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The Blind Spots That Derail Leaders 57

nization. Steve’s director of human resources told him of a major cultural
clash with a newly acquired firm. Steve retorted, “Just give them a copy
of our values—that should clear up any confusion.” His HR director
argued vehemently that this would not work; it would not engage people
or align them with the parent company objectives. Although Steve was
interested in the success of the merger, he had absolutely no interest in
leading cultural transformation. So he gave the job to his HR director.
A considerable amount of money and time was spent on merging the
cultures of the two companies, but the success achieved was unsustain-
able. The lack of high-profile involvement and commitment of Steve and
senior leaders from both companies eventually led to the unraveling of the
culture and the merger.

The Impact of Tolerating “Good Enough.” People are discouraged
when leaders apply personal preference to leadership initiatives and ignore
critical needs of the business or delegate them. When you are unwilling
to learn and explore areas outside of your knowledge base, experience, and
comfort, you not only limit yourself, you also limit the organization.
People want leaders who demand excellence and high standards of
behavior that are consistently applied. Your leadership is essential to chart
a new course and to move the company to the next level of performance.
If you give lip service to cultural transformation and behavioral standards,
you sacrifice the unified support of people and lose the most powerful mech-
anism available for creating extraordinary teamwork and alignment. Nothing
will accelerate your business targets as quickly and effectively as people who
are passionately focused on giving you more than what you ask for.
When you tolerate “good enough” and fail to move outside your com-
fort zone, you hold people and the organization back. (In Chapter 10, we
explore how to hold yourself and others accountable for business results
and impact on people.)

CONFRONTING BLIND SPOTS: THE CORNERSTONE
OF FEARLESS LEADERSHIP
Most organizations have workforces who are change fatigued and cyni-
cal. People are subjected to countless change initiatives; some result in
modest improvements, others flounder, and many are abandoned. The