Elliott Jaques in Executive Leadership points to 5 requisite qualities of Managerial Leaders.
- 1. The necessary level of cognitive complexity to carry the level of task complexity of a specific managerial role.
- 2. A strong enough sense of value for the managerial work and the leadership of others.
- 3. The appropriate knowledge plus experienced practice and skilled use of that knowledge.
- 4. The necessary wisdom about people and things.
- 5. The absence of abnormal temperamental or emotional characteristics that disrupt the ability to work with others.
I am going to interpret them below;
- 1. The person has to be smart enough and able to do the work…Not every person is smart enough to handle complex plans, multiple projects, and complete goals independently.
- 2. They have to want to be in charge and find meaning in the work of being a manager…Not every person wants to be in charge, and many people are happy with just doing their job and not having to deal with the responsibilities of managing people.
- 3. The person has to know the work and field they are managing people in and have a record of using what they know about the work and field of work.
- 4. Wisdom comes from maturing and experience. T e person must be able to use their judgment about what people are like and how they will react—using wisdom to know when, how-to, and to whom to share information and directives.
- 5. They can’t be crazy – and are known for violent mood swings of bipolar status. W all know and understand the range of temperament that is normal. If this person is not in that range, they ought not be a manager.