Status Updates From How to Be Exceptional: Driv...

Leaving aside the obvious tongue in cheek levity of the book, it explains why fatal flaws often appear later in people's careers, as they're promoted to more senior positions.

The Peter principle states that people are promoted until they finally get elevated to a position in which they're fundamentally incompetent. Then they tend to stay in that position. The book suggested that this was the explanation for why so many managers were seen as being poor leaders.

Fatal flaws have a devastating impact on the perception of leaders overall effectiveness. Our advice for leaders with fatal flaws is to make a priority of fixing any fatal flaws first, before working on a strength. The good news is that with effort and attention, leaders can make a profound change in these negative issues.

Our definition of a fatal flaw is a behavioral trait that has a devastatingly negative impact on a person's overall effectiveness. The statistical description or measure cannot be used as a sole criterion because certain behaviors are simply not important to a particular job.

If the skill you've chosen gives you greater autonomy in your work, a higher sense of mastery and what you're doing, in the sense that you're working towards a higher cause or purpose, this will really expand your motivation

Two elements are important period first you must obviously be motivated if there is a sustained effort to develop a strength. Determination and stick to it evenness are essential. Second leaking your efforts to genuine elements of motivation will escalate success.

Leaders with profound weaknesses would have direct reports with the same weaknesses. This phenomenon occurred more frequently than random chance would dictate, and we called it the shadow of the leader. Just the process of being around an associated with the leader can cause people to acquire some of the leaders habits. The problem is that people pick up both good and bad habits.

The second factor is personal honesty and integrity. People who are more honest and straightforward with others tend to be honest and straightforward with themselves the third factor is engaging in the development of others. The 4th and final factor is taking action and initiative and move forward and respond to the feedback.

The opinions of others makes a huge difference. The attitude of focusing on the opinions of others is difficult for some leaders because some don't really care about the opinions of those they lead.

Accepting feedback is a function of our four broad skill sets. First and most fundamental is the ability to be humble and reflective. Leadership is all about the ability to influence others and so it is those others who have all the data and insights. Your opinion makes a little difference.

Interpersonal skills includes communicates powerfully and prolifically, inspires and motivates others, builds relationships, develops others, and engages in collaborative teamwork. Final category, personal capability, has technical and professional expertise, solves problems and analyzes issues, innovates, and practice is self development

Table 6.1 shows the 16 behaviors clustered into five different competency areas. Focus on results includes drives for results, establishes stretch goals, takes initiative period leading change in clear roads develop strategic perspective, champions change, and connects the group to the outside world.

The idea of situation occurs when these three CPO elements come together. Is the perfect combination when the individual can be working on a competency that he or she is already reasonably good at doing when that competency is something that the organization highly values and when the individual has an intense interest in and passion for building competency

Competence is the first consideration to measure which is the level of competency. Passion is what charges you. Organizational need is what your organization needs from you and your current position.

We propose a model with three important filters for identifying a behavior that could be expanded into a strength. We labeled this the CPO model. C stands for competence, P for passion, and O for organization need. The basic premise of the CPO model is to consider each of its three key filters when selecting A competency for development into strength.

Our definition of linear development encompasses those activities are logical, obvious approaches for an individual to improve. If you want they're not highly strategic and they're thinking, then linear development would have them read books about strategy, take classes, subscript journals etc

The realm of developing leadership skills includes one special challenge. The great majority of leaders and organizations begin their careers in some area of specialty. The leader may have been a chemist, accountant, marketer, and OPS manager the technical education of these leaders was usually focused in their area of specialty.

This may necessitate talking with others in the organization who may have a better window into both the past and future of the organization as well as those who've demonstrated their ability to create a distinctive vision for their part of the organization.

One of the 16 differentiating competencies we identified was developed strategic perspective. Virtually all leaders can view their roles from a long term and broader perspective.

Linear development reaches a point of diminishing returns. It invariably runs out of gas when a person has reached a higher level of proficiency.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born. That there is a genetic factor to leadership. Method certs that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That is nonsense. In fact the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

What differentiates A weakness from a fatal flaw? To answer this, let's take as an example an operations director who's not perceived by others as highly effective on strategic thinking. But this lack of skill and strategic thinking may have little consequence to a person's job success. Would we call it a weakness? He asked. A fatal flaw?

We define talents as qualities that are hardwired in people.

Various scholars have contemplated the issue and proposed several elements that define to strength these include: A trait that is performed while similar to the way it is performed by the top ten or twenty percent of leaders in a population. A trait that is successfully used in diverse situations or settings. A trait that the individual enjoys using. A trait that produces positive outcomes consistently.

A fundamental premise of this book is that the best in class leaders are those who possess and regularly utilized 5 or more powerful strings that matter. There are those who believe that there are other ways to get there.We do not believe there are other paths.We can't find a single example of someone perceived as an exceptional leader who wasn't profoundly good in several areas important to the job.

If leaders have significant weaknesses, ones that could be considered fatal flaws, improving those weaknesses can have substantial positive impact on their overall effectiveness.Fixing them can keep them from being negatively singled out.

... And organizational outcomes. We take the position that there is an equally clear and measurable impact of leadership effectiveness on bottom line results.