Right Management Consultants, a career transition and organizational consulting firm, conducted a survey of 570 full-time white collar employees in the U.S. The survey asked, "What is the most important trait or attribute that the leader of your company should possess?" The survey respondents cited 28 attributes.

The top 5 were:

1. honesty

2. integrity/morals/ethics

3. caring/compassion

4. fairness

5. good relationship with employees, including approachability and listening skills

Significantly, honesty was listed as the top trait by 38 percent of 55-64 year-olds versus only 16 percent of the 18 to 34 year-old group.

The bottom five attributes were:

1. creativity

2. decisiveness

3. flexibility

4. good personality/sense of humor

5. attention to detail

Employees today feel that an ideal leader will have an internal moral compass that is guided by ethics and caring.