What a great story! It just drives the nail right home! I hope (and am confident, with your presence) that this fellow comes out of this situation okay.

It’s a bit of a dilemma, isn’t it, when, as sometimes happens, the problem you’re asked to fix is actually the solution!

Thanks again so much for your visit, your illustration, and your work.

Thanks for your visit and your observations. I always find them incisive, cutting right through to the issue at hand.

Thanks also for your reference to Elliot Jaques (a website dedicated to his work can be found here). A very interesting person and career, who produced real, applicable theory and insight from what might be considered an unlikely background in psychoanalysis. I will try to use your mention of him as occasion to learn more from his thinking.

I agree with and appreciate your focus on the work, and the issue of developing the ability to do it, rather than transcendant personality characteristics.

Thanks again, and please keep up your good work!

I was asked to “coach” a very successful executive and, in the process, do the obligatory 360 with reports, colleagues, etc. His boss (CEO) made it clear that this guy is a winner and just needs to smooth out they way he deals with certain people.

Is he belligerent? No.

Is he disrespectful? No.

Do any of his behaviors negatively impact results or the ability of others to do their jobs? No.

So what’s the issue?

The guy is results-oriented, aware of deadlines, and can tell the difference between excuses and valid reasons.

The company gave execs an assessment tool that indicated he scored low on a particular characteristic “important to leadership”. Meaning that there is an underlying sociological value system driving the notion of “good” and “bad” leaders.

However, his people would follow him off of a cliff and the colleagues who do get upset (once in a while) allow that he’s just an achiever who adds more to the company’s profitability than any other single individual.

If he starts becoming a kinder, gentler executive (according to the definitions in the assessment) he will also lose his effectiveness.

The craziness has got to stop.

Thanks. I feel better now

I couldn’t agree more with you on this one. Elliott Jaques spent his whole career arguing for a consistent management science lexicon and then went about creating one.

He defined leadership as the ability to set purpose or direction for others and then get them to move along in that direction with competence and full commitment.

Leadership is an accountability of all managerial roles. There are certain skills, practices, and tools that can help one achieve this, but no inherent personality characteristics are required.