You must appreciate that if followers don’t agree to follow, leaders aren’t really leading. They can’t and here’s why: Leadership is a relationship. Constituents choose, on a daily basis, whether they are going to fully commit their talents, time, and energy to the workplace.
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner – who have researched the foundations of exemplary leadership for more than three decades – have found that constituents choose to follow people who possess some very specific qualities.
“Research shows again and again that there are four characteristics people look for in a leader they are willing to follow,” says Jim, co-author along with Barry of the sixth edition of the best-selling classic The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations (www.leadershipchallenge.com). “We’ve surveyed more than 100,000 people around the globe over the past 30 years, and responses have been remarkably consistent over time.”
In the surveys, respondents are asked to select the seven qualities that they “most look for and admire in a leader, someone whose direction they would willingly follow.” From a checklist of 20 possible characteristics, the same four have consistently received more than 60 percent of the votes over time. They are:
• Honest
• Competent
• Inspiring
• Forward-Looking
“And even across nationalities and countries, these same four characteristics rank at the top,” says Barry. “We also found that the ranking doesn’t significantly vary across industries, organizational functions, hierarchical levels, or by gender, age, or ethnicity.”
Here is a brief explanation of why each characteristic is essential for leaders who want to create a sustainable relationship with those who choose to willingly follow:
Honest
In every survey, honesty is selected more often than any other leadership characteristic; overall, it emerges as the single most important factor in the leader-constituent relationship. The percentages vary, but the final ranking does not. First and foremost, people want a leader who is honest.
When people talk to us about the qualities they admire in leaders, they often use “integrity” and “authenticity” as synonyms for honesty. No matter what the setting, people want to be fully confident in their leaders, and to be fully confident, they have to believe that their leaders are individuals of authentic character and solid integrity. That over 80 percent of constituents want their leaders to be honest above all else is a message that every leader must take to heart.
Competent
When people talk about a competent leader, they aren’t referring specifically to the leader's abilities in the core technology of the operation. People demand a base level of understanding of and relevant experience in the fundamentals of the industry, market, or professional service environment, but they also know that as leaders move up in the organization’s hierarchy, they can’t be expected to be the most technically competent in an operational specialty. Organizations are too complex and multifunctional for that ever to be the case.
For people to have confidence in the competence of their leader, they need to believe that the person knows the business and understands the current operation, culture, and people in the company. They need to know that the leader has had the breadth of experiences that will enable him or her to lead through the challenges that the organization faces at the time.
Inspiring
Leaders must uplift their constituents’ spirits and give them hope if they’re voluntarily going to engage in doing things that they have never done before. Enthusiasm and excitement are essential, and they signal the leader's personal commitment to pursuing a dream. If a leader displays little passion for a cause, why should anyone else? Furthermore, being upbeat, positive, and optimistic offers people hope that the future can be brighter. This is crucial at any time, but in times of great uncertainty, leading with positive emotions is absolutely essential to moving people upward and forward.
When people are worried, discouraged, frightened, and uncertain about the present, they often struggle to focus on the possibilities of tomorrow, and the last thing they need is a leader who feeds those negative emotions. Fear does not persuade people to move ahead by being innovative and taking chances, but rather it motivates them to keep their heads down, hold on to the status quo, and stay out of the way. Fear may bring about compliance, but it never generates commitment. Instead, leaders need to communicate in words, demeanor, and actions that they believe obstacles will be overcome and dreams fulfilled.
Forward Looking
Compared to all the other leadership qualities constituents expect, this is the one that most distinguishes individuals as leaders, because this expectation directly corresponds to the ability to envision the future. After all, if the vision is simply the same-old status quo, then what is the purpose of that leader anyway? Leaders are not content with things as they are today; they focus on how things should be better in the future.
Whether you call that future a vision, a dream, a calling, a goal, a mission, or a personal agenda, the message is clear: Leaders must know where they’re going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey. They have to have a point of view about the future envisioned for their organizations, and they need to be able to connect that point of view to the hopes and dreams of their constituents.
Together, these four characteristics comprise what social scientists refer to as credibility.
“Credibility is the foundation of leadership,” asserts Jim. “People must be able, above all else, to believe in their leaders. To willingly follow them, people must believe that the leader’s word can be trusted, that they are personally passionate and enthusiastic about the work, and that they have the knowledge and skill to lead.”
James M. Kouzes ( is the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, and lectures on leadership around the world to corporations, governments, and nonprofits. Barry Z. Posner is Accolti Endowed Professor of Leadership and former Dean of the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. An accomplished scholar, he provides leadership workshops and seminars around the world. Kouzes and Posnerhave been working together for more than 30 years, studying leaders, researching leadership, conducting leadership development seminars, and serving as leaders themselves in various capacities.