For Great Remote Leaders, Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Whenever researchers put a bunch of study subjects in a room and ask them to choose a leader, the same thing happens. Whether the participants are HR experts evaluating potential executive hires, MBA students working on a group project, or primary voters discussing who they’re supporting in the next election, people seem hard-wired to choose the most confident and charismatic contender as most suited for leadership. 

But these days, thanks to the pandemic, most of us are spending very little time together in rooms with other people. Instead, we’re interacting with each other from a distance. Does that change what qualities we value in our leaders? 

A new study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology suggests the answer is yes. While soft skills like charisma and confidence help you rise in the office, when it comes to remote work, groups value helpfulness and reliability over bluster and charm, the researchers found. 

Read the entire article at Inc.: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/in-person-teams-choose-charming-leaders-remote-teams-prefer-reliability.html