Page 39 - The extraordinary leader

16 • The Extraordinary Leader

danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that
it is too low and we reach it.”
We have often set the target as “getting a little bit better.” We have not set
our sights on getting people to become outstanding leaders. The more great
leaders an organization develops, the more it will become an outstanding
organization. There is no reason to accept mediocrity in leadership any more
than in software programming, customer service, or selling. This is more fully
covered in Chapter 2.

Insight 4. The Relationship Between Improved
Leadership and Increased Performance Outcomes Is
Neither Precisely Incremental Nor Is It Linear
After evaluating a variety of different assessments comparing leadership effec-
tiveness with outcomes as mentioned above, a distinct pattern emerged in
almost all of our studies. Poor leaders (those up to the 20th percentile) had
poor results, whereas leaders above the 80th percentile achieved exceptional
results. Looking at only those two data points, the relationship appears fairly
linear, but in each case where we examined those leaders with good results
(20th to 80th percentiles), they achieved approximately the same level of
outcomes even though their effectiveness ranged from the 20th to the 80th
percentile. The concept that leadership effectiveness is not precisely incre-
mentally related to performance outcomes means that incremental improve-
ments in leadership will not create incremental improvements in
performance outcomes. Perhaps if it did, people would be more focused on
improvement. They would see that a slight improvement in their leadership
ability created improved job performance. Leaders whose effectiveness
ratings are at the 40th or 50th percentile end up achieving about the same
performance as leaders at the 60th or 70th percentile. Those at the 40th or
50th percentile and who choose to conserve the energy involved in change
might ask themselves, “What’s the point? My results are the same as those of
others who are working to improve their leadership.” The lack of incremen-
tal movement of leadership and performance makes it difficult for people to
make the jump to extraordinary performance. And so most choose to be sat-
isfied with good performance rather than to move forward to higher levels.
Some organizations, as well, appear to be satisfied with leaders that are good.
Chapter 2 presents further evidence and information on this issue.