2.2.3 Skills
Manfred Kets de Vries has formulated a relatively new interactive guide of personal
characteristics essential for managers. His perspective postulates that the individual
style of leadership consists of an “internal script” of the central needs and percep-
tions of the individual, and of their skills. Successful managers possess skills
in three main categories. The first includes personal skills such as the orientation
on success, self-assurance, energy and efficiency. The second category consists of
social skills such as influence, political awareness and empathy. The third category
is home to cognitive skills such as conceptual thinking, analytical abilities and the
ability to see the big picture.
For Kets de Vries the following characteristics are also indispensable for leaders:
Directness: A manager must his/her own head and know how to meet his/her goals.
Such leaders are dominant, energetic and highly meritocratic. They have the
ability to move others to take risks or try something new.
Receptivity: A good leader is always open to new ideas and experiences.
Ability to get along: Effective leaders are pleasant people, nice and cooperative in
their personal relations, flexible and amiable. They are good team players and
can see the good side of every situation.
Reliability: A good leader is someone you can rely on. They have a conscience and
delivers what they promise.
Analytical intelligence: Most good managers possess above-average analytical
intelligence and can think strategically.
Emotional intelligence: Successful managers can control their own emotions and
correctly interpret those of others. They can realistically evaluate their own
strengths and weaknesses and are emotionally stable. They establish and main-
tain relationships easily (see de Vries 2004, p. 189 ff).
In addition to the work of Kets de Vries, I would like to add some timeless
virtues from my own point of view: attention to detail, persistence and persever-
ance, consistency, respect, discipline, modesty and a sense of responsibility. These
characteristics are not subject to trends in leadership styles. They are as valid today
as they were a hundred years ago, although they may require slightly updated
definitions as times and work environments change.
Helmut Maucher, former CEO of Nestle ́, once claimed that managers must pay
attention to strengthening characteristics such as sense of responsibility, reliability
and long-term thinking. It seems that in Germany there has been a pervasive lack of
trust in the political and economic elite. This perception was supported by the results
of a survey conducted by the Emnid Institute on behalf of the World Economic
Forum, which indicated that 70% of the Germans polled believed the management
of their company was dishonest – the most negative image of managers in Western
Europe. The population’s distrust of managers in Germany is as bad as in develop-
ing countries such as Albania or Costa Rica. In France only 22% shared this
60 2 Occupation or Calling: What Makes for Good Leadership?