The Power of the Other: The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom and beyond-and what to do about it

by Henry Cloud

Sometimes this is even the natural path by which someone gets into leadership: a kid is a doer, the family hero, or a caretaker—the one everyone else depends on. I can’t tell you how many CEOs I have worked with who were the higher-performing sibling who learned early to make up for what others weren’t doing. Early in life, they became the persons others depended on, not the ones who depended upon others. But when they continue that style of interaction in the executive suite, in a marriage, or in other significant relationships that must thrive on mutual interdependency, it creates problems for them. They are always putting out, performing for others, getting it done, and yet rarely ever taking in what they need from the outside world.