The behaviours of leaders who get things done

Abstract

This research was undertaken to establish the behaviours of leaders who get things done. Leadership attributes can be divided into three broad categories, namely, personal traits of leaders (who leaders are), their knowledge and skills (what leaders know) and their behaviours and styles (what leaders do). This research was part of a collaborative study undertaken with two other MBA students at the Gordon Institute of Business Science. Qualitative research methods were used. The research was exploratory in nature and was conducted by holding in-depth, semi-structured interviews with fifteen successful business leaders in South Africa. Fifteen behavioural themes were identified as relevant to the behaviours of leaders who get things done, i.e. engaging and being approachable, having and articulating a vision, managing emotions, inspiring and motivating, communicating, choosing the right teams, displaying energy and passion, showing you care, listening, being visible, focusing on results, empowering staff, expressing trust and confidence in one’s people, responding to situations in a flexible manner and building strong teams. In addition, the research found that these behaviours are associated with the transformational leadership style. Another finding is that personal traits and leadership behaviour are important factors influencing how leaders get things done, more so than knowledge and skills are. Copyright