X factor among C-suite executives
What’s the X factor among C-level executives? This was the question I aimed to answer for my thesis at my master’s studies in organizational development at the Pepperdine University. What was the one common thing among the best leaders that made them deserving of their posts?
If we could find this secret ingredient, we could shape our leaders intentionally, so we produce better generations.
“Leadership is inside out,” says L. Michael Hall, founder of the International Society of Neuro-Semantics and author of 70 books. This means that skills alone do not make a great leader. Using Michael Hall’s Matrix Model, I interviewed C-suite executives from seven different industries—food and beverage, retail, fintech, airlines, chemicals, market research and education —from different countries.
The study was done during the COVID crisis, which threw the whole world a curveball. Most of the leaders interviewed said their most difficult leadership moment happened during the pandemic when they had to redefine operations fast and with limited resources.
I wanted to get into the fibers of how they think, what kept them going. These were the themes that came out from my research.
Meaning
When asked what meaning they attach to their C-suite role, the common theme was that it was about doing something for others and creating an impact.
A participant mentioned, “It’s a position to be able to influence things to create a bigger impact, elevate things together, lead to more fulfilled and happier people.”
Others answered, “[to be] an influencer in the field and in the industry” and “a savior to the organization and to the company.”
These ideas of rising above one’s self to impact other people can be associated with Maslow’s (1977) concept of transcendence.
Intention
What purpose kept them going during the toughest times?
Most participants gave reasons that were outside of self and business. They talked about service, missions and their desire to contribute to the community.
One interviewee said: “Our mission is to create design leaders. So we can use design as a tool to make a huge impact in human lives.”
Another said, “Service of the organization, vision to provide work for women.”
A third participant answered: “This may be a big feat, but we want to help increase food security and reduce hunger problems by understanding agriculture. I want to leave a legacy that my kids can be proud of.”
This was the biggest why that gave them the energy when things felt impossible.
Others
What do they believe about the people they worked with that allowed them to lean into them? Everyone had people they trusted to be there for them. Verbatim answers were “everyone will rise up to the challenge” and “they have my best interest at heart.” Not one said, “I need to do everything myself.”
They know how to trust people and work with them.
Belief in the world
On what they believed about the world during their challenging moments, most participants were optimistic. They believed that there was hope and that things would work out.
About 13 percent of participants mentioned having possibilities. Verbatim answers were: “There are a lot of possibilities, I believe in that.”
“Anything is possible.”
“Goodness will always prevail.”
“The sun will rise tomorrow.”
For these leaders, possibility thinking is key even if there is little hope in sight.
Emotional Intelligence
As the one who designed the study and the questions, I had my hypotheses on what the answers would be. I guessed that in terms of emotional quotient or EQ, these leaders would be courageous and undaunted. And yet, so many of them shared how frustrated, anxious, worried and sad they were at that time.
Despite having hope, most of them shared how hopeless they had felt at that time.
Identity
About 80 percent of the participants answered positively when asked about who they were as leaders. Among the positive themes mentioned were survivor, leader, warrior, teacher, optimist, cocreator; someone irreplaceable, with the capability to help and with the responsibility to do the difficult things. This was how they saw themselves as leaders.
Skills
The one area where I expected the most common themes to occur was that of skills and competencies. And this was the area with the biggest variance. Only self-awareness and decision-making skills were repeated once, and the rest had as many answers as there were participants.
From the limited time and participants used in the study, the most common themes were about their highest intentions of being able to have an impact on other people, as well as their purpose of service and contribution to the organization and to the broader community. Some mentioned helping the country they lived in.
Most leadership and coaching programs are focused on the skills and EQ, and this is just the surface. If we want better leadership, we must go deeper—because that’s where people lead from, the core of who they are.
What if we could coach more leaders into wanting to contribute to the betterment of other people? Imagine what that would do to organizations, to government and to the world?
There is hope. We must believe there is. Our future depends on it.
(Sheila T. Tan is an executive coach and an organizational development consultant. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Development. Reach through coachsheila.tan@gmail.com.)
