The ability to motivate, and integrity are seen by UK workers as the most important attributes to lead a successful business, according to a new study.

The study by Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann, the executive search and leadership consultancy. Yet according to the employees surveyed, the majority of bosses don’t demonstrate these qualities in the workplace. As the summer movie ‘Horrible Bosses’, starring Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, draws in audiences across the UK the research looks into what the nation’s workforce thinks of business leaders and what they think are the qualities required to manage a successful company, findings which Korn/Ferry has then analysed in the light of its own experience of assessing, developing and hiring business leaders. 

Tony Vardy, Managing Director, Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann, explained: “As a business that has been assessing and placing company bosses for over 40 years, we have a wealth of knowledge of what leaders need to be successful.  However, our research shows that many employees think their boss doesn’t have the necessary leadership attributes. Our experience tells us that in reality most business leaders do have these qualities, certainly in large companies, but some demonstrate these more effectively to shareholders or the media than to their employees. The best company leaders succeed in proving their leadership characteristics to all stakeholders: shareholders, customers, the media, colleagues and employees alike.”

Being a good communicator is the quality most commonly associated with being an effective business leader according to the findings, but only one in five workers (21%) believes the boss of their business has this skill. The ability to motivate staff is seen as the second most important characteristic, but just 13 percent of employees think their boss is a good motivator. Having a good moral compass is seen as a crucial ‘boss factor’, but just 14 percent of workers think their boss has integrity, a quality that is much more important to female workers, with 13 percent of them seeing it as the most important attribute compared to just seven percent of men.

Less than one in ten employees (Nine percent) sees their organisation’s leader as inspirational, and just 16 percent think they have long-term vision. Only 17 percent of UK workers think their boss is decisive, and fewer still (12 percent) think their boss has charisma or personality. But while workers don’t rate their own bosses, they don’t necessarily think celebrity bosses would do a better job either, with only one in three workers (37 percent) saying they think The Apprentice’s Lord Sugar would run their organisation better than their current boss. They do think business leaders are generally given a hard time in the media though, with 29 percent saying the way they are portrayed in the media diminishes their reputation, compared to just ten percent who think it enhances it.

UK workers think bosses that are bad leaders are those that are arrogant, have poor communication skills, and are uncaring. Employees are also critical of the type of boss who is obsessed with targets, places more interest in investors than employees, is indecisive or risk-averse, or focuses on cost control rather than growth. Tony Vardy continues: “Employees are often perceptive and accurate about aspects of what it takes to be a great boss. For example, in our recent research they identified being a good communicator as the most important factor, which we agree is an absolutely essential leadership characteristic. But they tend to choose attributes that directly affect the interaction between them and their boss such as the ability to motivate or being a good judge of character, and do not place as much emphasis on characteristics that may be invisible to them.   Strategic skills or the development of the leadership team are two examples of characteristics important for leaders, however the majority of the workforce didn’t refer to this through the course of our research.” 

Through its work as the world’s leading executive search, leadership and talent management firm, Korn/Ferry has developed a comprehensive list of important leadership characteristics that are fundamental for business leaders or aspiring business leaders. They should have a well-rounded set of skills and qualities that range from strategic to operational and organisational skills, and personal, interpersonal characteristics and the ability to develop their team.