Leadership Competencies: What It Should Take To Succeed
Leadership experts, Zenger and Folkman, developed an excellent list of 19 core competencies for leaders, and the good news is that they found women excel in many of these competencies. They reviewed over 60,000 surveys and discovered that people believe that women outperform men in 17 of the 19 competencies including drives for results, bold leadership, inspires and motivates, takes initiative, and more.
This was an incredible find. We are investigating the barriers for women in the workplace and why there are so few women in leadership. The Zenger and Folkman study shows us that women are being grossly underutilized in leadership, giving organizations the opportunity to reevaluate how leadership decisions are made. The organizations willing to rethink their decision-making will be able to perform at a higher level for greater success. These findings also explain the data showing that organizations with more women in senior leadership roles outperform their peers.
Leadership Competencies
This list is a resource that everyone can use as you consider areas for personal development, or for organizations to consider when evaluating candidates for leadership positions. As we all work to continuously improve our own skills and the ways in which leadership decisions are made, these competencies serve as a reminder of what excellence looks like.
Takes initiative
Resilience
Practices self-development
Drives for results
Displays high integrity and honesty
Develops others
Inspires and motivates others
Bold leadership
Builds relationships
Champions change
Establishes stretch goals
Collaboration and teamwork
Connects with the outside world
Communicates powerfully and prolifically
Solves problems and analyzes issues
Leadership speed
Innovates
Technical or professional expertise
Develops strategic perspective
You can learn more in Episode 6: 5 Actions to Achieve Increased Leadership by Women.
Join Us
The Parity Podcast was founded by Cathy Nestrick and Deborah Pollack-Milgate. Cathy is a former law partner and General Counsel of a Fortune 500 company. Deborah is a partner at Barnes and Thornburg, practicing IP and commercial litigation. Both are committed to accelerating gender parity through the Parity Prescription. We are happy to talk to you and your organization about how we can work together to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace. You can learn more about our work at www.par-ity.com and you can reach us at CathyandDeborah@par-ity.com.