Page 31 - The extraordinary leader

8 • The Extraordinary Leader

What could end up being “wrong” is for a recognition and celebration
leader to attempt to function that way in a process metrics organization.
Chances are the organization would reject such a leader as the human
body rejects any foreign substance implanted in it.
14. Who decides those who are good leaders? We have been unclear
regarding who is in the best position to evaluate leadership
effectiveness. Organizations have often relied on performance
appraisals from the level above to evaluate the effectiveness of a
leader. We have studies from several organizations showing absolutely
no correlation between performance appraisals and their 360-degree
feedback instruments. Yet the research for past decades has shown that
subordinates were in the best position to appraise any leader’s
effectiveness. Research in the military proved that having the enlisted
men select sergeants was more effective than having higher-ranking
officers make those selections.
15. Several “companions” of leadership effectiveness have clouded the
issue. For example, all of the following have been shown to have some
correlation to leadership effectiveness:
● Intelligence, as measured by IQ scores

● Physical characteristics, such as height
● Emotional or personality characteristics, such as assertiveness and
outgoingness
● Biochemical characteristics, such as testosterone levels in men
Because some correlation exists between these elements and leader-
ship effectiveness, there has been a logical temptation to assume there
to be a cause-and-effect relationship. At the same time, there was high
interest in such conclusions from those responsible for leadership selec-
tion; the above elements did not help further the work of those con-
cerned with development.

16. Language has an impact. Is the lack of adequate language partly
responsible for the mystery that surrounds leadership? The Inuit (or as
some call them, Eskimos) have some 23 words to describe snow. They
can describe its hardness, texture, moisture content, color, age, and
crystalline structure with their richer vocabulary. We, on the other
hand, have roughly three words at best, as we talk about powder,
slush, and corn snow. It is possible that if our vocabulary were more
precise and robust, we could better succeed in describing what