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

A recent study found that CEOs that were tougher, and displayed traits like persistence and efficiency, outperformed those that focused on softer traits like teamwork and flexibility.

The study was performed by three University of Chicago business school professors, followed the detailed performances of 313 Candidates for CEO jobs, of which 225 were hired. Their following performance was where the conclusions of the study were drawn from.

"We found that 'hard' skills, which are all about getting things done, were paramount," said lead author Steven Kaplan, a professor of finance and entrepreneurship. "Soft skills centering on teamwork weren't as pivotal. That was a bit of a surprise to us."

The strengths and weaknesses of the individuals were gathered from a database compiled by ghSmart Inc, a Chicago-based management-assessment firm which performs due diligence on potential CEO candidates for corporations.

With the process itself having a slight risk of responses from candidates based on what they think should be the "right" answer, Geoffrey Smart, chairman and CEO of ghSmart, said there are independent reference checks performed to confirm the answers of the participants.

You can find out more on how they reached their conclusions here.

This of course doesn't mean some of what are called soft traits aren't important, they just aren't as important and consistent to success in a business as was originally thought. It could also depend on if a business leader is running a privately or publicly held company.

It does confirm something to me that I've identified for sometime with the business leaders I've known personally, or studied thoroughly, and that is a large number of them do have the harder traits. It's made me wonder if wishful thinking and trendy ideas have gotten more coverage by the business media than what the reality shows.

I'll give you an example to illustrate what I mean. Steve Jobs of Apple (AAPL) is considered by many to be one of the great CEOs in the world. Yet if you take the time to talk to those that have worked for him, or those who know him and his leadership style, you'll know that the word "hard" could even be an understatement in his leadership style.

The business media covers him properly as one of the great business innovators, but his extraordinarily abrasive leadership style is as tough as it comes.

Yet when you hear about other CEOs that run their companies similar to Jobs, they're castigated many times in the media, and in some cases branded as "dinosaurs" in relationship to the new "soft" way of doing things.

The conclusion seems to be that the tougher traits are more important to success in the business, while the softer traits are needed as a part of the mix when there's an extensive base of people that need to be communicated with, such as in public companies.

In other words, inside the business the harder traits are needed, but in the public face of the company, which a CEO represents, there needs to be a mix of softer traits to be palatable to the general public.

This doesn't mean a CEO is always screaming and yelling at their people, but it does mean they expect a high standard, and consequently make strong demands on their people. The good ones expect results, and they get it.