Leaders know that different situations call for different styles of leadership. But what if the best leaders shared a handful of core characteristics?

Well, the folks at McKinsey say they've decoded this conundrum, and they've come up with four core leadership skills that "closely correlate" with success.

McKinsey took up this task in an attempt to answer a nagging question: What kind of leadership should organizations encourage? With no clear focus, corporate leadership programs "address an extraordinary range of issues, which may explain why only 43 percent of CEOs are confident that their training investments will bear fruit," McKinsey said in a recent report.

But let's not belabor the point. McKinsey says these are the four key characteristics of successful leaders, and it's worth chief executives' efforts to concentrate on these when developing the C-suite:

Solving Problems Effectively

The process that precedes decision making is problem solving, when information is gathered, analyzed, and considered. This is deceptively difficult to get right, yet it is a key input into decision making for major issues (such as M&A) as well as daily ones (such as how to handle a team dispute).

Operating With A Strong Results Orientation

Leadership is about not only developing and communicating a vision and setting objectives but also following through to achieve results. Leaders with a strong results orientation tend to emphasize the importance of efficiency and productivity and to prioritize the highest-value work.

Seeking Different Perspectives

This trait is conspicuous in managers who monitor trends affecting organizations, grasp changes in the environment, encourage employees to contribute ideas that could improve performance, accurately differentiate between important and unimportant issues, and give the appropriate weight to stakeholder concerns. Leaders who do well on this dimension typically base their decisions on sound analysis and avoid the many biases to which decisions are prone.

Supporting Others

Leaders who are supportive understand and sense how other people feel. By showing authenticity and a sincere interest in those around them, they build trust and inspire and help colleagues to overcome challenges. They intervene in group work to promote organizational efficiency, allaying unwarranted fears about external threats and preventing the energy of employees from dissipating into internal conflict.