Page 16 - The extraordinary leader

Foreword • xi

strengths moves them to the 81st percentile. My advice to you as a
leader is to figure out what you are good at and improve it to the
90 percent level. Be good at something, then a few things.
• Connect competencies and leverage combinations. You are a better
leader when you connect competencies and see the power of
combinations. For example, leaders who are highly competent at
Focus on Results and Interpersonal Skills have a powerful
combination. With a single strength in Interpersonal Skills, only
9 percent are at the 90th percentile. With a single strength in Focus
on Results, only 13 percent are at the 90th percentile. With a
combination (both Interpersonal Skills and Focus on Results
perceived as strengths), 66 percent are at the 90th percentile.
• Use a nonlinear approach to becoming a better leader. For example, if
you get lousy feedback on technical skills, the best approach may not
be to work on improving your technical skills. The authors’ proposal
for competency companions suggests that it may be in your interest to
improve your interpersonal skills as the best way to improve the
perception of your technical skills.
• Build on your strengths. Figure out what you do well and magnify it. It
only takes strength in a few (two to four) attributes while being average
in the rest to achieve a high probability of being seen as a great leader.
So, a leader needs to build on strengths. Find what you do well, then
find the combination of competencies that you should do well to be
seen as more effective.
• Remedy fatal flaws. The authors provide data showing that these are
an inability to learn from mistakes and develop new skills; being
interpersonally inept; being closed to new ideas; failure to be
accountable for results; not taking initiative. Assess yourself and see
how others assess you on these five fatal flaws. If any show up, work on
them fast and furiously.

These suggestions are just the beginning of ideas with impact that you can
draw from this book. However, these ideas represent the content that may help
you as a leader to move from being good to being great. In the context of
today’s organizations, applying these ideas will not only help leaders improve
but also help organizations become more competitive.

Dave Ulrich