Career development

Harvard Business Review: How to Be an Inspiring Leader

Summarizing the results of a leadership survey by Bain and Company, this HBR article describes the traits of an inspiring leader.

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"Passion."

"Dedication."

"Inspirational."  

"Relatable."  

"Approachable." 

These are words that may come to your mind when asked “What traits does an inspirational leader posses?”  Matching inspirational leaders with organizations that share their values may be the most important takeaway from this Havard Business Review article. 

Executive Summary

Surveys show that less than half of respondents say they agree or strongly agree that their leaders are inspiring. Even fewer feel that their leaders foster engagement or commitment and model the culture and values of the corporation. But real breakthroughs in performance come from employees who feel inspired by their leaders and their organizations. A new study to uncover what makes a leader inspirational reveals some surprising results: there are many different attributes, 33 in all, that inspire people, but you need only one of these to double your chance of being an inspirational leader; inspirational leaders have behavioral “spikes” that are relevant to how the company creates value; and leaders who both inspire people and generate results disrupt established behaviors in their organizations.

Full article: How to Be an Inspiring Leader