Commitment to the job and good communication skills are the most desirable qualities of a prospective leader according to UK professionals, a survey by workspace provider Regus found.
The report, which canvassed the opinions of over 3,000 senior business people across the country, revealed that 96% of respondents believe good communication skills are a desirable quality in a leader. More surprisingly, commitment to the job polled almost as highly, scoring 91%. Regus said this was seemingly at odds with analysts’ predictions around the growth of the ‘gig economy’, a business climate being driven by individuals working on a project-by-project basis for a number of different firms.
Honesty, confidence and the ability to motivate people were also revealed to be highly valued qualities, each identified by 89% of respondents.
In contrast, financial competence scored 76% and innovative thinking scored 77%. Technical knowledge and ruthlessness were seen as the least desirable traits, identified by just 65% and 41% of UK professionals respectively.
Richard Morris, UK CEO at Regus, said: “Being a good leader is something that most workers aspire to, whether they are dealing with a small team, a large division or an entire organisation.
“Interestingly, commitment scores very highly - a finding that should make the business community sit-up and take notice. The survey results suggest that hopping from job to job and project to project - whilst appealing to those gaining experience and life-skills – is not necessarily conducive to developing management and leadership skills.
“The most popular qualities identified by our respondents are all ones which promote a positive workplace culture. While technical knowledge and financial competence certainly have a part to play, a truly great business leader is someone who knows how to make employees feel valued, who sets a positive example with actions rather than just words and who uses encouragement, rather than intimidation, to draw the best out of people .”
