Are you programmed for success?

The business of being a corporate leader has been turned on its head. Forget the grey hair and pinstripes that marked a leader a generation ago. Today`s high-flying CEO could be the guy in South Park socks and Clearasil, the girl sashaying past in DKNY, or the buppie in Diesel and a Z4.

It isn`t easy to define the exact qualities needed for corporate success in the modern business arena. However, high-flyers and experts agree that tertiary qualifications might get you through the door, but they won`t get you ahead without a whole lot of other skills. They say the intangible "soft skills", personal character traits and work ethics are the differentiators.

What "soft skills"? What intangibles? The list is so long, it seems almost impossible for a one person to have even half of the attributes the experts list: excellent communication skills, great interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate; sales and presentation skills; trouble-shooting skills; strategic and entrepreneurial skills; organisational skills; the ability to see the big picture; passion, drive and enthusiasm; stamina and perseverance; willingness to go the extra mile; a unique perspective; and sheer grit.

Many top achievers also sacrifice a great deal of family time to get through their workload, with 70- or 80-hour workweeks common among the upper echelons. They also manage to sustain sports or hobbies, travel, stay informed and maintain friendships. They are universally interested and interesting, and have huge reserves of drive and stamina.

Great interpersonal skills don`t necessarily have to mean being "one of the boys", though. Being an equal member of the team and liked by all may work for some leaders, but not everyone.

Jill Hamlyn, MD of The People Business Group of Companies, highlights the growing view that leaders should rise above the herd and be unique. "In February 2002, the Harvard Business Review ran an article on the subject of leadership and how to identify those people who will thrive in a leadership position and who will ultimately be effective and efficient leaders. According to the authors of the article, Melvin Sorcher and James Brant, companies tend to overvalue certain traits that may ultimately prove to be the undoing of someone once he or she is in a position of leadership.

Companies should be looking for people who are not necessarily team players, but who are able to delegate.

Jill Hamlyn, MD, The People Business

"Their argument is that companies should be looking for people who are not necessarily team players, who are able to delegate, and who can work within ambiguous situations. Ambition is important, but public presentation skills tend to be overvalued. Candidates should not be overlooked because they are different in some way."

Beverley Cunningham, human resources director for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) South Africa, specialises in recruitment and training management at executive level, and believes "career success in today`s IT environment is about being innovative, solutions-focused and creative in how you apply your expertise.

"The emphasis has moved from `knowing` to `doing`. Being able to demonstrate your expertise and your value-add is more important than what you know.

"Today`s IT specialists need to see themselves as business consultants. Technical skill is no longer a differentiator; it is how you add value by using the skill to provide business solutions. Our clients expect to deal with someone who can combine technical know-how and business savvy to find solutions to their business problems."

Cunningham says CSC`s most successful employees are those who are versatile and have a strong technical background.

All the management potential in the world is no use if you can`t find a job. Cunningham says job-seekers can make themselves more marketable by multi-skilling and by keeping abreast of new technologies. Reputation is also playing an increasingly important role. "Networking is important. Clients talk, as do the people within an organisation, so use the project you`re working on as an opportunity to build and establish your reputation."

We are less interested in what they`ve studied, more in what they`ve done.

Beverley Cunningham, HR director, CSC

As a client-focused company, cultural or personality fit plays an important role in the CSC recruitment process. "We need people who are able to interact and work with clients. Research has shown that individuals whose personal protocol profile matches that of the organisation will adapt and become successful more readily. We look at finding a long-term fit rather than satisfying a short-term need."

Cunningham`s advice to graduates and job-seekers is to "demonstrate your abilities, don`t just list them on your CV. If you want to work in a particular field of IT and you have little or no experience in that field, find proactive and creative ways of showing that you have the ability to achieve the competencies required. The days of `give me the experience` are long gone. When we interview graduates, our preference is to employ those who demonstrate how they`ve used the opportunities presented to them. We`re less interested in what they studied, more in what they`ve done. We look at more than exam results."

I have yet to find someone who has risen to the top who has not put in extra hours at work.

Org Geldenhuys, director, Abacus Recruiting

Riana Howlett, IT recruitment consultant for The Oval Office, says integrity is a vanishing commodity, although it is an important hallmark of a future leader. "A leader should have the growth and development of people as his or her highest priority, and should have the vision to see the big picture."

Org Geldenhuys, director of Abacus Recruitment, says his years of experience in the recruiting industry have taught him that candidates who tend to "rise to the top" have certain attributes in common: "They have entrepreneurial and managerial skills and are just plain hard workers. From an entrepreneurial point of view, it must be remembered that business is all about making money through closing deals and selling successfully. People who consistently contribute to a company`s bottom line will always be in demand and will invariably rise to the top.

"I have yet to find someone who has risen to the top who has not put in extra hours at work. Getting to the top requires a fair modicum of talent and inspiration, but the bulk is sheer hard work."

On the other hand, some candidates have little hope of climbing the corporate ladder fast - if at all. Geldenhuys says these are the candidates who prefer comfort zones. "Those people who are content and do not continually seek more challenges remain in `mediocre land`."

He claims to be able to identify strong managerial attributes in a candidate within 30 minutes. "We get this insight by asking probing questions, such as what did you do to contribute to your last company`s bottom line, or what did you do to cut costs or boost efficiencies in the organisation. You can also, with experience, often tell if a candidate is stumped by an important question. Some might try and mask it - but that is difficult to do. These kind of questions need crisp and confident answers."

The recent nomination process for the Computer Society of South Africa IT Personality of the Year provided a great deal of insight into what employees see as the qualities of a good leader. Dozens of nominations posted to ITWeb highlighted why employees (and in some cases, peers) thought certain leaders were worthy of special recognition.

Some people are born leaders, but entrepreneurs are born from tight corners.

Richard Firth, CEO, MIP

The nominations mentioned the ability to make decisions that enabled a company to weather tough market conditions, the ability to stand up to opposition, to remain focused, face challenges and introduce revolutionary concepts.

Special attributes highlighted included being a mentor, visionary, people person, the ability to inspire others, energy, fairness, ethics, foresight, dedication, innovation, passion, energy and drive, charisma, hands-on management, the ability to improve work conditions and productivity, clear thinking, communication skills, and sheer hard work.

Few of the business leaders nominated for the awards were called "nice guys". The most glowing nominations highlighted their leaders` grit and determination, passion, drive and vision - and the fact that these assets pulled their companies through tough market conditions. It would appear that staff members are prepared to overlook a number of personality flaws if a leader is able to pull a business out of dire straits and so keep their jobs secure.

Richard Firth, CEO of MIP Holdings and finalist in the IT Personality of the Year awards, was nominated for growing the business from a position of relative obscurity to one of international leadership in only four years.

Firth gives a great deal of the credit to the team he works with. "At MIP, we encourage fun - the old days of long faces at work are over. The old autocratic way of running companies has disappeared." He feels that encouraging input from all levels of staff gives him a broader insight, and new and innovative solutions.

He started his career as a programmer, and picked up his leadership skills through experience and emulating leaders he admired. One of these was his former boss at FNB, Solomon Ngubane, who now runs his own IT company, Everest Systems. "Solly Ngubane taught me the value of pure hard work. He taught me that nothing comes easy. His view was: if it was easy, everyone would be doing it."

Firth says he can spot a born leader from the day he or she starts working: "A born leader will have passion about the company. He or she will be young and hungry, won`t watch the clock, and will be keen to go the extra mile." He points out that a leader and an entrepreneur can be two different things: "Some people are born leaders, entrepreneurs are born from tight corners. Tight corners force people to take risks."

Today`s business world is a potential minefield for the uninitiated and even innocent mistakes may result in huge losses for the company.

Stefano Mattiello, MD, Sun Microsystems, sub-Saharan Africa

Stefano Mattiello, MD of Sun Microsystems, sub-Saharan Africa, says traditional business in the past spent a lot of time and energy managing the organisation and flows of information. "Today, one must manage the business and empower each individual to perform at their peak. In the past, the organisation came first and the individual a poor second. Today, companies that are successful are those than can align the objectives of the company to those of the individual.

"Today`s manager must have the ability to get people to interpret the application of products and services into revenues and profits."

He does not believe there is a "recipe" for a successful business. "The ability to adapt and to be flexible is key to any business. I`ve learnt that you should never take what you know for granted - the landscape will change.

"A separate and significant issue that has raised its head since Enron and WorldCom is an understanding of legal and anti-trust requirements. Today`s business world is a potential minefield for the uninitiated and, even innocent mistakes may result in huge losses for the company."

Mattiello points out that a business leader has to be extremely aware and respect the rules and regulations as set out for public companies.

Ivor Rimmer, MD of Bateleur Resourcing, agrees: "Corporate governance has changed the creative accounting practices of the past. That`s why integrity is so critical - any board of directors needs people who are willing to reject immoral motions, even if they are popular. This is of particular relevance in the IT industry, as indicated by the King II revised corporate governance report, which raises IT governance as a separate issue."

It`s all about a balanced scorecard of skills, experience and integrity.

Ivor Rimmer, MD, Bateleur Resourcing

Rimmer says running a company in today`s harsh, intensely pressured economic environment presents a host of new challenges to chief executives. "Financial and legal knowledge is no longer enough; it`s all about a balanced scorecard of skills, experience and integrity. CEOs of the future need exceptional strength of character, a wealth of experience and considerable stamina."

Wade Gomes, country manager of Compuware Southern Africa, is of the view that people issues are critically important. "To my mind, it is important that every member of staff, no matter who, feels that he or she is made to feel part of a team. Making a member of staff feel at home and want to get out of bed and go to work every single day, is an art."

Gomes believes the business leaders of today need to be far more entrepreneurial and enterprising. He points out that today`s business leaders have 100% accurate information in real-time, allowing them to make split-second decisions that could have a far-ranging and long-term impact on their business.

All in all, it is clear that today`s high-flyer needs a lot more than a qualification and the right connections. He or she must be prepared to live to work, not work to live.

The modern corporate leader must have brains, courage and heart. He or she must have shrewd insight into what makes people tick and the recipes for market success. It takes a special kind of energy to propel a person to the top. No wonder it`s not crowded up there.