Page 185 - The extraordinary leader

162 • The Extraordinary Leader

Feedback in the form of coaching, team discussions, or 360-degree surveys
(if honest and direct) provides “disconfirming information.” The messages con-
veyed would be contrary to this leader’s self-perceptions. This creates a dilemma
and forces some action. The leader now has one of several choices to make.
First, she can deny the information. But if it comes from multiple sources
that are clearly reliable and have no personal axe to grind, it becomes extremely
difficult to deny this consistent pattern of feedback.
Second, the leader can choose to change her self-concept. She could say
to herself, “Well, okay, I guess I am arrogant and think my ideas are the only
good ones that exist.” For the person possessing some general health of char-
acter and personality, this self-concept is unacceptable and illogical.
Third, she can change her behavior. For most people faced with a barrage
of disconfirming information, the easiest course of action is to change the
behavior. That is the power of feedback.
Clearly, some fatal flaws will be specific to the position the person occupies.
For example, the director of research and development will not usually survive
unless he is perceived as being highly technically competent. The head of sales
will not survive if she is perceived as lacking important interpersonal skills. A
partner in a CPA firm will not survive, regardless of how good an auditor he
is, if he fails to take the initiative to generate revenue and develop customer
relationships. In these cases, the person does not always need to transform the
weakness into a strength, but the behavior needs to be taken from the liability
column and made into a neutral characteristic at worst.

Different Responses to Feedback. People respond differently to feedback.
That is something we have all observed. The work of one researcher may
shed light on those differences. Tory Higgins, chairman of the Department
of Psychology at Columbia University, has been honored for his distin-
guished contributions to the field of social psychology. His research con-
cludes that people fall into one of two camps in their fundamental
orientation on how they regulate their behavior. The first orientation is
toward achieving positive outcomes. He labeled this a “promotion” orien-
tation. This group of people wants to make positive things happen. Their
focus is on achievement. 4
Promotion Orientation. Higgins concludes from his research that this
group of individuals is highly motivated by positive feedback. It reinforces that
they accomplished what they set out to do. Positive feedback means that
others have noticed what they did. Their intention to produce something or