Page 35 - The extraordinary leader
P. 35
12 • The Extraordinary Leader
Leading
Organizational
Change
Focus on Interpersonal
Results Character Skills
Personal
Capability
Figure 1-1 The Leadership Tent Floor
can be grouped into five clusters. For the sake of ease in remembering
and analysis, we have created a diagram in the form of a tent floor
(Figure 1-1) that shows the relationship of these building blocks to each other.
Character
Our model in Figure 1-1 starts with a center pole representing the “character”
of an individual. There is a huge body of writing on this subject. Indeed, some
writers and researchers have argued that leadership is totally about character
or integrity. We do not share that view, but we do agree that personal charac-
ter is the core of all leadership effectiveness. We strongly concur that the eth-
ical standards, integrity, and authenticity of the leader are extremely important.
With a strong personal character, the leader is never afraid to be open and
transparent. In fact, the more people can see inside, the more highly regarded
