From what I see in the organizations where I consult, there’s an urgent need to understand leadership personality. All personality types have positive and negative potentials that can be described in terms of two hierarchies: productiveness and moral reasoning. Freud pioneered our understanding of human nature with his classification of three personality types: erotic, obsessive…
Everyone I talk with is familiar with the narcissistic type leader, but not many people understand precisely how the term can apply in both a positive and a negative sense. Mostly the term is bandied about to describe all sorts of negative and destructive behaviors. I think we can explore how productive narcissistic personalities help…
I’ve been discussing leadership personalities and the importance of evaluating leadership potential using personality types. I believe that past performance isn’t sufficient for finding and selecting tomorrow’s leaders. There are too many complex global challenges that future leaders will face. An excellent book, Michael Maccoby in Narcissistic Leaders: Who Succeeds and Who Fails (Crown Business,…
From what I see in the organizations where I consult, there’s an urgent need to understand leadership personality. Today―and especially for the future―we need leaders who can engage the workforce, manage people, and inspire collaboration and innovation. Evaluation of leadership personality types is an essential part of the selection process for CEOs and top executives,…
Given the financial and societal impact of global business, there’s an urgent need to understand leadership personality. If we fail to appreciate how leaders’ personalities influence strategic decisions, we risk selecting leaders who are incapable of setting an organization’s direction. Think about it. We are in the midst of great social, economic, scientific and political…
When it comes to leadership give and take, “givers,” if taken advantage of too often, will eventually withdraw. I’ve been writing about the paradox of leadership give and take. What I’ve seen in my coaching practice is when givers become leery and withdraw giving to avoid being hurt, they become completely ineffective. Ultimately, the “takers”…
In previous posts I’ve been writing about the paradox of leadership give and take. The majority of employees see their bosses fitting the mold of the “takers”, putting their needs first and working their way up the corporate ladder effectively. Conversely, “givers”, who put their needs last, are seen as weak, interdependent, insecure, and not…
“Success doesn’t measure a human being, effort does.” ~ Adam M. Grant, Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success (Penguin 2013) I’ve been reading about the paradox of leadership give and take. “Givers” generally don’t strike people as those who will attain what corporate life considers success. They put the needs of others…
I’ve been reading, and writing, about the paradox of leadership give and take. The premise regarding those who try to claim as much value as they can is that they get what they want. Their intentions are to achieve goals and maximize their opportunity. These “takers” make things happen for themselves and those around them…
When it comes to leadership give and take, are you a “taker,” or a “giver?” Western leaders have been conditioned for generations to believe that the way to advance is to claim as much as possible, to take more than you give. I don’t have to look too far to see leaders make personal gain…