

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Execution" by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What are the most important qualities of a leader? Why is humbleness an important leadership trait?
In their book Execution, business leaders Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan share the qualities you must embody to be a great leader. According to the authors, without these qualities, you will simply not be able to execute and succeed.
Here are the most important qualities of a leader, according to Bossidy and Charan.
Quality #1: Be Curious and Engaged
The first important quality of a leader is to engage with your employees. Good leaders break through the celebrity facade that often accompanies rank. They don’t smile and wave from a platform at annual gatherings. Instead, they remove their sunglasses, have real conversations, and listen more than they talk.
Bossidy and Charan encourage you to abandon the comfort of your office and get out and talk to people at all levels of your company. Get to know them. What’s working well for them? What’s not working as well as it could? What ideas or requests do they have? You’ll probably be surprised by what you discover. Their insights could inform your next big decision or inspire a breakthrough innovation.
Also, be sure to extend your curiosity beyond company walls to gather intelligence on consumers. Observe consumer behavior so you’re in touch with what’s happening and what risks are on the horizon. Your discoveries, the authors explain, will guide you around pivotal decisions that could either accelerate or hamper growth.
Once you have sufficient knowledge and data, Bossidy and Charan encourage, apply the insights you gain. The more aware you are of what’s happening in and around your company, the better decisions you’ll make. Then, when one of your subordinates says, “That goal isn’t possible. There’s no way,” you’ll be able to have an informed discussion about the capacity across the whole company that does make it possible.
How to Surface Valuable Information You Can Use How do you get people to open up to you? What should you be listening for when they do? Further, how can you possibly keep track of all the information you gather? Let’s expand upon Bossidy and Charan’s recommendations so you feel confident as you engage with others. Talking face-to-face with your employees—Having authentic, unscripted conversations with subordinates comes easier to some than others. To make conversations easier, learn to overcome barriers to good listening by asking clarifying questions and staying attuned to nonverbal cues. Furthermore, whereas Bossidy and Charan focus on discussing work-related matters with staff, Bill Campbell in Trillion Dollar Coach describes the value of getting to know your staff as human beings—talking to them about their personal lives helps foster connection and reinforces job satisfaction. Gathering consumer data—What consumer data or information should you gather specifically? Consider looking into the psychology of consumer behavior to align your company’s actions with consumers’ typical behavior patterns. For example, learning what motivates people to select one product over another can help you design marketing that highlights the particular features in your product that customers desire. Tracking employees’ output—How can a leader realistically track employees’ productivity and workload across the entire company so they can make good decisions? Creative employee monitoring methods can help you stay informed in a way that’s practical and sustainable. Time-tracking software, for example, will allow you to see how much time employees spend on each task and what tasks they’re currently focusing on. You could also conduct a morning huddle where everyone shares their top priority for the day and, if necessary, requests support from other team members. |
Quality #2: Be Humble
Next, keep your ego in check, and never assume you have all the answers. Simply put, you don’t know what you don’t know. Look to others who can complement your abilities and expand your awareness. As Bossidy and Charan emphasize, there is tremendous value in seeking multiple perspectives on important issues. Others’ unique experiences and knowledge will allow you to make more informed decisions—about business strategy, someone’s potential, or a critical business move. Furthermore, you can’t correct mistakes and make the best decisions if you close yourself off to others’ ideas and insights.

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Here's what you'll find in our full Execution summary :
- What execution in business is and why it matters
- The three core functions that leaders must perform to execute well
- The three important qualities leaders must have to execute well