22 Executive Leadership
Characteristics:
Critical Senior Leader Skills that are Game Changers
Senior Executive Leadership Strategies and Characteristics
by Douglas R. Satterfield
© April 2014
www.theleadermaker.com
Table of Contents
 Purpose
 Vignette
 Values
 Methods
 Skills
 Executive Leadership
 A Final Word
 References
 Contact
Purpose
Executive leadership is qualitatively different
from basic leader traits. This presentation
provides 22 of the most crucial executive
leader characteristics that are ingredients to
the greatest and most successful leaders of
our time.
Vignette
The Inchon Landing
Touted as General Douglas MacArthur's “Last Triumph” and conducted against
great odds, the September 1950 amphibious landings at Inchon, Korea rehabilitated
the U.S. military's tarnished post-World War II image. MacArthur’s admirers and
detractors alike admitted to his uncanny predilection for victory, never so evident
than at his landing at Inchon in the Korean War, code-named “Operation Chromite.”
The Inchon landing offered the promise of relieving battered United Nations
defenders on the Pusan Perimeter, soundly defeating the North Korean People’s
Army (NKPA).” Operation Chromite did not introduce any fundamentally new
aspects to the art of war. Rather, the operation served to reinforce traditional
lessons, such as the importance of maintaining trained and ready forces to deter
aggression or confront a contingency, the priceless value of sure-footed staff work,
and the tangible benefits of innovation, flexibility and individual resourcefulness -all qualities on which Americans pride themselves. MacArthur identified a strategic
opportunity, managed to cobble together forces to execute a plan, and then
permitted his commanders and troops to pull it off. The Inchon invasion was
undoubtedly the right course of action at that juncture in the fighting and it opened
up numerous options for how, when and where to actually end the war.
Values:
1. Honesty
2. Moral Courage
3. Humility
4. Integrity
5. Loyalty
6. Credibility
Methods:
1. Build Trust and Confidence
2. Develop Strategy
3. Communications
4. Take Care of Employees
5. Drive a Positive Culture
6. Relevant Experiences
7. Passion
8. Persistence
Skills:
1. Overcome Obstacles
2. Learn from Failure
3. Persistence
4. Professional Competence
5. Adaptability
6. Understanding People
7. Fit the Organization
8. Driving a Positive Work Culture
Executive Leadership:
Leaders at the senior executive level differ
fundamentally from other, developing leaders.
The executive leader has both a higher
commitment to organizational values,
capability to use specialized methods, and
possess a high degree of professional skills.
Without these, the leader is flawed and is
prone to eventually failure.
A Final Word:
General Douglas MacArthur displayed
executive leadership but it was a way of life
for him. Likewise, leadership is a way of life
for those who are truly leaders. Anyone
wanting to grow and be more than what they
are, can be that person as long as they have
the passion to get there.
References:
24/7: The First Person You Must Lead is You. Becky Halstead
Antifragile. Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. Robert Gates
How Successful People Think. John C. Maxwell
Lincoln the Unknown. Dale Carnegie
Outliers: The Story of Success. Malcolm Gladwell
Rumsfeld’s Rules. Donald Rumsfeld
The Spirit to Serve: Marriott’s Way. J.W. Marriott, Jr.
Winning Through Innovation. Michael L. Tushman
Contact Page:
theleadermaker@outlook.com