Do Successful Long-Haul Politicians & Successful Corporate Leaders Have Any Key Traits in Common?

Customers can vote with their dollars and shareholder dissatisfaction can result in the removal of senior executives. 'Constituents', however, are stuck with whomever they've voted in and the consequences of that, until at least the next election.

Some politicians care. Some don't . . . until voting time rolls around again.

Some politicians seem perenially tone-deaf to the age-old complaint of constituents, i.e. that, "they're all very concerned about your opinions as a voter, until they're in power, and then they just do whatever they want and ignore the individual voters, anyway."

Having worked in both the public (Parliamentary media support, in my very early career) and the private sector (in executive PR, marcoms, and business development), I can see the hallmarks of similarity between a politician that's successful over the long-haul and an executive that makes it to the corner office (and gets to stay there -

through fair means rather than foul, of course).

Admittedly, it's not a foolproof formula and there's a boatload of variables (most especially in the political context), but it's worthy of consideration, for anyone interested.

Instead of a list of "similarities and differences", I'm going to lay them out as recommendations for a particular practice or attitude . . . and, importantly, I'll lay out my detailed observations and reasoning for each.

I'm going to do this in the format of a multi-article Series. In this article, Part One, I'll list the seven key operating traits of a successful C-Suite executive - as observed by me over the decades, and as included in a publication I wrote in circa 2015.

Here they are, to kick off our Series.

Enduringly successful senior executives demonstrate these qualities:

1) They Listen Intently

One of the quickest, and wisest, ways to inspire trust in an individual (or a collective of individuals) is simply to listen . . . without an arrogant disposition and without an underlying agenda.

This is how the effective C-suite executive achieves early detection of dissatisfaction in the marketplace or dissent in the organisation.

2) They Empathise Genuinely

If an executive has listened intently, and from the most neutral position he or she can manage, he or she is then in a good position to empathise . . . genuinely.

Empathy is based on the "why" behind the emotion or opinion of the other party. And an insightful executive knows well, that understanding the driving force behind the reaction of the market, the client, the board, the division, the employee, the community or any other form of stakeholder, is key to formulating the action plan or determining the solution.

3) They Care Deeply

Yes, indeed, the most driven Alpha male or female, or even the A-grade predator, cares . . . if only because they have to care, in order to determine the best path forward towards the desired result.

They might not always take the path that reflects the desires of the parties in question, but a smart operator knows enough to care about what matters to those parties . . . maybe not every time, but they're aware of the cumulative result-over-time of whether or not they've cared.

4) They Accept that the 'Buck Stops with Them'

Accepting that the "buck stops with (them)" is a troubling concept to those without the courage of their convictions or the intestinal fortitude to accept the responsibility vested in them by their position and those that installed them in it.

But a true leader knows that, by embracing the fact that they are He / She Who Is Ultimately Accountable, they retain the motivation to (a) fix problems fast and effectively, and (b) take actions, and put in place systems, to minimise the rate at which major issues arise in the first place.

5) They Question Relentlessly

Strategically-minded operators know that superficial research or investigation nets superficial knowledge and hit-and-miss strategies or solutions.

Questioning broadly, deeply, and tenaciously, results in a deeper, more meaningful collection of intelligence upon which to base a well-informed marketing or any other form of strategy, or upon which to base an effective solution.

6) They Strategise Collaboratively

They avoid any temptation towards arrogance and presumptuousness.

They know that the plan most likely to succeed is the plan for which multiple sources of intelligence have been consulted, and their inputs analysed and considered.

They also know that sourcing those intelligence inputs as directly as possible creates a sense of collective ownership, outcome motivation, and accountability.

7) They Execute Consultatively

In an extension of (6) Strategising Collectively, they take those involved on the full length and duration of the journey.

They keep all parties engaged, in order to ensure that the afore-mentioned ownership, outcome motivation and accountability is of the most enduring quality possible.

This is the very essence of "buy-in" . . . and a wise senior executive team, a savvy marketing director. or any other senior operative will extend this, where appropriate and strategic, not only as deeply down the levels of the organisation as possible, but also outside of the organisation into the marketplace itself and/or into the broader stakeholder community.

In Part Two of this Series, I'm going to investigate the ways in which these seven modi operandi of a successful C-Suite or similar senior executive, apply in the Parliamentarian-and-Constituent context.

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