Page 140 - The extraordinary leader

Leaders Must Fit Their Organization • 117

C P

O

Figure 5-4 C and P, No O

results in return. Our research has helped us understand that some com-
petencies are better at creating leverage and success in an organization.
Chapter 4 shows the research on 16 key competencies that have a higher like-
lihood of leveraging overall leadership effectiveness. These 16 competencies
provide a great deal of latitude in terms of selecting competencies that a
person can develop into extraordinary strengths.

Organizational Competency Drivers

When there is an intersection of competence and passion with an organiza-
tional need, this creates an opportunity for an individual to show extraordi-
nary leadership. Displaying exceptional skill on a competency where there
is no organizational need fails to provide much clout in terms of leveraging
leadership effectiveness.
Imagine that you are a member of a small team in a high-technology com-
pany that has the unpleasant task of downsizing a group of people by half.
Each person is discussed. Strengths and areas of needed improvement are
reviewed for each person. All of the people are selected for dismissal except
one. It is difficult to choose between two employees. There is a fair amount
of disagreement in the group about the two people. Finally, the person sitting
next to you, who has been a strong advocate for keeping one of them, says,