Six Traits of Successful Leaders in the 21st Century

December 8, 2025

Good morning! Winter appeared without warning a few days ago and it doesn’t appear to be weakening its grip.  Brrrr Tip o’ the day:  If you are ill — and especially if you are ill with a contagious disease — STAY HOME. I realize there is no longer any such thing as a contagious disease, but stay home anyway…They are no longer awarding points for martyrdom… nor for stupidity. Do you cram for an appointment with a doctor?

• “At my age you make new friends or you don’t have any friends.”  (Munger)
• A place I would love to explore but will probably never get the chance:  The Library of Congress
• Is it worth 3 1/2 hours of your time?  Yes IMHO
  • The Brutalist = Best Picture, 2025 Academy Awards
• You know, when you’re popping popcorn and you’re down to the final three kernels… and you’ve done it a thousand times…
  • Do you keep the heat on — or do you turn it off; what is the exact time to sacrifice those three kernels vs. the risk of burning the rest?
• We might be glimpsing the impact of the plague and subsequent educational approaches when it comes to the ability to do math — nationwide.
• At about the time the band wagon fills to standing room only it might be time to assess whether to stay on or to get off.
  • Rarely is everyone right all at the same time.
  • I’ve been having these thoughts about leadership lately and the gargantuan changes in the assumptions regarding what is good leadership and what is bad.
  • One of the world’s leading consulting firms (McKinsey & Company) released this a few days ago:
  • “Six Traits of Successful Leaders in the 21st Century”
  • “Leading in today’s world means showing up with grit, curiosity, and humility paired with the agility to keep growing as the landscape shifts.”  (McKinsey)
  • To its credit, McKinsey is simply reporting its perception of the facts and is not making a social, political, or business judgment about the traits beyond their relevance today.
  • Nor is it forecasting how long these traits will be in vogue or de rigueur.
  • Here they are — in no particular order (Its model is circular, not hierarchical or linear — again to its credit!)
  1. Servant Leadership (prioritizes the importance and success of others, not self)
  2. Stewardship (it’s not about me, it’s simply my turn)
  3. Levity (Serious?  Yes.  How do you learn levity?)
  4. Perseverance (endurance, bouncing back stronger)
  5. Growth = Curiosity, drive, risk
  6. Harmony (Gotta keep the group together — even if you’re achieving goals; goals don’t count if people aren’t happy)
  • Now, compare and contrast these traits to six that were widely regarded as important and de rigueur a couple generations ago.
  • (These are mine, not prioritized; you can certainly challenge them.)
  1. Confidence
  2. Authoritative and Hierarchical (military-esque rank and file)
  3. Demonstrated expertise/ mastery
  4. Disciplined
  5. Strong work ethic
  6. Loyalty (to the boss/ company)
  • Are the traits from 50 years ago substantively different, or just different words describing the same thing from a different angle?
• Leadership:  “Young people need to be ready to accept the torch, but previous generations can’t slow down their leg (of the relay) or delay the pass.”  (Sternberg)
• “Optimism does not deny difficulty.  It sees hope in the face of it.  It offers a brighter future even when today feels heavy.  It is the spark that helps teams push through uncertainty and stay committed to the work.”  (Eades)
• Agree?  Disagree?
  • Richard Branson, the English mega-entrepreneur, asserts,
  • “…the customer is not the most important, the employee is… take good care of your employees and they will take care of your customers.”
  • Is this just another chicken or egg question — or is it more substantive and consequential?
  • The Mayo Clinic famously asserts, “The needs of the patient come first.”
  • Would it change the culture and the success of that organization if the mantra were, “The needs of the medical staff come first”?
• Of all the goods purchased in the United States, about 15% of the transactions today are by way of a computer — up from about 4% fifteen years ago.  (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Statistic du jour:  So far this year 1,170,821 U.S. workers have been involuntarily laid off from their jobs — the most in a similar time period since 2020.
  • Compared to the first eleven months of 2024, the downsizing is an increase of 54%. (Challenger, Gray, and Christmas)
  • Sectors hit the hardest:  Telecommunication — Technology — Food
• Book Flavour o’ the Month:   A CEO for All Seasons — Mastering the Cycles of Leadership, (Dewar, Etc., et al., 2025)
  • “… an insight-filled guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership every CEO must pass through…”
  • Is there anything new under the sun?  (Solomon)