President’s Day honors not only Presidents Washington and Lincoln for their February birthdays, but also all U.S. presidents. At NAWBO®, we believe it is also a great time to reflect on women entrepreneurs and what makes us unique as leaders of our own organizations.
For the fifth time since its inception in 1982, the Siena College Research Institute’s (SRI) Survey of U.S. Presidents recently found that experts rank Franklin D. Roosevelt as the all-time chief executive. Roosevelt tops the collective ranking of a cluster of personal qualities, including imagination, integrity, intelligence, luck, background and willingness to take risks. He is followed in ranking by Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Lincoln, according to experts, demonstrated the greatest presidential abilities while Roosevelt ranks first in overall accomplishments. Current President Barack Obama is highly rated on imagination, communication and intelligence and enters the survey in the 15th overall position.
More than 200 presidential scholars ranked the 43 U.S. Presidents on six personal attributes (background, imagination, integrity, intelligence, luck and willingness to take risks), five forms of ability (compromising, executive, leadership, communication and overall) and eight areas of accomplishment, including economic, other domestic affairs, working with Congress and their party, appointing Supreme Court justices and members of the executive branch, avoiding mistakes and foreign policy. Roosevelt leads the attribute category and is top in imagination and willingness to take risks. Lincoln leads in ability with first places in ability to compromise, executive ability and overall ability. Roosevelt not only is the overall top-rated president, but also leads in accomplishments—topping the list in party leadership, handling the U.S. economy and foreign policy accomplishments.
As a NAWBO® member and woman entrepreneur, you are likely president and CEO or hold another high-ranking title in your organization. As women business owners, we bring leadership qualities that are not only unique to us personally, but also to us as women. What leadership attributes do you feel we bring to the table as a collective group? What attributes are most important in today’s business environment? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
—Helen Han, NAWBO® President and CEO