Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Those of us who invest and follow the business and management world are all aware of the legendary investing prowess of Warren Buffett. But one of the things you don't hear much about is his managing ability.

If you have followed his journey throughout the years you find some pretty amazing things in this area. Some may think with his wealth and ability that he may be a little too hands on for the liking of those who run the businesses he owns. Yet you find that unless he respects those who manage the business in the first place, he usually won't consider buying it.

Respect. That brings me to the first characteristic that Buffett has: high regard and respect for those CEO's of the companies he owns. I don't remember ever reading of one that didn't appreciate that in Buffett.

Hands off style. Another thing always mentioned about Buffett is that he doesn't interfere with the running of the company. The exception was when he had to take over a company that had problems before he bought it, and as a result he had to step in; that was a unique exception to the rule.

Humor. One of the things that everyone loves about him is that he doesn't take himself too seriously and has a folksy, down to earth humor that puts people at ease that work with him.

Does his homework. It's interesting that one of the CEO's of a General Electric once said as they made a deal to buy a business from another country, that as they went through the process, Buffett's name was mentioned as next in line as a buyer if the deal didn't go through. He has "feelers" out everywhere in the world, and if he bought your business, you can bet that he knew more about it then you did.

There have been those that owned good-size businesses that have sought him out to buy out their business and even offered to step down from leadership if he did. They trusted him implicitly.

He could be trusted. That leads me to the last trait I'm going to talk about which is his integrity. I'm not sure that there isn't a more trusted man in big business today. When he worked a deal with somebody and he said things would be a certain way, it was written in stone from the point-of-view of those he was dealing with.

Long-term results. Buffett, possibly more than any other manager alive today, had a long-term outlook. Even with his own company "Berkshire Hathaway" he had no interest in those who wanted to invest on a short-term basis, which is why for years he never split the stock. He wanted investors not speculators owning part of his company.

He also kept that attitude with managing the company. He looked out over periods of decades not quarterly reports and statements. This may be his greatest strength!

There you have 6 strong leadership qualities that are hard to come by today. Follow the powerful example of Warren Buffett in your management strategy and you will get some great results.