Versatility: Our Take on Leadership

We have concluded that the most active ingredient in effective leadership is versatility. Versatility is having a wide range of capabilities and drawing on the right one to the right degree for the situation at hand. Executives are usually not versatile. They tend to be lopsided in one direction or the other—where overdeveloped strengths outweigh underdeveloped skill areas.

In our view, two pairs of leadership capabilities stand out. One, strategic leadership and operational leadership—the what of leadership, what organizational issues leaders focus on. Two, forceful leadership and enabling leadership—the how of leadership, how leaders use their own talent and intellect and that of others. 

It’s not just that executives tend to be better at one side or the other of each of these “dualities.” It’s that they place more importance on one side than the other. Our position: both sides of both of these dualities are fundamental to effective leadership. And in fact, our program of research has documented an usually strong relationship between overall effectiveness and capability on both sides of opposites like strategic-operational and forceful-enabling. In other words, versatility pays off. Big time.

Our point of view on leadership is the foundation for the Leadership Versatility Index®, our revolutionary 360-degree feedback instrument.

Selected Research

• Lindberg, J.T. & Kaiser, R.B. (2004, April). Assessing the behavioral flexibility of managers: A comparison of methods (PDF file). Paper presented at the 19th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Chicago, IL.
• Kaplan, R.E. & Kaiser, R.B. (2003). Developing versatile leadership. MIT Sloan Management Review, 44(4), 19-26.
• Kaplan, R.E. & Kaiser, R.B. (2003). Consulting Psychology JournalRethinking a classic distinction in leadership: Implications for the assessment and development of executives[/url]. Consulting Psychology Journal: Research and Practice, 55, 15-25.
• Kaplan, R.E. (2002, May).Leadership versatility: What leaders need to deal with complex challenges—and don’t always have (PDF file). Paper presented in Charles Palus (Chair), Complex Challenges Roundtable at the Leadership Development Conference organized by the Conference Board, New York, NY.
• Kaiser, R.B. & Kaplan, R.E. (2001, March/April). Leadership effectiveness hangs in the balance. Leadership in Action, 21(1), 12-13.
• Kaplan, R.E. (1996).Forceful leadership and enabling leadership: You can do both. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.

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