Transcript Slide 1

Why Leaders Fail
INTRODUCTION
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
INTRODUCTION
Why Do CEOs Fail?
• Most “failed” CEOs were
before their blunders
strong leaders
• The pressure for performance is shorter and
more unforgiving
• Many sabotaged themselves, albeit
unconsciously
• ALL leaders are vulnerable to their “shadow
side”
• CEO’s downfall are more
noticeable/spectacular
• Nobody told them the truth
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
INTRODUCTION
The 11 Derailers
•Arrogance: You’re right and everybody else is
wrong.
•Melodrama: You always grab the center of
attention.
•Volatility: Your mood swings drive business
swings.
•Excessive Caution: The next decision you make may
be your first.
•Habitual Distrust: You focus on the negatives.
•Aloofness: You disengage and disconnect.
•Mischievousness: Rules are made to be broken.
•Eccentricity: It’s fun to be different just for
the sake of it.
•Passive Resistance: Your silence is
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
INTRODUCTION
misinterpreted
as agreement.
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
•Perfectionism:
Get
the
little
things
right
even
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
INTRODUCTION
Learning About Failure
Our research on derailers owes a
debt to the work of:
•
Robert Hogan
•
Ram Charan
•
Daniel Goleman
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
INTRODUCTION
Understanding the Way Derailers
Work
• Derailers emerge
under stress.
• Stress differs for each leader.
• You can’t remove your derailers—they are
part of your personality.
• Derailers are both strengths and weaknesses.
• Most leaders have
two or three derailers.
• Some may seem like the opposite of one
another.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ARROGANCE
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ARROGANCE
You’re Right and Everybody
Else Is Wrong
• Arrogance is blinding belief in
your own opinions.
• Success as a leader requires
confidence.
• Most smart leaders know when
they’re being stubborn, singleminded, and self-righteous.
• Arrogant leaders can’t see their
own arrogance.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ARROGANCE
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You’re willing to fight for
what you believe in.
• You’re unwilling to ever
give up a fight.
• You believe that your
perspective is the correct
one after evaluating other
points of view.
• Your perspective is the
correct one-- before
evaluating others’ ideas.
• You hold yourself accountable • You refuse to take
when your strategy or idea
responsibility when your
doesn’t work.
strategy or idea doesn’t
work.
• You adjust your strongly
held viewpoint to fit new
information
• You reinterpret events to
fit your point of view.
• You possess a powerful ego
that allows you to make an
impact on others.
• You possess a powerful ego
that causes you to dominate
others.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
MELODRAMA
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
MELODRAMA
You Always Grab the Center of
Attention
• Successful CEOs require presence.
• Sometimes, you must be dramatic to
make a point.
• Melodramatic leaders suck up the
oxygen so no one else can breathe
• Melodramatic leaders don’t develop
others, can’t see what is happening
and always grab the focus.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
MELODRAMA
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You command attention when
you speak.
• You dominate meetings by
constantly talking.
• You use charisma to involve
and motivate people.
• Your style grabs attention
or becomes an issue.
• Your showmanship helps
attract outside attention
from media, analysts, and
prospective recruits.
• You expect others to attend
to you.
• You know exactly when to be
charming or deliver an
eloquent talk to achieve a
goal.
• You are consistently
flamboyant rather than
strategically dramatic.
• You can turn off the style
and listen and learn from
others.
• You’re always “on” and
rarely reflect.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
VOLATILTY
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
VOLATILTY
General Patton: Derailing by Example.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
VOLATILTY
Your Mood Shifts Are
Unpredictable
• Volatility creates compliance—
successful CEOs use it
strategically.
• Volatile leaders create energy.
• Unpredictable eruptions from
powerful people creates caution,
distrust and fear.
• People waste productivity energy
managing
the moods
of the VOLATILITY
leader.
MELODRAMA
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
PERFECTIONISM
ALOOFNESS
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
VOLATILTY
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You lose your temper because
of major screw-ups and other
significant problems.
• You explode over minor
mistakes.
• Feedback tells you that your
people know what they can
expect from you.
• People worry about your
reactions.
• You generally act one way
most of the time.
• You move back and forth
between optimism and
pessimism.
• You consistently generate
energy and enthusiasm
through your words and
deeds.
• You create BOTH energy and
intimidation.
• You change the way you act
in order to achieve a
specific effect.
• Your mood swings are without
provocation.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
The Next Decision You Make
May Be Your First
• Overanalyzing important decisions in
the face of increased anxiety and
significant stress.
• Your fear of making the wrong
decision causes procrastination and
the need for “one more study.”
• Problems spiral and the very
failure
you sought
to avoid
is
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
INTRODUCTION
about MISCHIEVOUSNESS
by indecision.
HABITUAL DISTRUSTbrought
ALOOFNESS
ECCENTRICITY
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You analyze a situation
before you make a decision.
• You require second and third
opinions.
• You look at worst-case
scenarios before moving
forward.
• You obsess about what might
go wrong.
• You go slow before deciding
because the wrong decision
can have serious
consequences.
• You go slow before deciding
because every decision can
have serious consequences.
• You turn down requests for
projects and resources when
you have hard evidence that
flaws exist.
• You don’t give people the
go-ahead.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
HABITUAL DISTRUST
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
HABITUAL DISTRUST
You Focus on the Negatives
Healthy skepticism is different than
virulent distrust.
• The former involves being
realistic, reacting appropriately
to circumstance and environment.
• The latter involves being
inappropriately and egregiously
suspicious.
• Distrustful leaders question
motives and look for hidden
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
INTRODUCTION
agendas.
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
HABITUAL DISTRUST
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You assess the potential
downside before making a
decision.
• You don’t act because of
the inevitable downside.
• You’re alert for people
whose actions are motivated
by politics or selfinterest.
• You’re seek to confirm that
people act out of selfinterest or for political
reasons.
• You can tolerate negative
feedback and learn from it
on occasion.
• You dismiss all information
as tainted by an
individual’s ulterior
motives.
• You mix criticism with
positive comments when
giving feedback to direct
reports.
• You’re excessively critical
when giving feedback.
• You anticipate obstacles
that can get in your way.
• You obsess over what can go
wrong.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ALOOFNESS
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ALOOFNESS
You Disengage and Disconnect
• Aloof leaders “emotionally disappear”
• Conflict, especially creates
withdrawal.
• Aloof leaders are distant, abstract,
and sometimes disengaged, especially
under stress.
• They isolate themselves during crises
or retreat from people who need
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
INTRODUCTION
guidance
or
support
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ALOOFNESS
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You create an environment
where decisions are made
objectively and politics is
rarely played.
• You create a “cold” culture
--expression of feeling is
frowned upon.
• You’re calm in the midst of
crisis and controversy.
• You withdraw in the midst of
crisis or controversy.
• You maintain an outward
reserve but can connect with
people when necessary.
• You’re stoic and rarely show
anyone weaknesses or
vulnerabilty.
• You delegate most
relationship-building
activities to others but are
willing to forge key
alliances in crucial
situations.
• You’re unable to work in
teams or creative alliances.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
Why Leaders Fail
You Know That Rules Are Only
Suggestions
• Mischievous leaders are easily bored,
and often like to “stir things up” to
create excitement.
• These leaders see “rules” as either
“suggestions” or “for others to
follow.”
• Mischievous leaders enjoy provocative
ideas but have trouble executing these
ideas.
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
•
Mischievous
leaders
are
charming
and
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
engaging.
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
INTRODUCTION
Why Leaders Fail
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You test limits and push at
boundaries to foster
innovation.
• You break the rules.
• You are impulsively creative.
• You are destructively
impulsive.
• You enjoy risk-taking and
don’t dwell on mistakes.
• You make decisions and take
risks without considering
the consequences.
• You use your charm and
creativity to achieve
organizational goals.
• You use charm and
creativity as a tool-- not
to achieve specific goals.
• You make provocative
statements in order to foster
debate and discussion.
• You speak your mind for
your own amusement or
without any real objective.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ECCENTRICITY
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
ECCENTRICITY
It’s Fun to Be Different
Just for the Sake of It
• Eccentrics can generate ideas and
deliver results—or else others would
not tolerate their weirdness.
• Eccentric leaders are often viewed as
true originals, their strange
behavior often spoken of with
affection.
• When things aren’t going so well,
however, eccentrics become
irritating.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
• Others
have trouble
predicting
their
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
PERFECTIONISMbehavior
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
HABITUAL DISTRUST
Why Leaders Fail
ECCENTRICITY
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You have a million great
ideas.
• You have a million great
ideas that rarely get
executed.
• You keep people on their
toes with your unpredictable
and offbeat style.
• You confuse and confound
people with your style.
• You’ve launched many
important initiatives.
• You’ve launched many
initiatives but don’t follow
up on them.
• You blend your original and
sometimes unconventional
style with a more conforming
approach when necessary.
• You refuse to change who you
are by conforming to
organizational norms.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Your Silence Is Misinterpreted as
Agreement
• Passive-resistant look like savvy
leaders, who know how to play politics
and be pragmatic about goals.
• Underneath , however, is unconscious
duplicity.
• Passive Resistant leaders create
expectations they don’t meet,
confusing and disappointing others in
the short
creating
cynicism
ARROGANCEterm and
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
INTRODUCTION
HABITUAL DISTRUST
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
in theALOOFNESS
long run.
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You say one thing and do
another only when there’s no
other option.
• Saying one thing and doing
another is standard.
• People generally know what
drives you.
• You have a private agenda
that you share with no one.
• You try to avoid conflict
but level with people when
it’s crucial that they know
where you’re coming from.
• You avoid conflict at all
costs and rarely express any
disagreement.
• You have a sense of what
other people expect of you
and your commitments to
them.
• You don’t know or care what
others expect of you.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PERFECTIONISM
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PERFECTIONISM
You Get the Little Things
Right
While the Big Things Go
Wrong
• Perfectionistic leaders
ignore the big picture.
often
• They focus on details, and lose
sight of major developments around
them.
• Perfectionism
isMELODRAMA
useful for
anyone EXCESSIVE CAUTION
ARROGANCE
VOLATILITY
in a position
where
mistakes
can be
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
INTRODUCTION
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
PERFECTIONISM
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You focus on the
details.
• Detail focus prevents you from
seeing the bigger picture.
• You find it worthwhile
to make sure that
presentations look and
sound great.
• You pay more attention to the
form than to the substance.
• You feel uncomfortable
with uncertainty and
ambiguity.
• You try to impose structure in
every situation and eliminate
uncertainty and ambiguity.
• You manage processes
with skill and
determination.
• Managing processes trumps
people’s needs.
• You are conscientious
about your
responsibilities.
• You can’t let go of any task, no
matter how small, until it’s
completed exactly.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
Why Leaders Fail
You Want to Win Any Popularity
Contest
• People often try to please leaders -- not
the reverse.
• Many leaders are eager to please, -moving
up because they identify and meet the needs
of others.
• Pleasers can be enormously popular because
of these qualities, but they can also fail
because of them.
ARROGANCE
MELODRAMA
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
• Their aversion
to conflict
and VOLATILITY
contentious
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
debate
causes
them
to
bury
contrary
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
INTRODUCTION
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
Healthy
Potential for Failure
• You believe that happy
workers are good workers.
• You believe that one unhappy
worker can spoil the whole
company.
• The teams you create get
things done through
consensus.
• The teams you create stop
dissenting or anxietyraising ideas.
• You’re able to adapt to new
events and circumstances.
• You’re so flexible that no
one (including you) is sure
where you stand on the
issues.
• You confront with
compassion.
• You confront without
backbone.
• You like to keep
disagreements from
disrupting meetings and the
flow of work.
• You communicate that
disagreement and conflict
are unwelcome.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Section intro animation here
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
What Kind of Stress Triggers Your
Derailers?
• Interactions with bosses, boards, big
customers, or authority figures
• Major career or life transitions
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Failure of a program, team, or policy for which
you are accountable
• Downsizing or restructuring
• Boredom
• Too much work
• Intense peer competition
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
What Kind of Stress Triggers
Your Derailers?
• Deadlines
• Personal financial pressure
• Negative publicity
• Conflict
• Confronting underperforming direct reports
• Working in a matrix
• Dealing with paradox, complexity,
uncertainty, or conflicting expectations
• Appeasing difficult customers
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Why Leaders Fail
Coaching Techniques
Adversity Analysis
Think of your difficult situations or
failures:
What behaviors in these circumstances
didn’t serve you well?
• What would your worst critics say
about how
you acted?
• Do you see a theme or pattern in
your behaviors?
ARROGANCE
INTRODUCTION • Do any
of the MELODRAMA
derailers VOLATILITY
fit thisEXCESSIVE CAUTION
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
pattern?
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Coaching Techniques
Direct Report Evaluation
Leave your direct reports alone, and
ask them to report back to you with
their best ideas and recommendations
about the following questions:
• How can I be a better leader?
• What do I do that makes you nuts?
• How do I force you to work around me
rather than with me?
• When you get together to complain about
me, what do you complain about?
• When I’m under stress, what do I do that
you think is counterproductive?
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Coaching Techniques
Finding a Confidant
Someone you can trust, who understands
your business context and who can
provide you with objective, insightful
advice, and feedback.
– Good choices:
• A mentor, retired or still active, who has
observed you move up.
• Someone who has experience as a coach
• A former direct report whom you respect and
trust
– Poor choices:
• Friends or spouses
• Organizational allies, because they can become
tomorrow’s competitors.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Addressing Organizational
Leadership Derailers
•Managing derailers helps both careers
and companies.
•With their derailers under control,
leaders free up their strengths.
•Coaching a leadership group has a
trickle-down effect to the entire
company.
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
An Evolved View of Leadership
• In the past, leaders hid their
weaknesses.
• That’s not possible now—there are few
secrets.
• To handle stress, accept that you—and
all leaders—are fallible.
• Flawed leaders deny they are human,
but human beings can still be great
leaders.
• Accepting this will free you to become
aware of your derailers—and learn to
manageARROGANCE
them.
MELODRAMA
VOLATILITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
INTRODUCTION
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS stress
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
ECCENTRICITY
• Increased
may be inevitable,
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
WHY LEADERS
Next Slide
Why Leaders Fail
WHY LEADERS SUCCEED
Based on the book Why CEOs Fail
by David Dotlich & Peter Cairo
INTRODUCTION
ARROGANCE
HABITUAL DISTRUST
ALOOFNESS
PERFECTIONISM
EAGERNESS TO PLEASE
MELODRAMA
MISCHIEVOUSNESS
WHY LEADERS
VOLATILITY
ECCENTRICITY
EXCESSIVE CAUTION
PASSIVE RESISTANCE
Next Slide