Page 15 - The extraordinary leader

x • Foreword

An important message of the book is that leaders can change. Leaders can
go from being good to being great, from being seen as adequate to being seen
as extraordinary. The process for getting from good to great may differ some-
what for each person, but there is a pattern. This pattern enables leaders to
discern what they need to do to deliver more value.
The book offers a plethora of content and new ways to think about leader-
ship based on both research and experience. It gives the reader multiple per-
spectives of leadership, but amidst all that complexity, the book promises
simplicity. The authors give the reader a conceptual framework by which to
understand leadership attributes. Their “tent” model is a powerful way to
describe leadership. I believe most readers will appreciate this graphic depiction
of an extremely complex (and sometimes obtuse) subject. Further, the model
moves beyond simply describing leadership to also describing ideal leadership
development methods—expanding strengths versus dithering about weaknesses.
The authors emphasize that the best way to raise a tent is to extend the poles
skyward, not to go looking for the drooping piece of canvas and propping it up.
One test of a business book is how it informs practice and action. The
observations made in this book will have impact when they change how lead-
ers think and/or behave. With this in mind, let me share what I would advise
a leader to do, based on the ideas in this book. I assume that this leader wants
to move from being good to being extraordinary, from being seen by subordi-
nates, peers, and supervisors as average to being in the top 10 percent in a
360-degree feedback or similar exercise.

• Display high personal character. Everything about great leadership
radiates from character. Personal character improves the probability of
exhibiting strong interpersonal skills. Some of this perceived character
is innate and based on a personal value set; but more is driven by the
leader’s self-awareness and interactions with others.
• Start small. Going from good to great follows an “S” curve of learning.
Starting small means doing something now, something within your
control that will have immediate impact. As small things cumulate,
bigger things will happen. A leader should identify some quick, simple,
and readily visible things that can be done along the “S” curve path.
• Excel at something. The worst leaders (34th percentile, or bottom
third) have an “average” profile, with no great strengths or weaknesses.
They are vanilla leaders, not standing out on anything. The impact of
one perceived strength moves leaders to the 64th percentile, and three