Definitions of leadership effectiveness in practice may be measured objectively, including people-oriented economic measures, such as income per capita, the reduction of poverty over time, decrease in unemployment, increase in the standard of living, lower levels of inflation and better purchasing power parity. It is also possible to consider countrywide measures such as GDP, GNP, and transportation and logistics statistics. International comparisons include FDI totals, the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International, import and export figures, and the extent of the national debt. The creation of an entrepreneurial culture (or lack of) can be measured by these and other ways.

This year has seen the appointment of new leaders in Egypt—first of all, the president, to be followed by ministers and local government heads. Media commentators and observers have talked about how this presents an opportunity for change and improvement—especially how more leadership effectiveness could advance the country’s economic goals, through encouraging entrepreneurship. But there are ideas of the competencies needed.

In response, the authors of this paper (part of a larger study) have created a list of 55 leadership competencies from a variety of sources and through consultation with leadership experts. If leaders with these competencies were appointed, Egypt’s economy could perhaps recover and prosper. Currently, the country is almost bankrupt.

Competencies (according to a definition quoted by author Richard Boyatzis in 1982) can be seen as “an underlying characteristic of a person which results in effective and/or superior performance in a job.” What are the ideal leadership competencies to maximize economic performance? If there is a lack of these competencies, it could lead to continuing economic dislocation.

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