CEO Traits

I was reading an article about traits required by CEOs where some UoC professors did a research and came out with some surprising conclusions. To set the context right, the complete article can be found at -

http://www-news.uchicago.edu/citations/07/071119.kaplan-wsj.html

Here is a brief summary of the article -

Here are five CEO traits that correlate most closely with business success at buyout companies -- and five that score lowest, according to University of Chicago researchers.

Traits that matter...

• Persistence

• Attention to detail

• Efficiency

• Analytical skills

• Setting high standards

...and not so much

• Strong oral communication

• Teamwork

• Flexibility/adaptability

• Enthusiasm

• Listening skills

Well, interesting find. Isn't it. However, I beg to disagree. I think I am sticking to the adage of Chicago GSB - "Challenge Everything!" [Well, I might have got denied two times, but I am still hooked up to the Challenge Everything theme it seems or perhaps I always believed in it?]

What my opinion is that these two set of traits are both important depending upon the type of company a CEO is heading. Not even "type" but I feel the quality of people in the company. If a company is made up of mediocre junta the first set of traits becomes very important. I am assuming the CEO is a "true" leader - analytical, sharp and intelligent. Yes, then it becomes important for him/her to be persistent in his/her efforts, not to get bogged down by initial goof-ups by his employees. It becomes important for him/her to be very attentive to details because there is a high probability that important details have been missed by his staff. Analytical skills are important because of course we need someone to analyze the critical issues and challenges - if the staff is mediocre the CEO has to don the "thinking cap". If he/she does not set high standards, it would be almost impossible to break the shackles of mediocrity. Yes, a CEO in this setup does not require team work - he/she would be wasting his time listening to others in his team who probably can't even think what he/she is thinking. Also, why would he/she need listening skills in this case? Why listen to some crappy suggestions by crappy staff.

On the contrary, if the team is a set of highly talents individuals - the second set becomes more important. You need teamwork and good listening skills because every opinion counts and is valuable. You can not rule in such a setup blindly - collaboration is the key to leverage strengths of every talented individual could make the difference. If you are not flexible or adaptable then it might so happen that due to the CEO's adamant attitude important ideas might never get implemented.

So, I believe that both the sets of qualities are important for CEOs in different settings and blindly saying one set is more important than the other might be injustice to important qualities like oral communication, Teamwork, Flexibility/adaptability, Enthusiasm, Listening skills.