How to Be Exceptional: Drive Leadership Success By Magnifying Your Strengths

by Barbara Steel, Robert H. Sherwin, Joseph Folkman, John H. Zenger

Overview

One of The Globe & Mail's Top 10 Business books of the Year!

Rethink Everything You Know About Leadership Strengths

"A must-read for anyone wanting to positively stand out in an organization or for leaders wanting to raise the overall performance of the organization." — Cindy Brinkley, Vice President, Global Human Resources, General Motors

"Zenger Folkman's findings related to companion behaviors is exciting. It enhances what's been presented in prior books and makes extraordinary leadership seem like an achievable goal. I would recommend this book to anyone committed to the journey." — Pam Mabry, Director, Human Resources, The Boeing Company

"The authors take the groundbreaking concept of driving leadership effectiveness by building our strengths to a whole new level of practical implementation, providing us with a brilliantly clear road map. I have found this body of work to be absolutely invaluable . . . I cannot imagine a person in a leadership role today who would not find value from reading this book cover to cover." — Loren M. Starr, Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Invesco Ltd.

How to Be Exceptional is a milestone in the emerging business case for evidence-based management. Building on two decades of earlier research, the authors brilliantly lay out a simple, concrete, scientifically validated model for achieving consistently superior business results through leadership. . . . Its magic is its simplicity, pragmatism, and focus." — Eric Severson, Senior Vice President, Talent, Gap Inc.

"How to Be Exceptional is the best book on professional development I have read in decades. It reinforces the emerging wisdom that the path to greatness is really about building profound strengths, rather than through relentlessly focusing on one’s weaknesses. This is a great road map for any leader seeking to optimize their growth and impact." — Michael A. Peel, Yale University, Vice President, Human Resources and Administration

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071791489
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	08/10/2012
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	452,465
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.08(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joseph R. Folkman, Ph.D., is presidentof Zenger Folkman. He is an authoritativevoice on the subject of creating and using employeesurveys to create organizational change and 360-degree feedback assessment for individual development.Folkman is the author of three books: TurningFeedback into Change, Making Feedback Work, andEmployee Surveys That Make a Difference.

Zenger Folkman utilizes evidence-driven, strengths-based methods to improve organizations and the people within them. "Jack" Zenger and Joe Folkman are the cofounders of Zenger Folkman and bestselling coauthors of The Inspiring Leader and The Extraordinary Leader. Bob Sherwin, Jr., is Chief Operating Officer and Barbara Steel is Senior Vice President of Leadership Effectiveness at Zenger Folkman.

Read an Excerpt

HOW TO BE EXCEPTIONAL

DRIVE LEADERSHIP SUCCESS BY MAGNIFYING YOUR STRENGTHS

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By JOHN H. ZENGER, JOSEPH R. FOLKMAN, JR. ROBERT H. SHERWIN, BARBARA A. STEEL

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2012John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, Robert H. Sherwin, Jr., and Barbara A. Steel
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-07-179148-9

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Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Organizations Flourish with Strong Leaders

The Measurable Impact of Being Exceptional

Have you ever been part of an organization where things were proceeding smoothly—where goals were achieved, people were productive, and the organization was doing reasonably well? Then a new leader came into the organization, and everything suddenly changed for the better. The energy level of employees went up substantially, pride in the organization increased, the effort and dedication of individuals jumped, bold objectives were enthusiastically accepted, and even greater results were achieved. The differences could be felt by everyone. Better yet, the accountants could measure the improvement.

Perhaps you also have had the opposite experience. You were in an organization where things were going reasonably well, and a new leader was introduced. You quickly saw things begin to fall apart. First you noticed high performers quitting; then conflicts became more apparent, work seemed much less important, and you were not having fun. Your colleagues skulked into corners, not wanting to be engaged. Overall satisfaction decreased. Grousing and carping criticism of the senior leaders became rampant. People receiving promotions were seemingly chosen because of politics, not performance. Management decisions felt arbitrary and unfair. Results began to slide, and your fellow employees became the cause of the problem as much as the economy or market conditions. Key employees were laid off, while the remaining people were asked to carry a bigger load. Results continued to decline, your job felt increasingly harder, and you began to think about escaping from this misery.

The Difference Can Be Measured

Those who have experienced great leadership or poor leadership have felt that difference. To a large extent, people know poor and great leadership when they personally experience it. Could these changes have been predicted? Are there clear correlations between the effectiveness of a leader and the success of an organization? Can great leadership be developed? If so, is there an efficient method to help leaders improve?

In extensive studies, we have demonstrated the clear connection between the effectiveness of a leader and a variety of important organizational outcomes. Bottom line, great leaders increase profit, drive up customer satisfaction, generate higher levels of engagement in their employees, reduce employee turnover, and develop stronger employees.

Big Questions About Extraordinary Leadership

As we turn our attention to what makes exceptional leaders, some important questions come into focus:

• Where exactly do exceptional leaders come from?

• Can such leaders actually be developed, or is this simply an issue of selecting a natural-born leader?

• How do organizations identify them?

• What do these leaders do differently from their colleagues?

• What can be done to develop more of those who make a huge, positive difference, while avoiding those that cause organizations to nosedive?

• Can we help existing leaders acquire the behaviors and traits of the best ones?

• Finally, why do some organizations succeed at producing a steady stream of such leaders, while others struggle with repeated missteps in selecting and developing them?

These are some of the questions we will attempt to address in this book.

Our Earlier Research

In our earlier book, The Extraordinary Leader, we examined the characteristics or competencies that most effectively separated the best leaders from the worst. To understand the key differences, we examined data from more than 20,000 leaders, who had been measured with a variety of 360-degree feedback instruments. Collectively these instruments included over 1,850 survey items describing various leadership behaviors. We had assessments from over 200,000 evaluators. Our analysis revealed 16 competencies that most effectively differentiated the best from the worst leaders as measured by their aggregate 360-degree feedback scores.

Further research led us to discover 49 survey items that accurately measure leaders' effectiveness at these specific competencies. These competencies described what bad leaders did that led to failure and what the best leaders did that guaranteed success. These assessments were completed by a leader's manager, peers, direct reports, and others, such as those two levels below the leader, former colleagues, customers, and suppliers.

Organizations Need Strong Leaders at All Levels

Since those discoveries, we have assessed the effectiveness of approximately 100,000 additional leaders in organizations of all sizes all over the world. In these assessments, we discovered some organizations with an abundance of great leaders. We have also experienced organizations where great leaders were so rare that it felt like they were headed for extinction. If great leaders were born with those qualities, then you might assume that organizations with an abundance of great leaders must have had a selection process that is extraordinary, while organizations with a dearth of great leaders must have a selection process so bad that it was incapable of selecting great leaders.

Selection Processes Seem Alike

Yet as we look at the selection processes of these different organizations, we cannot find any substantial difference in the processes or procedures between them. In fact, we know that leadership talent is much more likely to become apparent with years of experience in an organization, and inevitably those organizations with great leadership talent tend to promote from within and have employees with long tenure.

As you observe organizations with an abundance of great leadership talent, several differences become apparent.

1. Great leaders attract others with talent. Like magnets that are properly aligned, there is a huge attraction. Something clicks between them. Other competent leaders want to work with them.

2. Great leaders discover and pull out hidden abilities in those about them. Good qualities emerge. Strong teams develop, and collaboration abounds.

3. Great leaders tend to stay and build. Not only are they initially attracted to the organization and the other leaders in it, but they thrive in place, build off each other, and grow the garden they're in. They aren't looking to quickly hop to another challenge. Their continued presence brings stability, confidence, and steadiness to the organization.

Poor leaders are the polar opposites. Their impact is leaden. Like every other weight, their effect is to hold things down. People become immobile. And like the lead shield used by an x-ray technician to cover the patient, these leaders block energy from passing through.

As you observe organizations with a dearth of leadership talent, other differences emerge:

1. The leaders aren't able to attract the best talent. Just as identical polarities result in magnetic attraction, unlike polarities cause magnetic repulsion. Great leaders sense early in the selection process that these toxic organizations will not make a great landing spot. In fact, unconfident leaders in these organizations are highly unlikely to recruit potentially more effective leaders than themselves.

2. The leaders aren't able to draw out the best in those around them. It isn't unusual for those around the leader to feel stifled and constrained by the boss. Unaligned, counterproductive individual and team efforts are often abundant and highly visible, and the resulti
(Continues...)

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Excerpted from HOW TO BE EXCEPTIONAL by JOHN H. ZENGER, JOSEPH R. FOLKMAN, ROBERT H. SHERWIN JR., BARBARA A. STEEL. Copyright © 2012 by John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, Robert H. Sherwin, Jr., and Barbara A. Steel. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword          

Acknowledgments          

Introduction          

PART I What Leaders Can Learn from Their Strengths          

CHAPTER 1 Organizations Flourish with Strong Leaders The Measurable
Impact of Being Exceptional          

CHAPTER 2 Why Emphasize Strengths? The Complex Interplay Between
Strengths and High-Performing Leaders          

CHAPTER 3 Strengths Can Be Developed Diverse Ways to Take Your
Strengths to the Next Level          

CHAPTER 4 Leadership Cross-Training The Revolutionary Approach to
Developing Leadership Skills          

CHAPTER 5 Benefits from Developing Strengths Why Focusing on Weaknesses
Doesn't Create Exceptional Leadership          

PART II How Exceptional Strengths Are Developed          

CHAPTER 6 Where to Start Targeting Strengths to Develop          

CHAPTER 7 Transitioning from Poor Performance to Good A Linear Plan for
Enhancing Your Skills          

CHAPTER 8 The Role of Feedback in Developing Leadership Strengths A
Surefire Medicine          

CHAPTER 9 Building Strengths at Work Integrating On-the-Job Activities
into Your Growth as a Leader          

CHAPTER 10 Sustaining Strengths Building Follow-Through into Your
Development Plan          

PART III Special Considerations          

CHAPTER 11 Individual Contributors Building on Strengths Is the
Foundation of Success at Every Level          

CHAPTER 12 Getting Out of the Pit When to Fix Weaknesses and Fatal
Flaws          

CHAPTER 13 Can Strengths Be Taken Too Far? Addressing a Common
Misperception          

CHAPTER 14 Building Strengths with Multi-Rater Feedback Why 360-Degree
Assessments Can Be Your Best Tool          

APPENDIX A Are Leaders Born or Made?          

APPENDIX B History of the Strengths Movement          

Notes          

Index