A top Fortune 500 CEO recruiter shares the one trait to develop if you want to be a corporate leader

Executives today don’t just have emotional intelligence, they have a high level of what recruiters call “LQ.”

Having high “LQ” means you’re able to adapt to change quickly. Photo: Getty Images

By Marguerite Ward

For over three decades, Clarke Murphy has helped the biggest companies name their next CEO. For the last eight years, as the CEO of consultancy Russell Reynolds Associates, Murphy has advised more than 30 Fortune 500 CEO appointments and over 60 board appointments at companies that will remain unnamed due to privacy agreements.

While Murphy’s advice spans multiple industries including finance, retail, and technology, he’s found that boardrooms and executive committees today are looking for leadership candidates with one particular trait in common: a high LQ — a person’s willingness and ability to adapt to change.

“CEOs are not paid to have all the answers,” Murphy told Insider. “Today, it’s about your ability to be agile.”

The events of 2020 forced leaders to double down on this trait, the CEO adviser explained. Many corporate executives had to move their employees to remote work in a matter of days and ensure their workers were safe. Weeks later, they had to respond to demands for racial equity amid nationwide protests with statements and pledges…