Many organizations invest in leadership. That makes sense, because managers strongly influence direction, decision-making, collaboration, priorities, and the way people deal with problems. One important question often remains underexplored: which leadership qualities actually lead to better organizational performance?

In management teams, the conversation often focuses on personality, charisma, decisiveness, persuasiveness, or the ability to get people on board. These are the visible sides of leadership. They stand out in meetings, during presentations, in change initiatives, and at moments when pressure rises. Visibility alone says little about lasting impact.

New research from the HPO Center and the University of Augsburg shows that leadership qualities matter, especially when they are translated into strong management routines. The study was conducted among 389 managers and executives in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The central question was practical: how do the personal traits of managers affect organizational performance? Directly, or through the way the organization is managed?

The main finding is clear: leadership matters, and the management system determines how much impact leadership ultimately has. Organizations perform more reliably when decisions are clear, ownership is visible, commitments are followed up, constructive challenge remains possible, and improvement is part of the normal rhythm of work.

Why leadership qualities gain value in daily work

Managers bring their personal traits into their work. Think of persistence, self-confidence, ambition, dominance, openness to innovation, and the need for recognition. These traits become visible in everyday situations. How does someone respond to criticism? How is a difficult decision made? How does a manager deal with resistance? Are commitments really followed up? Do people feel free to bring in a different perspective?

The research shows that these traits become valuable when they show up in behavior and routines. A manager with strong self-confidence can keep an improvement process going when things become difficult. An extraverted manager can bring people together and open up a difficult conversation. An ambitious manager can create energy for renewal.

The same traits can also go too far. Self-confidence can turn into insufficient listening. Ambition can create too much short-term pressure. Dominance can cause people to wait and see what the most powerful person thinks. That is why the organization’s management system is so important. Strong routines help useful traits become more effective and keep risky behavior within clear boundaries.

Three leadership traits from the research

The research focused on three traits: self-efficacy, extraversion, and grandiose narcissism. These terms come from the research and describe situations that managers will recognize in daily work.

Self-efficacy: the confidence to continue when things get difficult

Self-efficacy is the confidence to deal effectively with difficult situations. Managers with strong self-efficacy are less likely to give up when an improvement initiative becomes difficult, when resistance appears, or when the first results are disappointing.

In practice, you see this in managers who continue to follow up on commitments, make problems discussable, and help their teams believe that improvement is possible. They keep the improvement cycle alive, even when energy in the organization starts to fade.

That makes self-efficacy one of the most practical leadership qualities. It is about disciplined persistence. The study shows that self-efficacy has a strong link with the maturity of HPO management practices.

Extraversion: valuable when communication leads to action

Extraversion can help an organization. Extraverted managers often connect easily, bring energy into conversations, and connect people across departments. That is valuable when an organization needs more openness, dialogue, and momentum.

The value of extraversion becomes visible after the conversation. A presentation can inspire. A meeting can build understanding. A conversation can bring people together. The value lies in what happens next. Have clear decisions been made? Is it clear who owns the next step? Has a review moment been agreed? Do we know how we will judge whether it worked?

Extraversion contributes to performance when communication is translated into action. Openness should lead to better decisions. Dialogue should lead to follow-up. Alignment should become visible in the work.

Grandiose narcissism: when a strong personality takes up too much space

The research also looked at grandiose narcissism: the scientific term for self-importance, admiration-seeking, and dominant behavior. In daily work, this can be seen in managers who want to be seen as exceptional, claim success personally, take criticism personally, or place personal influence above shared decision-making.

This behavior can look like strong leadership. Especially when pressure is high, a dominant personality can feel attractive. Someone takes the floor, creates movement, and appears decisive. The risk appears when people start adapting their message to what that person wants to hear. Constructive challenge disappears. Facts become less important. The organization becomes dependent on the judgment or mood of one person.

The research found no stable positive effect of this behavior on organizational performance. The more mature the HPO management practices were, the less performance depended on self-centered or dominant behavior. A mature management system keeps facts visible, keeps challenge possible, and makes sure the same standards apply to everyone.

What mature HPO management practices do

HPO management practices are the disciplined ways of working that distinguish high-performance organizations from average organizations. They are connected to the five HPO factors: management quality, employee quality, openness and action orientation, continuous improvement and renewal, and long-term orientation.

In an organization with strong routines, strategy does not remain a document on a screen. Strategy is translated into clear actions. People know who is responsible for what. Problems are raised early. Commitments are followed up. Results are discussed openly. Improvement has a steady rhythm. Decisions are tested against facts, customer value, employee quality, and long-term value.

This is where many organizations struggle. Dashboards exist, while data are mainly used for reporting. Meetings take place, while decisions remain unclear. Improvement projects are launched, after which the same problems return. Ambition is present, while follow-up lags behind. On paper, the organization may look well organized, while the daily work tells a different story.

Mature HPO management practices make performance more repeatable. The organization becomes less dependent on personal drive, charisma, or informal pressure. Good leadership gets a system through which it can have real impact.

What this means for management teams

The publication shows that management teams can take a critical look at the routines that carry performance. That starts with a few simple questions.

Are important decisions actually made, or do they remain stuck in discussion? Is it clear who owns which result? Are commitments visibly followed up? Does bad news reach the table early enough? Do people feel free to offer constructive challenge? Are improvements embedded in the normal work, or do they remain separate initiatives?

These questions make the management system visible. That is where much of the potential lies. Leadership qualities become more powerful when they work through a strong system. Self-efficacy becomes disciplined follow-up. Extraversion becomes openness and action orientation. Ambition becomes long-term improvement. Dominance is bounded by facts, standards, and peer accountability.

From research to practical action

The booklet translates the research findings into a practical 90-day management agenda. This agenda helps management teams make the current system visible, select two HPO factors, and test whether stronger routines improve the work.

A first step can be small. For example, choose one management routine that is important for high performance. Think of the weekly performance meeting. Turn it into a real decision meeting for four weeks. Every important issue gets facts, a decision, an owner, a review date, and an end date. After four weeks, assess whether more clarity has emerged, whether decisions are made faster, and whether follow-up has become stronger.

Another step is to ask four questions after every important communication moment. What will change in the work? Who owns the change? When will we review progress? How will we know whether it worked?

These simple routines make it clear whether leadership qualities move beyond words, energy, or good intentions. They show whether behavior truly contributes to better performance.

Download the publication: Beyond Charisma

Would you like to learn more about the research and its practical relevance for managers and management teams? Download the publication: Beyond Charisma: How mature management practices turn leadership traits into sustainable performance.

In this publication, you will learn:

• what the research among 389 managers and executives in three countries shows;
• why leadership qualities gain real value through mature management practices;
• how self-efficacy, extraversion, and dominant behavior affect organizations;
• why a strong HPO management system makes performance less dependent on strong personalities;
• how to take the first steps with a practical 90-day management agenda.

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