Ashley’s Reviews > How to Be Exceptional: Drive Leadership Success by Magnifying Your Strengths > Status Update

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.