"Maybe I should change toothpastes."
Posted on 06/17/2025 9:52:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
Think you know what bosses are looking for? Think again.
Getting hired and promoted used to hinge on traditional leadership traits like executive presence and vision. But in today’s world, those aren’t enough. As a CEO, board member and MBA professor, my research shows that a sharper, more relevant set of criteria is rising to the top. And it’s long overdue.
At NYU’s Stern School of Business, I teach a popular class called “Becoming You.” Students start by identifying their values using a tool called The Values Bridge, then explore careers that match their aptitudes and emotional, intellectual and economic needs. Finally, and critically, they assess their leadership capacity.
I used to rely on old-school aptitude tests for that last part (think: the kind your college counselor used). But over time, I saw that those tools were built for a world that no longer exists. Today’s professionals face nonstop change, geopolitical chaos and ambiguity about, well, everything.
So I set out to identify the traits that actually matter now — and tested them through consulting projects with a dozen companies across industries. Focus groups and manager surveys refined the list. And now, I use these four traits in every hiring decision I make.
When I see all four in one person? I try to hire them on the spot.
1. Nerve
The business environment today is fast, unforgiving and always on. Leaders need uncommon levels of physical and mental stamina — and not in short bursts, but continuously. Nerve means making fast, high-stakes decisions with incomplete or conflicting information. That takes real confidence.
It also means having the courage to deliver tough truths with empathy. People who combine candor with kindness are rare — but invaluable. Nerve is courage, clarity, speed, transparency and an unrelenting bias for action.
2. Elasticity
According to LinkedIn, professionals needed to update 25% of their skills every 18 months from 2015 to 2020. That “skill churn” is expected to hit 65% in the years ahead. So yes, adaptability has always mattered. But today, it’s mission-critical.
Elasticity isn’t just tolerating change — it’s actually enjoying reinvention. It’s a mindset that says, “Bring on the new.” I often look for what I call “irregular relationships”: friendships, mentorships or collaborations with people very different from oneself. They signal flexibility, openness and the social curiosity that underpins comfort with change.
3. Soundness
It’s always been important to be steady at work. What’s changed is how rare it’s become. Managers tell me their best people are anxious, withdrawn or just worn out. The pace and pressure of work today are real — and intense.
That’s why managers are putting a premium on soundness: a bundle of traits that includes positivity, accountability, resilience and self-awareness. You can ask colleagues for feedback on the first three. But self-awareness? That’s the only trait on this list you can — and should — test for. If you’re job searching or feeling stalled in your career, start there.
4. Wonderment
In a world that’s always changing, your currency is your currency. In other words, how “current” you are (on trends, technology, culture and ideas) directly affects how valuable you are to your organization.
Gone are the days when you could stay informed just by talking to colleagues or skimming a few news platforms. The most successful people don’t just absorb what’s next — they share it in-house, sparking fresh thinking across teams. Wonderment is intellectual curiosity, cultural fluency, peer around corners and the proactive instinct to bring the outside in.
Wondering how you would rate on all of these traits? You can find out for free using The Career Traits Compass, which I designed to help both my MBA students — and professionals seeking career growth.
Now, obviously, every role has its own must-haves. Values matter. Skills matter. But these four traits? They’re what every leader is quietly scanning for. And if you’ve got them all, trust me: Someone is already plotting how to hire you, even if they’re not hiring.
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Suzy Welch is an award-winning NYU Stern School of Business professor, acclaimed researcher, popular podcaster and three-time NYT best-selling author, most recently with ”Becoming You: A Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career.” A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Business School, Dr. Welch is a frequent guest of the Today Show and an op-ed contributor to the Wall Street Journal. She serves on the boards of public and private companies, and is the Director of the NYU | Stern Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing.
I fail at #1 when I disagree with a boss. Did that for many years and never got me anywhere. So I stopped doing it…however, with opened minded customers it goes over well.
Dear God, when will the pu$$!fication end?
You are reminding me of a job I had when I was in my late twenties.
I walked into my new office to see stacks of papers from floor to ceiling in every direction.
My predecessor was just leaving—smiled at me—and said “good luck”.
If I had half a brain I would have quit on the spot.
Instead I had the worst two years of my life ahead of me before they fired me!
I like his criteria. Absolutely the opposite of what corporate HR screens look for.
Your mileage will vary. I remember my old boss’ boss at a regional bank in Georgia being hired because he had those traits. The “stay the course” types two levels above him pushed him out because he didn’t attend to the niceties they expected.
The man described in the article would not fare well at a “Dilbert” company, and there are many of them.
Lots of HR gobulty gook
CEO’s should be prepared to pay through the nose for that level of skill and dedication, because that will be your life - no time for anything else.
“ the top trait in a worker. Honesty and Integrity”
Not if your firm is corrupt
I’ve worked for many different organizations. The ones that improve over time and have resilience are honest. Not all are striving for that. And within organizations that are honest, some individuals are dishonest and lack integrity. They manipulate and get along. They’re bad for morale but they get the job done. They are quite awful.
"Maybe I should change toothpastes."
Needed trait: Be able to survive a bullet through the ear.
“Glad I’m retired.”
ME TOO!
If an employee has all these traits, what do they need the boss for?
Sounds like traits that might lead to constantly chasing the next shiny thing, without a decent analysis of the Hype Curve. In other words, it could hurt your business much of the time. It’s important to understand changing environments, so you can position yourself with a good SWAT analysis, but this comes across as haphazard traits to me.
I mean SWOT. Stupid autocorrect
Didn’t Suzy leave out leave number 5? “Checks one or more DEI boxes”?
So... Suzy Welch, the "author", an NYU professor with likely zero worthwhile experience, wrote an advertisement and some other nobody at CNBC ran it for her.
I wonder if she's also a dating coach.
She needs some Laz.
I’m 3 for 4. I sometimes lack nerve, taking the safer route, especially in refactoring code. I hate doing that. Very risky.
But the other 3, I have in spades.
I'd hit it.
She’s Jack Welch’s widow.................
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