An Expressive Driver is an outgoing and communicative individual. They are performance-minded and demand accountability while pushing for transformational outcomes. Their impatience and outward energy combine to create a charismatic persona. An Expressive Driver is a rapid decision maker. They require less time when translating analysis into action by relying on their judgment and instinct. Their demeanor is most effective when they ensure their colleagues and stakeholders feel heard and involved.

Speed/Bias for Action

In all situations, speed wins: speed of decision making, speed of action, speed of recovery. Urgency addresses the speed of the leader's response. Relentlessness gauges a leader's ability to push forward even in cases of setbacks or obstacles. Impatience measures their reaction to a lack of progress in their organization and in others.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is essential in eliminating obstacles and maximizing upside. In order to achieve these goals and deliver the highest possible return, leaders must be hands-on and curious, digging beneath the surface with strong detail orientation and a desire to uncover the root cause. These leaders identify opportunities and reveal issues previously unrealized.

Process

Mechanized systems and processes unleash speed and foster growth. Metrics-focused leaders are essential. Individual leaderdependentorganizations with a cult of personality will lack process-focused teams. Ideal leaders bring a systematic approach, replete with process, metrics, and intellectual curiosity to drive continuous improvement.

Default Setting

Emotionally gifted leaders rely on their intrinsic passion, intensity, and hunger. These traits are difficult to teach. Characteristic orientations tend to be hard-wired, and without this critical foundation, LBO leaders will face an increased risk of derailment.

Stimulus Response

LBO leaders live in a world of constant pressure, filled with endless challenges and expectations. They must have an unflappable strength of spirit. The Crucible is focused on a two-part analysis, assessing resiliency and endurance. Resiliency is the capacity to continuously respond to setbacks without losing faith or the ability to act. Endurance is the capability to perform at a continuously high level in a consistently intense and high-pressure environment. Endurance enables leaders to thrive in the normalized intensity of an LBO while resiliency equips them to immediately recover from particularly acute levels of stress that they will inevitably encounter.

Success Measurement

Great leaders display competitiveness and instill that ethos throughout their organizations. They may be passionate about winning, but they are more driven by their disdain for losing. These leaders relentlessly drive on the goals that matter most to sponsors.

Organizational ambition

Ambition is the composite of self-belief, competitive pursuit of greatness, exceptionally high standards, and the ability to inspire confidence throughout an organization. Successful LBO leaders are generally optimistic and convince their teams that eager participation will result in winning outcomes. Leaders must communicate effectively to ensure clarity and alignment across a portfolio company. Proper organizational ambition will fuel a competitive culture focused on performance and achieving stretch goals.

Culture of Outcomes

A focus on outcome, a key hallmark of any solid LBO, hinges on ensuring buy-in and driving accountability. Buy-in is built on engagement, trust, relationships, and mission affiliation. To be meaningful, the leader must hold all stakeholders, themselves included, accountable for clearly defined results. While execution is mission-critical, a proper strategic perspective is key

Logic

The ability to think logically and make deductions is essential for the quality and accuracy of decision making. Logical leaders possess the ability to connect the dots quickly and effectively engage with the Board while minimizing dysfunctional governance

Math

An individual's computational skills, under pressure, can shed light on their fit in a fast-paced, private equity environment. Numeric intellect does not ensure good leadership, but a lackluster intellectual foundation will be a grating factor in deal performance.

Word Association

A Candidate's ability to form a semantic relationship between words can provide a deeper understanding regarding the structure and the dynamics of their mental lexicon. The mental lexicon is the bridge between a language and the knowledge expressed in that language, revealing an individual's capacity for communication.

Pattern Recognition

The recognition of patterns enables a faster processing style, with greater accuracy. Smart leaders comprehend nuances of the investment thesis thoroughly, foresee strategic implications in the business landscape, and drive problem-solving in active discussion with colleagues.

Grounding

Self-esteem is arguably the most essential trait a leader possesses. Successful executives leverage confidence to drive performance; leaders with lower self-esteem suffer from nagging self-doubt which invariably triggers undesirable behaviors aimed at yielding external approval. Ideal leaders are comfortable in their own skin. Belief in others is omnipresent in these top leaders, providing them with invaluable perspective and empathy. These leaders are low maintenance and enjoy solid relationships with their Boards.

Disposition

Compared to their peers, top LBO leaders have a greater belief in both themselves and others. The foundation of confidence is rooted in self-efficacy or the belief in one’s ability to overcome challenges. A well-rounded and empathetic view is also critical; empathy drives understanding, through which leaders’ insight drives institutional evolution. Finally, authenticity is an accelerant. Boards and teams crave leaders with substance who lead, professionally, from the heart. Leaders who fail to believe in themselves rely on well-cultivated facades which greatly increase the risk of derailment.

Interactivity

Collegiality and emotional intelligence (EQ) are counterbalancing characteristics that driven leaders display to build and drive successful teams. The best LBO leaders are tough, demanding, and unrelenting, but also effectively engage with the hearts and minds of their organizations. Collegiality and EQ are the finishing pieces of the leadership puzzle.

The persistent pressures of private equity call for durable individuals. However, elevated levels of Fragility suggest a development opportunity to strengthen an individual's resiliency to help ensure their performance in the face of unrelenting pressure.

All individuals clearly possess their own unique standards, philosophies, and success factors. However, elevated levels of a Lack of Awareness suggest a risk that an individual can be out of touch with the subtleties of their team dynamics and how they are perceived within the organization.

Bias for action is essential in fueling urgency and a relentless pace of execution. However, elevated levels of Hesitancy suggest a development opportunity to strengthen an individual's proactivity in boldly driving change management initiatives.

The right level of adaptation is a key to unlocking upside performance. However, elevated levels of an Inability to Adapt suggest a development opportunity for the individual purposefully tailor their approach to the unique and nuanced challenges within a given organization.

All individuals have some fear of failure which is appropriate. However, elevated levels may indicate a development opportunity to ensure that an elevated aversion to mistakes does not negatively impact decision-making speed.

Intense levels of confidence are helpful in private equity. However, elevated levels could indicate a mask of confidence that hides a lack of vulnerability and humility which can cause challenges to be underestimated and colleagues to be alienated.