One of the most active field in business oriented psychology has been concerning the matter of the identification of personality and behavioral traits that separate high performers from the rest of the pack. Which characteristics seem to be the most effective in predicting an executive’s performance? How can we precisely define them? Which ways allow us to detect them easily? The effective identification of the predominant traits that are common to high performance executives allow for an easier way to detect potential for talent and promotion, and thus improves greatly the company’s competitiveness

Ameisen, Emmanuel

Hong, Chubing

English

DigitalCommons@ILR

Cornell University ILR School 
DigitalCommons@ILR 
Student Works ILR Collection 
Spring 2014 
What are the Characteristics that Separate High Potential 
Executives From the Rest? 
Emmanuel Ameisen 
Cornell University 
Chubing Hong 
Cornell University, ch734@cornell.edu 
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What are the Characteristics that Separate High Potential Executives From the 
Rest? 
Abstract 
One of the most active field in business oriented psychology has been concerning the matter of the 
identification of personality and behavioral traits that separate high performers from the rest of the pack. 
Which characteristics seem to be the most effective in predicting an executive’s performance? How can 
we precisely define them? Which ways allow us to detect them easily? The effective identification of the 
predominant traits that are common to high performance executives allow for an easier way to detect 
potential for talent and promotion, and thus improves greatly the company’s competitiveness. 
Keywords 
human resources, high potential employees, performance measurements 
Comments 
Suggested Citation 
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from the rest? Retrieved [insert date] from Cornell University, ILR School site: 
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ILRHR6640 
Case #1
 Emmanuel Ameisen and Chubing Hong 
March 7th, 2014 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
 
RESEARCH QUESTION 
Identify characteristics that separate high potential future executives from the rest and that are not 
easily discovered through classic performance measurements, define these characteristics precisely, and 
if possible find practical ways to detect them. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
One of the most active field in business oriented psychology has been concerning the matter of the 
identification of personality and behavioral traits that separate high performers from the rest of the 
pack. Which characteristics seem to be the most effective in predicting an executive’s performance? 
How can we precisely define them? Which ways allow us to detect them easily? The effective 
identification of the predominant traits that are common to high performance executives allow for an 
easier way to detect potential for talent and promotion, and thus improves greatly the company’s 
competitiveness. 
 
THE PERSONALITY TRAITS 
A lot of different employee characteristics have been under scrutiny to see if they are indicators of 
performance, throughout all of the studies on the matter, a few of those seem to be particularly 
relevant. These characteristics, which relate to strong leadership traits, are the ones that predict most 
effectively the performance of executives, and are each defined precisely in the next section. 
 
PRECISE DEFINITION 
Cooperative Leadership 
Cooperative leaders are uniters; they bring those around them together, they believe in the ability of 
others to exceed expectations through teamwork, and they set a strong positive example for those they 
supervise (Gachter, Nosenzo, Renner, & Sefton, 2012). They disambiguate uncertainty and build teams 
around them to mitigate risk (Wikipedia, 2013). “He or she is someone on whom people… in the 
organization model themselves” (Drucker, 2004). In an experiment (Gachter, Nosenzo, Renner, & Sefton, 
2012), researchers find that groups perform best when led by those who are cooperatively inclined; 
cooperative leaders contribute more than non-cooperative leaders even after controlling for optimism 
about the collaborative nature of followers. 
 
Cultural Leadership 
Culture, according to (Schein, 1986), is ultimately about the control of behavior. Tom Barrett, president 
of the Midwest and Southeast regions of SIAA, Inc., points out that good leadership in the health care 
industry creates an environment where everyone strives to put clients or prospects in a better place 
than where they were found (Barrett, 2012). This kind of positive customer experience leads to ‘a 
unique and memorable contact with your agency.’ 
(Yang, 2007) thinks that controlling processes are concerned with setting the norms of behavior, values 
and beliefs that the leaders wish to encourage in their subordinates. Organizational culture may be 
either an advantage or a disadvantage for the organization. When an organizational culture is out of 
step with the wider cultural environment of its employees, it becomes an obstacle to staff members 
effectively pursuing their tasks. 
 
Vulnerable Leadership 
‘Vulnerable’ is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as ‘being exposed to the possibility of being 
attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.’  Many people associate vulnerability with 
weakness by definition.  In reality, vulnerability can be a strength. Every successful leader has some 
degree of vulnerability. The greatest leaders have the self-awareness to recognize it in themselves. They 
also recognize that showing their vulnerability is a sign of courage and strength (Williams, 2013). 
Vulnerable leaders are those who ask the views of those lower in rank, admit when they are wrong and 
apologize in public, actively seek out feedback from direct reports, ask customers for honest feedback 
on their service, tell colleagues to hold them accountable if they don’t deliver, and supplement their 
own weaknesses by surrounding themselves with people who are strong in the areas where they are not 
(Symanowitz, 2013). 
 
Extraversion 
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines extraversion as ‘the act, state, or habit of being predominantly 
concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self’.  Extraverts are usually 
outgoing people, who are very at ease when it comes to maintaining both personal and professional 
relationships. This proves to be a strength not only directly in the workplace, but also through a more 
stable circle of friends, allowing the executive to bear stress more easily. According to (Judge, & Bono, 
2004), out of all the traits of the popular Big 5 personality framework (Optimism, Extraversion, 
Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness), extraversion ‘was the strongest and most consistent 
correlate of transformational leadership’. 
 
DETECTION 
While there is a lot of research on the correlation between traits and performance, very little exists 
about the practical implementation of methods to identify those traits. As such the only sensible 
recommendation is peer-assessment, especially for the first three traits. When it comes to extraversion, 
a lot of psychological tests can provide precise measurements. 
 
CONCLUSION 
Out of all the characteristics one can isolate from employees, a few traits come out as reliable predictors 
of future executive performance, the successful identification of these traits will allow for the effective 
selection of  high potential executives, and thus help with the succession planning process. Thus, a 
performance appraisal of executives should include methods to test the previously mentioned qualities, 
whether through a review of the past year’s performance, or psychological tests; since these are the key 
factors that separate high potential future executives from the rest.  
Works Cited 
1. Barrett, T. (2012, April). 10 Characteristics of a Leader: The Return of the Hard Market Stresses 
Need for Leadership. American Agent & Broker, 26-27. 
 
2. Drucker, P. F. (2004). The Daily Drucker. New York: Collins Business. 
 
3. Gachter, S., Nosenzo, D., Renner, E., & Sefton, M. (2012). Who Makes a Good Leader?  
 
4. Coorperativeness, Optimism, and Leading-by-Example. Economic Inquiry, 50 (4), 953-967. 
 
5. Schein, E. H. (1986). What You Need to Know about Organizational Culture. Training and 
Development Journal, 40 (1), 30-33. 
 
6. Symanowitz, C. (2013, July 25). Vulnerable Leaders Make Great Leaders. FINWEEK, 44-45. 
 
7. Wikipedia. (2013, April 4). Modes of Leadership. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from Wikipedia: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modes_of_leadership 
 
8. Williams, D. K. (2013, July 18). The Best Leaders are Vulnerable. Retrieved March 03, 2014, from 
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2013/07/18/the-best-leaders-are-
vulnerable/ 
 
9. Yang, J.-T. (2007). Knowledge Sharing: Investing Appropriate Leadership Roles and Collaborative 
Culture. Tourism Management, 28 (2), 530-543. 
 
10. Judge, & Bono (2004). Personality and Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Meta-
Analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 89, No. 5, 901–910. 
 


What are the Characteristics that Separate High Potential Executives From the Rest?

One of the most active field in business oriented psychology has been concerning the matter of the identification of personality and behavioral traits that separate high performers from the rest of the pack. Which characteristics seem to be the most effective in predicting an executive’s performance? How can we precisely define them? Which ways allow us to detect them easily? The effective identification of the predominant traits that are common to high performance executives allow for an easier way to detect potential for talent and promotion, and thus improves greatly the company’s competitiveness.Identify_Characteristics_That_Separate_High_Potential_Future_Executives_From_the_Rest_and_That_are_Not_Easily_Discovered.pdf: 585 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

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