Leadership failure rarely is the result of the absence of technical skill and intellect, but incompetence in behavioural skill. You only need to look at the headlines of the most recent business publication to substantiate the credibility of this statement. You gain higher levels of management responsibility based on your individual technical skill performance. Your overall leadership success however, is clearly dependent on your behaviour skills since senior leadership achievement is a strategic orientation rather than an operational one. Research has proven that people must engage with their leader on a personal level before they engage with their work. The truth is that the so-called soft skills of behaviour are really the hard skills that create the measure of influence in your leadership accomplishment and your organizational performance.
According to Gallup global employee engagement in 2022 was at 23%. Eighteen percent of the global workforce in 2022 was actively disengaged. In the U.S. (and Canada) these percentages were roughly 33% and 16%. In Europe, engagement levels vary per country, but generally are a lot lower than in the US (and Canada).
Time and again the fundamental problems of employees related to the lack of engagement and work performance stems from how people consistently experience their leader’s positive (or negative) behaviour. These leadership failures can be directly linked to the absence in consistent, positive behaviour to the three fundamental elements of Positive Presence leadership: Self-awareness, Collaboration, and Connection. You must remember that individual leader behaviour is singularly the most important predictor to organizational performance.
Changing behaviour is a challenge, even when not doing so means lost business, bankruptcy, the demise of a company, or harming other people. By the same token, changing a workplace culture that is dysfunctional or toxic will only occur by changing behaviour. As arduous as it seems, it is certainly achievable with the proper focus, training, and accountability. When leaders choose to focus on the aspect of individual and leader behaviour and commit to a systematic, programmatic methodology of development, employee engagement and commitment will improve and in turn will drive performance excellence. 
Just as technology has increased the borders of our markets, it has also increased competition for the best and brightest employees. Employees today seek to work for a company and leaders with whom they feel proud to be associated and who treat them like active contributors, not passive producers. 
There is a knowledge gap among leaders who lack a deep understanding of the critical role they play between themselves and the behaviour strengths of their employees. People connect and engage with their leader before they connect and engage with their work. The research is clear on this point: the more positive and supportive this relationship, the more engaged and committed people are in their work. 
Influential leaders do not identify with a particular title, nor do they have a designated rank in an organization. Influential leaders are people who take every opportunity – every connection with a coworker, every connection with a client, every connection with the community—to make a positive and meaningful difference. Some people are naturals, but for most of us, leading thru influence – making a positive and meaningful difference — is a learned skill. Three identifiable attributes of an Influential Leader, are:
In today’s workforce the talent pool of technically competent people fluctuates. While everyone still competes to hire people with strong technical skills, it is becoming increasingly clear that performance is a function of both technical skill and behaviour capacity. Furthermore, the increasing stress of the pace of change and organizational complexity has been shown to have a direct effect on behaviour capacity that impacts the effectiveness of technical skill to drive performance. 
Never doubt the impact on performance marked by your presence as a leader. You are, without a doubt, ridiculously in charge of the production and wellbeing of every person you lead, and ultimately, the destiny of your organization. And, without question there is immense pressure on you as a leader in today’s complex, ambiguous and fast-changing work environment. 
The business and professional climates in which you work remain increasingly competitive. Each day competitive markets grow as technology spans the vast array of global industries. These rapidly changing environments are causing ambiguities and confusion about the roles and responsibilities of leaders. 
A relatively new phenomenon in today’s workforce in all developed counties is the presence of five generations of people – silent or traditional (born before 1946), baby boomers, (born approximately between 1946 and 1964), generation X (born approximately between 1965 and 1979), millennial or generation Y (born approximately 1980 and 1994), and generation Z (born approximately 1994 and after). All the generations share strong work ethics and workplace needs, and they all want work that is meaningful and that adds purpose to their lives.
To better illustrate the concept of behavioural preference or style, the following is a brief description of the four categories, using the style names as developed by the Larry Wilson Learning System: