The essence of leadership in business

THE ESSENCE OF LEADERSHIP IN BUSINESS
THE PERSONAL
ATTRIBUTES
OF LEADERS

Top three

Passion
2

Strategic
vision
1

External stakeholders exerting the
greatest influence on business leaders:

Consumers

Mentorships are a
reciprocal relationship, as
business leaders can share
their experience as well as
get a fresh perspective
from junior colleagues.
Kathryn Parsons, co-founder, Decoded

Over 7 in 10

attributes for business leaders

Regulators

Institutional
investors

THE IMPACT OF
LEADERSHIP ON
PERFORMANCE

Interpersonal
skills
3

respondents think
personality plays a crucial
role for business leaders

Over half say
technology has
shaped business
leaders’ profile in the
past 5 years

SOURCES OF
INFLUENCE

69% say being
hands-on is as
crucial for leaders
as leading from

above

Everybody knows who’s
the boss. You don’t
need to be isolated or in
a corner – all that does
is remove you from your
own business.
Doug Richard, founder,
School for Startups

Over 9 in 10

executives think
companies’ performance
is linked to
managerial
excellence

Only 27%

rate their firm’s chief
executive as
exceptionally good

If leaders want their
company to thrive, then
their firm must serve a
social purpose the
customer believes in.

Firms have to stand for
something more than
profitability alone.
Pippa Malmgren, founder, DRPM Group

SPO N SO R E D B Y:

Unless otherwise stated, this infographic depicts the results of a survey of 601 business
executives conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit in October 2014.