I am a big believer in the power of key personality traits as they relate to the successful stewardship of companies.
Far too often, we read about CEOs like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk who have highly abrasive personalities. Companies tolerate these negative characteristics because those CEOs get the job done, but that does not mean a good CEO needs to be a jerk to build a successful business.
In this article, I have identified three key personality traits that I believe are critical for CEOs to possess, to drive the success of their business.
Traditional models for workplace format, decorum and job descriptions dictated uniformity among employee personalities. If you did not fit in and act just like everyone else, you were viewed as a bad employee who was disruptive and a detriment to productivity.
Thankfully, things are changing in this regard.
Employee diversity is embraced increasingly, and I am not just talking about gender or race diversity. Diversity of geographic origin, personality, education, work experience, political, social, economic views and background, and, most important, views on the role of employment and career within one’s greater overall life, is becoming not just welcomed and accepted but actively pursued as a corporate culture imperative in some companies.
Having the right combination of personality traits can allow the team members to properly value the individual characteristics of their employees, and to evaluate candidates more effectively.
More and more, an employee’s education, skills and even experience are taking a back seat to their ability to work within the team dynamic, to function effectively both independently and as a crucial integral piece of the team.
Smart entrepreneurs recognize the value and enhanced productivity that creating a diverse, flexible and inviting corporate culture can bring to their enterprise. The first place to start to develop this kind of culture is with the CEO and other management team members.
Tolerance
Tolerating individuals who may work at a different pace, generate productivity through employing different techniques, tools or concepts, or working based on an unorthodox schedule can allow a greater number of team members to shine.
Often a lack of tolerance of these marked differences can stifle creativity, which is the last thing a smart entrepreneur would want to do, especially with a fast-growing, technology company that is highly dependent on the creativity of its employees to develop new products or services.
A well-defined corporate diversity policy should include these additional factors to provide more flexibility to team members who do not work well within traditional corporate constraints.
Patience
While I have always struggled with all three of these characteristics, patience is probably the one I have the hardest time with. Having patience, especially when employees can push you to your absolute limit (or beyond it), can make all the difference.
Losing patience, on the other hand, even when an employee has pushed you to your breaking point, can have lasting or even permanent negative consequences.
This is true in many facets of life. Often when we say or do something in the heat of anger or frustration, we do great harm to relationships.
Once you say or do something painful, you can never take it back. You can apologize, but the damage is done, and more often than not, the person on the receiving end will not forget it, ever.
With employees, these are the little things that really are not so little, that they think about when a competitor comes calling and offers them more money than you are paying them (or can afford to pay). The difference of whether you lose that employee just might depend on your patience with them.
Gratitude
Gratitude is a very powerful concept, and it is one that all too often gets minimized or completely overlooked. While the key motivators for employees tend to be cash, stock and, to a limited extent, job titles and responsibilities, just telling an employee that they are doing a good job can make a big difference.
One risk is to water this down too much by giving everyone too much recognition. I have seen this happen more often with large corporations that are trying (too hard) to be “politically correct” by giving every employee some kind of award or recognition acknowledgment so no employee feels left out.
This, of course, defeats the whole purpose of giving good employees meaningful and heartfelt recognition when they actually deserve it.
With early stage companies that often do not have the luxury of paying their employees what they deserve, a little genuine gratitude for a job well done can make all the difference.
Gratitude can be the deciding factor when an employee gets that offer from your competitor as well. There are been many studies that show the power of gratitude across a broad spectrum of applications, and in the corporate arena it is certainly very effective.
Smart entrepreneurs constantly strive to improve their process of managing their businesses. Part of that process of improvement should be to work on oneself to develop and fine-tune personality characteristics, including tolerance, patience and gratitude, to be a more effective leader and collaborator, and to foster a more productive, enjoyable and diverse workplace for all employees.
— Craig Allen, CFA, CFP, CIMA, is president of Allen Wealth Management, and has been managing assets for foundations, corporations and high-net worth individuals for more than 25 years. He can be contacted at craig@craigdallen.com or 805.898.1400. Click here to read previous columns or follow him on Twitter: @MPAMCraig. The opinions expressed are his own.
