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.
Glad I’m retired.
No wonder, in my IT career as a contractor, my contract manager always loved sending me out on interviews, because I always got the job. I ended up working for 17 companies between 1994 and my retirement in 2021. One turned into being a full time employee until I quit to move from Seattle to Kentucky to get out of that mayhem.
Tampon Tim: “When I look for someone to hire, I look for these traits”
1) Crazy in a crazy kind of way.
2) Loves to play dress up with or without a mask.
3) Resume indicates they have never really done anything in life.
4) Has easy access to fake cop cars and uniforms.
You beat me to it
Sorry about that narcissistic post. I just noticed the four attributes qualified for how I handled my career and blurted out that post before I had a chance to think about it...
🤔
Curiosity
Conceptual Thinking
Creativity
It was fine, fuhgeddaboudit...............
It sounds like a nightmare.
And kids think they have decision making skills the day they graduate. No wonder they are so frustrated in entry level jobs.
Skill churn is a euphemism for “replace with cheap Indian labor.”
That took “nerve.” Ha Ha.
These skills sound like an easy fit for a future AI.
They will keep calm and collected even if a bomb drops on corporate HQ.
As for empathy for their fellow employees: “I know you may be a few pounds overweight but I would strongly encourage you to...Run!”
Lol.
Yep. I switched jobs when the indians started having an impact. I went for a “communication intensive” job, precluding any foreign competition.🤣
“What we need in the business world is the quick wit to think our way out of a difficult situation, the independence of mind to see a new track, the courage to make a quick decision even if it does not coincide with the general opinion, and the backbone to put it over when we know we are right.”
Henry Timken
http://www.quoteswise.com/henry-timken-quotes.html
I saw that quote in a San Diego museum.
“If you want to lead in any line you must bring to it independence of thought, unfailing industry, aggression, and indomitable purpose.”
“To get anywhere, a man must first see his goal, then lay his plans to attain it, and be prepared to buck up stiffly against every obstruction which threatens his way, beating them back until he conquers them.”
Re: “Sorry about that narcissistic post. I just noticed the four attributes qualified for how I handled my career and blurted out that post before I had a chance to think about it...”
Lol, it gave credibility to the article being more than an ad
I am 1 for 4, but those are all superb traits in an alpha worker destined for greater things. I was sound, steady, reliable. I flunked the rest of the list.
The employee evaluation criteria “tolerance for uncertainty” has never sat perfectly well with This Guy.
It always sounded like: How well does this individual tolerate having steaming heaps of manure dumped on his or her head for months on end without even thinking about complaining.
Kind of forgot trustworthiness, couth, intelligence, and a willingness to compromise. All good traits in a world of business. Without them, you will commit suicide as your employees and supervisors won’t want to work with you.
wy69
I think he is missing the top trait in a worker. Honesty and Integrity. Unless your work is scamming and conning people, my top valued trait is honesty and integrity. People with integrity do their best, work when you are not around, are reliable, won’t clean you out, won’t sabatoge you behind your back.
#1 — deep connection to the corrupt federal money machine
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