the chart illustrates the results of a survey conducted among business people in three different years (2010, 2015, and 2020) regarding the factors that make managers effective at their jobs. respondents rated five factors on a scale from 1 to 5 based on their importance.
overall, there was a clear upward trend in the importance placed on soft skills, particularly empathy and vision, while responsibility and communication consistently remained highly valued. by contrast, transparency showed only moderate changes over the period.
in 2010, responsibility was considered the most important factor, receiving the highest score of 5. good communication followed closely with a rating of 4. however, transparency was rated at 3, while empathy and vision were regarded as relatively less significant, scoring only 1 and 2 respectively.
by 2015, the importance of empathy and vision increased noticeably, both reaching a score of 3. transparency also rose slightly to 4. meanwhile, responsibility declined to 4, matching the score for good communication, which remained stable. this suggests a shift towards valuing interpersonal qualities more strongly.
in 2020, empathy and vision continued to rise, reaching 4 and 4 respectively, indicating their growing significance in managerial effectiveness. responsibility and good communication remained highly rated at 5, while transparency stabilised at 3. overall, the data shows a clear movement towards a more balanced view of managerial skills, combining traditional leadership traits with emotional and strategic awareness.