadership reality check
70% of leaders fit into these four types—and they all have weak spots by J. Evelyn Orr and Guangrong Dai
November 2011 Korn/Ferry research found that four primary patterns of leadership account for 70 percent of managers and executives. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses that play out in different ways on the job. Matching leadership type to job assignment can help leaders make informed choices and proactively plan for their development.
Task-oriented or people-oriented? Democratic or autocratic? Hands-on or laissez-faire? Often descriptions like this are artificially dichotomous. An analysis of managers’ and executives’ actual skill profiles reveals four real-world leadership types that aren’t so black-and-white. Seeing the gray is a good thing. Here’s why: People identify their strengths fairly accurately, but gloss over their weaknesses. The four leadership types that Korn/Ferry research has uncovered reflect leaders as they are, warts and all. So those who recognize their strengths in one type can then spot their probable corresponding weaknesses. Simple self-awareness of these patterns can help leaders improve and transcend the limits of their type. The key ingredients for effective organizational leadership already have been parsed and named: the smarts and savvy to set strategy; the courage, drive, and operations skills to execute effectively; and masterful vision, influencing, and interpersonal skills to see it come together smoothly (Lombardo and Eichinger 2011). It is rare to find all of these qualities in one person, but fortunately, research has found that being great at a handful of things—if they are the right things—is enough. Successful leaders tend to have four to seven towering strengths but no glaring weaknesses (Lombardo and Eichinger 2011; Ulrich, 2009). Seeing both sides of the leadership coin is the first step to shoring up those weak spots.