Page 118 - The extraordinary leader

The Competency Quest • 95

than I do. I have worked hard to get up to speed but I still lack detailed knowl-
edge. I can’t make a lot of the technical decisions so I review each one with
team members who do have the expertise and rely on their knowledge.”

Fitting Theory to Our Data. The previous example provides one strong
explanation for the linkage between competencies. Basic links or compan-
ionships between traits are well established in people’s minds. They are gen-
eralized across all people within a culture and are not specific to individuals.
Therefore, when a person observes a leader displaying a specific competency,
there is an immediate assumption that this individual possesses a number of
other characteristics, despite the lack of any specific evidence to support that.
Many, if not most, impressions others have of our leadership abilities are not
totally accurate. People are influenced by their experience, and because of that,
they form a general impression (gestalt). Rather than being a totally accurate
accounting of each of our competencies and abilities (e.g., Competency a,
Competency b, Competency c, Competency d, Overall Leadership Ability),
people form their impressions based on an unequal weighing of competencies
from bits of knowledge. Even though these impressions are not totally accurate,
people cannot be talked out of their impression by a rational, precise account-
ing of our competencies. People have strong attachments to their impressions.
Many observers react to this and say that it is unfair that others are not accu-
rate in their perceptions. However, this sword definitely cuts two ways. If others
have a general impression that a person is a poor leader, then they will prob-
ably be negatively biased in their evaluations of specific competencies and
underrate the person’s real abilities. On the other hand, if others have a gen-
eral impression that a person is an extraordinary leader, they will overestimate
this person’s skills and abilities. Though being underrated is unfair, being over-
rated, though still unfair, is something leaders can use to their advantage. The
key is to get the attribution process to work for you rather than against you.
This helps to explain many of our research findings. For example, we found
many leaders with extremely high scores on all competencies and with no
perceived weaknesses. The tendency for everyone to attribute positive social
behavior and positive intellectual capabilities to someone who possesses one
positive attribute sheds light on this phenomenon. The combination of cre-
ating an overall picture or gestalt about someone, combined with the strong
linkage between traits and attributes, provides insight into this.
It was hard for many people to believe that Richard M. Nixon, who was
reared a Quaker, was intelligent and well educated, and capable of being elected