????全球眾多公司及其掌門人常常苦苦求解的一個問題是：領導者應具備哪些品質？這個話題歷來都是眾說紛紜，各執一詞。它之所以不容易解答，原因很簡單，即沒有什么“一碼通吃”的答案。在我三十多年的領導生涯中，我的體會也是如此。我深信，每個公司和每位領導者都會通過自己獨特的領導歷程發現領導者所應具備的各種品質。適合某個領導者的經驗對另一個領導者可能并不適用。不過我已經明白，盡管領導者的某些基本品質不隨時間和環境而變，但確實有一些品質需要與時俱進。

????領導者的首要職責就是激發希望。領導者有責任喚起人們的希望，同時還要讓他們能夠實現夢想。他們必須以身作則，行事公平、誠信而正直。毋庸置疑，他們必須擁有商業所必需的聰明才智，而這離不開對現實的深入理解和對未來趨勢的堅定認識。他們非常需要這種商業智慧來平衡組織的短期目標和長期規劃，同時打造一個能經受時間考驗的企業。對于這些廣受認可的領導者必備品質，我可以大談特談，但現在我將主要探討一下對今天來說最重要的一些品質。

????信任

????因為引發近年來席卷全球的經濟危機的一些事件，這場危機也普遍被看成是一場信任危機。而在后危機時代，如今的企業領導者最需要具備的重要品質之一就是在企業內外贏得并建立信任。建立信任并不是最終狀態，而是一個持續不斷的過程。在企業層面，它促使企業必須建立堅實可靠的治理機制。這有助于增強透明度，使行為符合道德規范。在個人層面，它要求企業領導者有勇氣說真話，在必要時也能謙卑地說“抱歉”。實際上，企業領導者需要只有贏得所有利益相關者的信任，才能獲得掌管企業的權利。

????勇氣

????僅僅在過去十幾年間，我就親眼目睹了三場重大危機——亞洲金融危機，互聯網泡沫破裂，及最近的全球經濟危機。毫無疑問，這類危機本來就是商業不可避免的一部分，并且卷土重來的次數只會不斷增加。然而危機一再發生，而企業運營的社會經濟及政治環境也正在變得越來越動蕩復雜，因此企業領導者需要鋼鐵般的意志，才能應付眼前的多種挑戰并奮力前進。他們需要始終掌控大局，同時激發人們的希望和勇氣，在面對逆境時更要如此。正如俗語所說，時勢艱難時，鐵腕當道日。這句話用在眼下尤其適用。

????Corporations across the world and the leaders at its helm are often seeking answers to a much-debated question: What are the ideal qualities of a leader? There is no dearth of answers that one can find on this topic. For a simple reason that there are no easy answers. There isn’t a “one size fits all” response. In my own leadership journey spanning over three decades, my experience has been no different. Every corporation and every leader, I believe, discovers leadership qualities through their own unique journeys. What works for one may not necessarily work for another. What I have come to understand is that while certain fundamental qualities of a leader are time and context invariant, there are others that need to evolve with the changing times.

????The primary role of a leader is to inspire hope. Leaders have a responsibility to raise the aspirations of their people and enable them to realize those aspirations. They have to lead by example and have to conduct themselves with fairness, honesty and integrity. Needless to say, they need to possess the required business acumen that comprises a deep understanding of current realities and also a firm view on the emerging future. This business acumen is much-needed to enable them to balance short-term organizational priorities with its long-term vision and to build an organization that will stand the test of time. I could talk at length about these widely acknowledged prerequisite qualities of a leader but I will focus on talking about the qualities that are most relevant today.

????Trust

????The events that led to the recent global economic crisis made it widely acknowledged as the crisis of trust. One of the most important qualities that business leaders today, in the post-crisis era, need to possess is the ability earn and build trust – within their organization and outside. Building trust is not an end-state but a continuous journey. At the organizational level, it necessitates the institutionalizing of robust governance mechanisms that promote transparency and ethical conduct. At the personal level, it requires business leaders to have the courage to tell the truth and the humility to say ‘sorry’ when needed. In essence, business leaders need to earn the right to operate by earning the trust of all their stakeholders.

????Courage

????In a little over the past decade alone, I have been witness to three major crises – the Asian financial crisis, the dotcom bubble burst and the most recent global economic meltdown. It is without doubt that such crises are an inevitable part of business and the frequency of their recurrence is only going to increase. The recurring crises notwithstanding, the socio-economic and political environment in which businesses operate in today is becoming increasingly dynamic and complex. Business leaders therefore need nothing short of nerves of steel to take these multiple challenges head-on and keep marching forward. They need to be in control at all times and instill a sense of hope and courage, particularly in the face of adversity. As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. There hasn’t been a better time to use this cliché.