“Soft ” and “Hard” Skills of a Company’s Leader

Abstract

The article considers the problem of the demand for soft skills and hard professional skills of a business leader. Particular attention is paid to the concept of “wisdom” as one of the basic qualities of a leader. An overview of various approaches to the study of this problem is presented, as well as the results of three empirical researches based on the survey of company managers, interviews with specialists in personnel management and a survey of about 200 students of St. Petersburg State University. The leaders’ (top managers’) understanding of key leaders’ skills relevance is analysed, and also is the students’ interpretation of the concept of “wisdom” described. A modern business leader must have such a set of qualities that will allow him to effectively manage the company. Ideas about the actual skills of a leader cannot be presented as a single “list”, so the authors of the article try to find an answer to the question about what qualities are more in demand today.