Page 119 - The extraordinary leader

96 • The Extraordinary Leader

to high office, would use profanity like a sailor and engage in dishonest acts
such as Watergate. Similarly, it was hard for many citizens of the United States
to believe that Bill Clinton would engage in sexual misconduct with an intern
in the Oval Office. It would have been more understandable if this had
happened while he was living in a fraternity house during his junior year of col-
lege. Because he was the president of the United States, and a man of obvious
intellect and ability, that behavior was inconsistent with people’s assumptions.
Why do we present this research and theory about how perceptions are
formed? Understanding theory helps in planning a successful strategy. Under-
standing how others formulate their perceptions helps us to understand why
leaders are successful at times and why they fail.

2. Cross Training

The second explanation for the strong linkage between competencies is
simply that in the course of becoming good at one thing, you get better at
something else.
We see evidence of this in many other areas of life. A musician who plays
the saxophone will often switch between the clarinet, alto saxophone, and
tenor saxophone. Learning one instrument increases the ease of learning and
performing with a different instrument. The athlete who is a runner parlays
the endurance and strength gained through running to become a long-
distance swimmer and cyclist. Piano players are often extremely fast typists.

Skills Are Transferable. It is logical to believe that acquiring the skill of
conducting effective meetings helps the leader to also be more effective work-
ing one-on-one with peers. Developing the skills of communicating power-
fully and prolifically provides many of the same skills required to inspire and
motivate others to high performance.
The skill of setting stretch goals for your team is related to the skills required
to initiate action and focus on results.

3. Success Increases Confidence

When people experience success in one arena of life, it increases their con-
fidence and willingness to try something new.
One of the authors’ granddaughters became interested in diving. Going off
a board in a typical backyard pool was easy. Then came the three-meter board,
which seemed frightening to an 11-year-old. Finally, the team went to a diving