What attributes do venture capitalists look for in a leader? That's the question that the National Venture Capital Association and executive search firm Spencer Stuart tried to answer in a new study released today. According to the study, the leader's vision and fundraising skills are gaining in importance. An entrepreneur's vision ranked fourth in the 2010 study, which compared to seventh in a similar analysis in 2001. Meanwhile, the ability of the entrepreneur to raise money climbed from eighth to fifth in terms of the most important attributes.

"Both results reflect shifting priorities in an environment where both raising funds and the path to liquidity have become more challenging for VC-backed companies," the study said.

Interestingly, the study also found that CEOs of venture-backed companies are making more now than they did nine years ago. Forty seven percent of the VC respondents said that they are now paying CEOs more in cash compensation and equity, driven in part by the fact that CEOs now must possess more skills in order to do the job.

Adding to that trend, 75 percent of the VCs said that they are recruiting more outside board members to the team than they did nine years ago. That is spurred in part by a desire to make privately-held companies resemble their publicly-traded counterparts.

“The challenging exit market has changed the role of top executives at venture-backed companies, as different skills are required during various stage of company growth,” said NVCA President Mark Heesen in a release. “Today’s venture-backed CEOs will need leadership skills that address a longer runway to liquidity, creating a need for a more systematic performance evaluation over time.”

[Flickr photo via Amagill]