International Leadership Study

Researcher Robert J. House and a team of 160 scholars have produced a comprehensive study of the common and distinctive elements of organizational leadership around the world. In his co-edited Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, House and colleagues find that four leadership attributes are valued universally:

1. Being trustworthy, just, and honest.
2. Seeing and planning ahead
3. Being optimistic, dynamic, and inspiring
4. Communicating, informing, and coordinating others

House and his team also report that several attributes are universally disliked in leaders, including being irritable, egocentric, and autocratic.

But cultural variance in desired leadership qualities was also noted. Countries whose cultures place a premium on performance, for instance, are those in which inspirational and decisive leadership is valued; countries whose cultures stress group identity and minimizing uncertainty are those where diplomatic and collaborative leadership is valued.