Dive Brief:
- There’s a significant disconnect between the behaviors most frequently exhibited by executives and the characteristics employees say define effective leadership, according to research from Hogan Assessments, a personality assessment provider. In fact, there was no overlap at all between the top five leadership competencies and the top five traits employees said they want.
- The report found that this misalignment between what organizations and employees care about means companies might be rewarding and promoting leaders for the wrong reasons. In the U.S., for example, employees “strongly reject many of the behaviors commonly associated with leadership advancement,” per the research.
- However, the study found that many companies are still “rewarding leadership emergence over leadership effectiveness;” the behaviors that get people promoted aren’t the same ones that “support sustained performance once in the role.”
Dive Insight:
The study highlighted an increased strain between “promotion criteria and long-term leadership effectiveness.” It was based on responses from more than 21,000 executives and about 10,000 employees across 25 markets, including the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, Germany and the U.K.
Globally, leaders are rewarded for inspiring and competing with colleagues, publicly presenting ideas, taking initiative and driving innovation. However, worldwide — and specifically in the U.S. — employees mainly value communication, integrity, accountability, strong decision-making and effective leadership, per the study.
Meanwhile, companies in the U.S. tend to reward leaders who inspire people, compete in order to outperform peers, take initiative without needing direction, lead long-term strategy and encourage innovation.
“Organizations have long tended to reward visibility, confidence, and ambition in leaders,” Allison Howell, CEO of Hogan Assessments, said in a statement. “But employees are telling us they want something more fundamental: leaders they can trust, leaders who communicate clearly, and leaders who create the conditions for teams to succeed.”
Employees also cited behaviors they thought weakened leadership. Globally, employees said that the same kind of assertiveness and self-assurance that helps leaders move ahead can be perceived as arrogance “when left unchecked,” per the report.
In the U.S., 89% of respondents said emotional volatility and unpredictability hurt leadership effectiveness. Employees also cited arrogance, entitlement, passive-aggressive behavior, stubborn resistance, extreme caution and fear of failure as problematic qualities.
By contrast, U.S. employees said they wanted leaders who actively engaged in relationship building, with 48% of respondents saying “ideal leaders should foster teamwork and a sense of belonging” and 35% saying they valued achievement and influence. A third said they valued data-driven decision-making.
“Leadership pipelines are strongest when organizations align how they identify and develop leaders with what employees actually value,” said Howell. “These findings show that trust, accountability, and sound judgment are not secondary qualities. They are central to team effectiveness and long-term performance.”
A 2025 report from the American Management Association found that managers and employees also have disparate views on leadership engagement, priorities and effectiveness, especially when it comes to how supervisors deliver in these areas. As an example, the study found that 59% of managers believed their engagement rose over the past year, while 80% of employees said their managers’ engagement either stagnated or declined.
