Yesterday I responded to an online survey that required assigning ranked 
priorities to a set of leadership qualities.  The survey is part of an MBA 
student’s research project, and she is casting as wide a net as possible to sort 
through about twenty characteristics of leadership and see what’s most highly 
valued by those who are willing/eager to follow a leader.   

What struck me was that a significant number of the traits could be seen as one 
side of a pair of opposites: 

decisiveness 	<-->	open-mindedness 
determined 	<--> 	concern for others 
assertive		<-->	values others’ knowledge
creative/visionary 	<-->	respectful and considerate

As I considered which side to rank higher, it didn’t seem like a good way to 
approach how leadership works.  I’m convinced that what a good leader needs is 
not more decisiveness and less open-mindedness, but the ability to act 
appropriately in situations that call for one thing or the other.  She has to be 
BOTH decisive AND open-minded; decisive when that’s called for, open-minded in 
the situation where that’s what’s needed.  So it's more about balance, and 
leadership in those areas becomes more an art than a science.  

Another thing is clear when I look at the list above, which is purposely 
organized with the assertive, Yang qualities on the left and the receptive, Yin 
qualities on the right.  Most of us lean toward one side or the other; I often 
joke with the people in my workshops that there are only two kinds of people who 
come:  those who need to become more assertive and those who need to become more 
receptive.  In fact, though I think that statement is pretty funny, it’s not a 
joke.