Page 197 - The extraordinary leader

174 • The Extraordinary Leader

influence others effectively, communicate the things that they know, and
build collaborative, trusting relationships with others.

The Link Between Having High Standards and
Technical Competence
Similarly, having high standards of excellence does not make people smarter,
but if you apply the logic of the Rosenberg et al. research presented in Chap-
ter 4, a good explanation emerges. Recall that the research showed that the
following adjectives were clustered together in people’s minds:

● Scientific
● Persistent
● Skillful
● Imaginative
● Intelligent

We submit, then, that in most people’s perceptions, the qualities of tech-
nical competence (scientific and intelligent) and high standards of excellence
(persistence and skillful) are also linked together. If I see you display one,
I assume you have the other.
Therefore, by championing extremely high standards for every activity,
I have subtly caused others to have an elevated view of my technical compe-
tence. Certainly, on the flip side, a person with minimal technical compe-
tence would never impose lofty standards of excellence on a team or on
colleagues. Similarly, the leader who remarks, “Oh, I don’t care if we finish
on time,” or “Let’s not bust our tails on this project,” is not a person we assume
has great technical credentials or ability.

What Are Competency Companions?

Competency companions (or behavioral buddies) are simply best friends.
They tend to go everywhere together. When people are effective at one of the
16 key differentiating behaviors, they tend to do the companion behaviors
equally well. Conversely, when people are ineffective at a differentiating
behavior, they tend to perform the companion behaviors poorly. Again, we