Meet the Characters - Korn/Ferry International

Understanding the Business

Natasha – Lacks Self-Awareness

As Natasha left the executive boardroom, her simmering frustration was threatening to boil over. Another monthly executive operations review meeting had ended in disappointment. She blamed the senior leadership team. How could they be so dismissive? How could they be so ambivalent? It was just six months ago when Natasha’s boss handed her a great opportunity – Natasha would have a standing 30-minute slot on the agenda to review ongoing and proposed talent management initiatives. Natasha was thrilled, and her first presentation to the executives had gone well. They were welcoming and attentive and asked polite questions. But in the second meeting she was met with tough questions about the impact of a proposed HR program on operations. She had clearly communicated a proposed budget, but it seemed that wasn’t enough. The executives asked questions about internal rate of return, opportunity costs, and alignment of the program to the company’s long-term strategy. Natasha responded by passionately explaining that the program didn’t represent a cost – it represented an investment in people and was simply the right thing to do. After the meeting, her boss encouraged her to beef up her next presentation with some help from the finance department and to be sure to “connect the dots” with company strategy. Natasha nodded politely but thought to herself that there was no way she was ever going to become a finance wonk. She had a master’s degree in human resources, after all, and should be respected for her expertise. After that second meeting, things had gone from bad to worse, from being challenged with tough finance questions to being basically ignored as executives had side conversations and continually checked e-mail while she was making her presentation. Well, if the senior leadership team didn’t care enough about their people to pay attention, Natasha reasoned that maybe she needed to start looking for another job.

Roger – Self-Aware

Roger strode purposefully from the company cafeteria to his office. He waited until he'd shut the door, plopped into the chair behind his desk, and leaned back before allowing himself a grin. His lunch with the firm's chief financial officer had been productive and enlightening. Roger knew he still had a long way to go, but he couldn't help being pleased at the progress he had made since being newly promoted six months ago to director of human resources. In his new position, Roger finally had what he'd always wanted. A seat at the table. Regular interaction with senior executives. But he'd had a rocky start. Early meetings with senior executives had revealed gaping holes in his understanding of the business. In his first meeting with the CFO, for instance, Roger remembered feeling like they spoke entirely different languages. As Roger stood to leave that first meeting, the CFO asked him to sit back down. Roger did so, hesitantly, wondering what was in store. It turned out to be some coaching that was going to change his career. The CFO told Roger that she really wanted him to be successful and then said, rather bluntly, that having access to the C suite wasn't enough. That if Roger wanted to have an impact on the organization, he needed to also develop a clear point-of-view and establish his credibility. The CFO went on to encourage Roger to establish his credibility by developing his financial acumen and becoming steeped in the business so he could fluently speak about customers and competitors. Roger took the coaching to heart. Since that first meeting, he has been meeting the CFO monthly for lunch and to discuss the business. He has completed an online course in finance for non-finance executives, and he intently studies the financial reports of the firm and its competitors. All this has helped to shape his point of view and establish his credibility. It was a ton of work, and Roger still has a lot to learn, but senior leaders were now listening to him more closely and even asking his opinion on the HR impact of business decisions.

Suggested Readings

Ahoy, C. K. (2009). Customer-driven operations management: Aligning business processes and quality tools to create operational effectiveness in your company. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill.

Berman, K., Knight, J., & Case, J. (2006). Financial intelligence: A manager’s guide to knowing what the numbers really mean. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Drucker, P. F. (2008). The five most important questions you will ever ask about your organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Entrepreneur Press, & Debelak, D. (2006). Business models made easy. Irvine, CA: Entrepreneur Press.

Gupta, S., & Lehmann, D. (2005). Managing customers as investments: The strategic value of customers in the long run. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Porter, M. E. (2008). On competition (Updated and expanded ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Making Complex Decisions

Krista – Unskilled

Krista leafed through the stack of spreadsheets and other documents the project manager had passed out to her and the other steering committee members. Apparently, this project had hit a snag and was in jeopardy of missing a major milestone. It had been another crazy week for Krista. Since returning from an extended business trip, she'd been dealing with a mountain of work. Her e-mail inbox was teeming with unread messages, many of which had subject lines like Your Input Required or Decision Needed. Krista had become pretty good at firing off responses on a lot of these types of requests. She would scan the key points and match them up with one of the solutions that had worked for her in the past. Now, the project manager was asking for a decision on whether to push out the go-live date, add resources, or possibly change the scope of deliverables. Krista glanced at her watch. She couldn't afford for this meeting to go long since she had back-to-back meetings all day. Luckily, Krista had been involved with similar project difficulties at her last job. In those cases, the answer was to add more resources since dates and scopes were set. Krista quickly chimed in with her position, reasoning, and a strong recommendation to add resources to the current project. She could sense that the other committee members were skeptical, but she felt confident that there was no reason to think that what had worked in the past wouldn't still translate to success in this case.

Jess – Skilled

Jess surveyed his notepad. As was usual when he was mulling over a problem, it was covered with plus and minus columns, a couple of mind-map sketches, a list of options, and various other notations. Besides his notes, Jess skimmed through the reports he had recently analyzed related to the topic at hand. He always made a point of gathering enough data but didn't like to get too bogged down in it. Jess believed that sometimes too much data was as bad (or worse) than not enough data. Going back to his notes, Jess focused on one circled and starred notation. In his mind, this note represented the essence of the problem. He remembered thinking at the time he'd marked it up, "If I solve this, about a dozen other related issues could also get fixed." Because this particular problem had a lot of moving parts, Jess catalogued them and quickly discovered some clear patterns, similar to ones he'd seen in his past experience. He didn't think he should choose the same course with this situation as he had with past ones though; it was just different enough that going with the same answer could be pretty damaging. Now that he had landed on a decision for how to proceed, Jess knew there was some risk involved but felt confident that this course of action had the best chance for success.

Suggested Readings

Adair, J. (2007). Decision making & problem solving strategies. Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

Campbell, A., Whitehead, J., & Finkelstein, S. (2009). Why good leaders make bad decisions. Harvard Business Review, 87(2), 60-66.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Marquardt, M. J. (2005). Leading with questions: How leaders find the right solutions by knowing what to ask. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Nalebuff, B., & Ayres, I. (2006). Why not? How to use everyday ingenuity to solve problems big and small. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2002). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Creating the New and Different

Louisa – Unskilled

Louisa leads a team of product managers for a technology firm. For the past three years, one product has led all others in sales revenue. It is a relief that after the substantial investment in development, this product continues to pay off. Stop Louisa in the halls and she can tell you regional sales trends by industry and even by company, without referencing reports. When its time for Louisa to go through the annual sales forecasting and budgeting processes, she feels comfortable placing her bets on this star product. Her approach has been a safe one, until now. A competing technology is emerging and displacing Louisa’s safe bet. She is not prepared for this. She never imagined possible future scenarios. Her team approached her with market trend analyses, proposals for product enhancements, and creative ideas for alternative technologies that could quantum leap the current product darling. But Louisa kept her blinders on, focused on the short-term, didn’t want to take a chance on unproven ideas, and stayed within her comfort zone. She is now faced with rapidly declining revenues and no prospect of a second act.

Ned – Skilled

Ned is responsible for an R&D team at a boutique consulting firm. His quirky, off-beat style fits perfectly with the “crazy inventor” stereotype. He doesn’t care much for formalities or titles. In his mind, the best thing one of his team members can do is challenge him and each other in the process of building the most innovative solution possible. He focuses a lot of his time on gathering information and asking good questions. Because he values all points of view and reads widely, he is able to make connections across many fields and use analogies that help him think differently about a problem. During brainstorming, he values the outlandish and the absurd, which can spark new thinking. He doesn’t judge. He doesn’t hem people in. When he sees enough creative ideas that could really work, he narrows down options and sets direction. It is his firm belief that many people with different ways of looking at the world will always outperform any individual’s ideas. Not that he’s averse to failure. Fail early, fail often is his mantra. Fail in order to exceed expectations. Ned expects a legitimate result that will wow clients. His team delivers.

Suggested Readings

Amabile, T. M., & Khaire, M. (2008). Creativity and the role of the leader. Harvard Business Review, 86(10), 100-109.

Andriopoulos, C., & Dawson, P. M. B. (2009). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Axelrod, A. (2008). Edison on innovation: 102 Lessons in creativity for business and beyond. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Coyne, K. P., Clifford, P. G., & Dye, R. (2007). Breakthrough thinking from inside the box. Harvard Business Review, 85(12), 70-78.

DeCusatis, C. (2008). Creating, growing and sustaining efficient innovation teams. Creativity and Innovation Management, 17(2), 155-164.

Gassmann, O., & Zeschky, M. (2008). Opening up the solution space: The role of analogical thinking for breakthrough product innovation. Creativity and Innovation Management, 17(2), 97-106.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Murray, D. K. (2009). Borrowing brilliance: The six steps to business innovation by building on the ideas of others. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Keeping on Point

Fouad – Lacks Self-Awareness

Fouad had another sleepless night. The past few weeks had really been stressful, and for several nights in a row he’d lain awake thinking about how to get ahead of all his deadlines. It seemed like everything was coming due at once. A dozen performance reviews. The goals for the next fiscal year for his accounts receivable department. And his final budget. Fouad knew all these things were important, but nonetheless, he hated doing paperwork. Every morning for the past month, he’d gone into the office determined to take action to meet impending due dates, but in spite of good intentions, something else always seemed to get in the way. Interruptions. Customer issues, mostly. One of his employees would pop into his office to describe a problem with a customer. Or he’d be copied on an e-mail related to a situation involving a key account. Or the phone would ring. For Fouad, customers were paramount, and he really enjoyed dealing with them directly. And who could argue with the importance of customer relationships? Wasn’t that a key component of his job? Who would suggest that he not take advantage of opportunities to improve customer relations? While Fouad took comfort in the fact that he was maintaining a high level of customer focus, he wasn’t so sure his boss would excuse missed deadlines.

Sujatha – Self-Aware

Sujatha was nothing if not creative. A talented artist, she was ten years into a career with a large global media firm that had seen her progress from junior to senior design positions to team leader and, recently, promoted to her dream position—creative director. Sujatha soon discovered, however, that the job provided challenges she had not foreseen. There were many additional administrative tasks to do, more reports to write, more business meetings to attend. All the managerial and administrative tasks took time away from what she really liked to do—create! Creative tasks and problems were like a huge magnet that pulled her away from administration. And there were always creative issues to address, always reasons to do what she found rewarding. It hadn’t taken long for Sujatha to realize that she was going to have to find a new way of working in order to be successful. Otherwise, she’d be forced to resign her position and give up the income and prestige that came with it to take a step back into a hands-on design role. Her solution took discipline, but so far it seemed to be working. Several weeks ago, Sujatha decided that she needed to set aside blocks of time every day to devote to administration. She let her creative people know that she was not to be interrupted during those periods for creative issues unless they were truly urgent. During those periods, she forced herself to focus and to complete at least one tiring administrative task before she rewarded herself with a break to address a much more enjoyable creative issue.

Suggested Readings

Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Drucker, P. F. (2007). The effective executive (2nd Revised ed.). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Fiore, N. (2007). The now habit: A strategic program for overcoming procrastination and enjoying guilt-free play (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Tarcher.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Palladino, L. J. (2007). Find your focus zone: An effective new plan to defeat distraction and overload. New York, NY: Free Press.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Tichy, N. M., & Bennis, W. G. (2007). Judgment: How winning leaders make great calls. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Getting Organized

Harry – Unskilled

Harry, or “Harried Harry” as his colleagues sometimes refer to him, is in the midst of another day as an operations manager dealing with what seems like barely controlled chaos. Multitasking, frantic e-mails seeking resources and support, bargaining for longer deadlines—none of it seems to have much of an impact. The problems just keep growing in number and in scope. When Harry has a quiet moment, and those are few, he does his best to sort out the mess he is in and how he might get out of it. Occasionally, he will have an “aha” moment and begin to craft a plan to more effectively manage his time and tap into the resources available to him. However, these plans seldom find their way into action and few, if any, reach fruition. Something always gets in the way and Harry’s focus begins to dissolve, along with his plan. Then it’s back to the seemingly endless stream of fast-paced, pressure-prompted tasks. It’s lots of busy work, but Harry has little to show for it. At times, he feels resigned to constantly scrambling and fears that, at some point, it might all begin to spiral out of his control.

Gordon – Skilled

Gordon has every reason to feel overwhelmed. As the leader of a high-performing project team, he is faced with ever-increasing demands. Gordon is the critical path—if he doesn’t keep the pace and do the right things at the right time, the problems begin to mount very quickly. Yet Gordon is the calm in the center of the proverbial storm. He is able to maintain this bearing because he approaches his work in much the same way that a surgeon approaches a major operation. Focused attention, a fine-grained understanding of the situation and what needs to be done, timely action, and an ability to call upon the appropriate resources at a moment’s notice help to guide him and his team along a smooth path. Sure, things don’t always go as planned and tense moments sometimes occur, but Gordon’s focus and steadiness ensure that problems are dealt with in an efficient manner and the result is a quality outcome. Even in routine circumstances, Gordon keeps his attention trained on the task at hand, constantly monitoring, thinking ahead, and making timely adjustments in order to avoid obstacles and keep things moving on track.

Suggested Readings

Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Hallowell, E. M. (2005). Overloaded circuits: Why smart people underperform. Harvard Business Review, 83(1), 54-62.

Harvard Business Essentials. (2003). Managing projects large and small: The fundamental skills for delivering on budget and on time. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Winston, S. (2004). Organized for success: Top executives and CEOs reveal the organizing principles that helped them reach the top. New York, NY: Crown Business.

Getting Work Done Through Others

Jack – Unskilled

Granted, things were ambiguous at Rework Incorporated, but that did not excuse Jack from his inability to provide any clear direction to his team. After attending several skip level meetings with the head of the division, Jack worked alone in his office on a plan to present to his team. He assigned names to projects without checking in with folks on his team about their interests and career goals. After announcing the assignments, he didn’t provide much context or explanation. Project leads were left on their own to guess Jack’s expectations. Just as team members slowly gained momentum and started feeling pretty good about their progress—in stepped Jack. Ready to take back the reigns, he dismissed key people from meetings. “I’ll handle it now,” he’d say. Without clear direction, meaningful ownership of their work, or feedback, the team withered into a cynical crew. The brave ones jumped ship. The others went to the cafeteria to complain over coffee.

Karen – Skilled

Karen started in her new position on Monday, and by Tuesday, she was holed up in a room with her direct reports mapping out the group’s charter on flip chart paper plastered around the room. With a shared sense of purpose and objectives for the year, any previous hesitation on the part of her direct reports is replaced by a sense of confidence in their leader. Then, over the next several weeks, she moves her attention to some quick skill assessments and team-building activities. She wants to make sure she’s providing the right opportunities to the right people and being a supportive coach along the way. While she loves the work itself, she knows that her job has changed. Her work is supporting, coaching, developing, and directing others as they do the work. She becomes something of a talent magnet. Leadership knows her as “Karen—the one who has launched a thousand careers.”

Suggested Readings

Froschheiser, L. (2008). Unlock the power and potential of your team. Supervision, 69(6), 12-13.

Fryer, B., Goodnight, J., Goulston, M., Lawrie, J. M., & Chappelow, C. (2004). The micromanager. Harvard Business Review, 82(9), 31-40.

Genett, D. M. (2004). If you want it done right, you don't have to do it yourself! The power of effective delegation. Sanger, CA: Quill Driver Books.

Harvard Business School Press. (2008). Delegating work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Landsberg, M. (2009). The Tao of coaching: Boost your effectiveness at work by inspiring and developing those around you. London: Profile Books.

Lawler, E. E., III. (2008). Talent: Making people your competitive advantage. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Managing Work Processes

Bennett – Unskilled

Bennett was frustrated. He had just suffered another setback in implementing the new performance management process for his unit. This latest debacle dealt with his idea of inserting a peer evaluation mechanism. His thinking was that it would provide a more holistic view of performance. But, almost immediately, Bennett started getting complaints from all quarters. Apparently, people were getting deluged with requests to fill out peer evaluation forms (one manager received 17 e-mail requests in one day!). Bennett had already had to revise the process once. When he first implemented, he didn’t think to stagger the rollout, which led to the database crashing continually because too many users were accessing simultaneously. He found himself thinking fondly of assignments where he could focus on one thing at a time. As a rule, Bennett didn’t pay too much attention to the activities and areas that came before he got involved. And, while he sort of understood where his work headed after he was done with it, he rarely gave it much thought. He was really beginning to regret getting involved with this performance management project. There were just so many moving parts to this thing!

Liv – Skilled

With satisfaction, Liv read through the most recent key performance metrics for her call center. She especially noted that customer hold time was trending in the right direction. A few months back, the numbers had been getting way too high. Liv figured there had to be something in the call center’s processes that was impacting the customer experience in this way. Her company used the latest technology to expedite calls. The technology wasn’t the issue. Since Liv periodically reviewed and adjusted her call center’s process for maximum efficiency, she was able to quickly dive into the individual process steps. What she found was that hold times were being impacted specifically when her reps needed to transfer calls to the customer intimacy team. This team is responsible for cross-selling products to existing customers. Liv’s call center reps were spending too much time briefing the intimacy reps on the customer’s situation which, ironically, only served as a turnoff! Obviously, this situation had downstream impacts on other departments (and company sales!). Liv worked with her colleagues in customer intimacy and, before making any changes, analyzed the customer call experience from beginning to end to ensure no other areas would be impacted.

Suggested Readings

Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84-92.

Goldratt, E. M., & Cox, J. (2004). The goal: A process of ongoing improvement (3rd ed.). Great Barrington, MA: North River Press.

Hammer, M., & Champy, J. (2003). Reengineering the corporation: A manifesto for business revolution (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: HarperBusiness Essentials.

Lee, S., & Ahn, H. (2008). Assessment of process improvement from organizational change. Information & Management, 45, 270-280.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Strachan, D. (2008). Process design: Making it work: A practical guide to what to do when and how for facilitators, consultants, managers and coaches. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dealing with Trouble

Eva – Unskilled

Eva spent the whole winter working on a project that she knew was flawed in its very design. Supposedly, she was the co-lead and this was a collaborative effort, but as usual, she acquiesced and took the backseat on some major decisions. She lacked the self-confidence to speak up. Anyone in a position of authority intimidated her. It’s not that she didn’t feel strongly or have a valid dissenting point of view—she did. She just wasn’t comfortable with any type of conflict, even if it was simply an exchange of ideas. Subverting her ideas would actually wreak more havoc later on. Sometimes she would react in protest or let emotions get in the way. Not allowing herself to have a voice in the debate made it harder for her to truly listen and see the value in other people’s ideas. She tried to avoid outward conflict, only to play that conflict out in her head. That winter project completely failed. It was flawed. Eva had called it. But she had neglected to say it out loud.

Joan – Skilled

Joan was shut down in that last meeting. It is not unusual for Joan to bring up ideas that make people uncomfortable, but the reaction this time was overtly rude and unproductive. Joan was undeterred. She has a knack for understanding what motivates other people and can see things from their points of view. She also has the ability to keep her own personal feelings in check. So, in an attempt to address the disagreement and the rude behavior, she did not hesitate to gracefully confront the other individuals in the meeting in a nonthreatening way. This resulted in some very productive two-way dialogues. Just debating the ideas in a way that doesn’t pass judgment is a refreshing contribution Joan makes to the culture of her firm. Her courage and willingness to challenge ideas has earned her tremendous respect. People count on Joan to stand up, speak her mind respectfully, and not let others off the hook. It’s something they admire about Joan because they know it’s not easy to do.

Suggested Readings

Blackard, K., & Gibson, J. W. (2002). Capitalizing on conflict: Strategies and practices for turning conflict to synergy in organizations. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.

Gerzon, M. (2006). Leading through conflict: How successful leaders transform differences into opportunities. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Klein, M., & Napier, R. (2003). The courage to act: 5 Factors of courage to transform business. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.

Kopeikina, L. (2005). The right decision every time: How to reach perfect clarity on tough decisions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Lee, G., & Elliott-Lee, D. (2006). Courage: The backbone of leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Warrell, M. (2008). Find your courage: 12 Acts for becoming fearless at work and in life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Making Tough People Calls

Liz – Unskilled

Hanging up the phone, Liz shook her head in dismay. It had been an intense call with one of her key customers who was upset about not getting his requested materials on time. Liz’s assistant, Marisa, had dropped the ball—again. Liz didn’t understand why Marisa wasn’t performing. Everything was there on paper. She had the right education and a solid, varied work history. Back when Liz interviewed Marisa, she remembered how engaging Marisa had been, how energized she was about her own work experience and the possibility of joining Liz’s company. That kind of positive energy was important to Liz, and she felt a connection with Marisa right away. One thing Marisa had said during the interview really stood out for Liz: when assigned a new task, she always made a list or outline of the deliverables to help keep her on track. That really resonated for Liz, as she used exactly that approach in her own work. As it turned out, Marisa did indeed make lists for her work, but she was continually overwhelmed by the volume of tasks and couldn’t seem to get organized. And, while she was certainly always busy, her energy was too often directed at prolonged chats with coworkers. Liz felt Marisa sincerely wanted to do a good job. She was always apologetic when things went wrong (she seemed to be apologizing a lot lately!). Now Liz was the one who was sorry—sorry she’d hired Marisa in the first place.

Luis – Skilled

Luis smiled as his newest direct report, Samir, left his office. The two had just completed a productive project update. Things were going very well on the project, the second project Samir had managed since Luis had sought him out for a transfer onto his team. Samir had had mixed success in his previous role at the company. Luis was aware of this but, having had some opportunity to see Samir in action, observed behaviors that, while not necessarily a great fit in that particular role (which was highly repetitive and technical in nature), Luis thought would be very effective in his development group. Before approaching Samir, Luis talked to Samir’s boss and coworkers to calibrate his observations and make sure there weren’t any insurmountable barriers to Samir being a strong performer. Luis recalled his interview with Samir. He’d asked him to describe specific situations where he had applied skills or demonstrated behaviors that Luis knew were critical for success on his team—things like dealing with complexity, intellectual curiosity, resourcefulness, and making others feel at ease. Now that he was on Luis’ team, Samir had already completed one major assignment very successfully and was well on his way to having another success with this current project. All in all, Luis thought, a very good addition to the team!

Suggested Readings

Fernández-Aráoz, C. (2007). Great people decisions: Why they matter so much, why they are so hard, and how you can master them. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Hallenbeck, G. S., Jr., & Eichinger. R. W. (2006). Interviewing right: How science can sharpen your interviewing accuracy. Minneapolis, MN: Lominger International: A Korn/Ferry Company.

Lawler, E. E., III. (2008). Talent: Making people your competitive advantage. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Mornell, P. (2003). 45 Effective ways for hiring smart: How to predict winners and losers in the incredibly expensive people-reading game. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Poundstone, W. (2003). How would you move Mount Fuji? Microsoft's cult of the puzzle: How the world's smartest company selects the most creative thinkers. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Focusing on the Bottom Line

Ethan – Unskilled

Ethan is completely laid back. He takes leisurely lunches, gets around to his work when it’s convenient, and fills his days with pleasant conversation with coworkers. His manager wouldn’t mind Ethan’s relaxed attitude if he were producing work. Most people like Ethan, but they find themselves asking, “What’s his role again?” When it comes to pushing Ethan along, his manager is beginning to wonder if they are even speaking the same language. Ethan lacks a sense of urgency about anything. He procrastinates and wastes time on pet projects that are interesting to him. And he’s willing to wait forever for all parties involved to get back to him before he takes any action. It’s clear that his lack of motivation will be the last straw. His manager would have taken action before now, except for some sensitive political issues surrounding Ethan’s employment. In the meantime, he’s trying to inspire Ethan to be more proactive, take some risks, and actually hand in a work product—even better if it’s on time.

Rachel – Skilled

Rachel has always achieved. She’s the kind of person who not only works to solve a problem but she anticipates problems before they happen. Her husband thinks she’s got a sixth sense. When other people see Rachel in action, they often wonder what she had for breakfast. She tirelessly perseveres when others would be willing to back off. And, even when she encounters one roadblock after another, it doesn’t seem to affect her overall mood. She’s as optimistic as ever. None of this is for her own glory, either. She’s just intrinsically motivated to get things done. She’s addicted to the feeling of accomplishment when she turns in a top-notch report or delivers a stellar program for a client. Even better when she can make a lasting change at a more macro level that benefits everyone else for years to come.

Suggested Readings

Aziza, B., & Fitts, J. (2008). Drive business performance: Enabling a culture of intelligent execution. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Bruch, H., & Ghoshal, S. (2004). A bias for action: How effective managers harness their willpower, achieve results, and stop wasting time. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Malhotra, D., Ku, G., & Murnighan, J. K. (2008). When winning is everything. Harvard Business Review, 86(5), 78-86.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Studer, Q. (2008). Results that last: Hardwiring behaviors that will take your company to the top. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Being Organizationally Savvy

Catherine – Unskilled

Catherine’s frustration has reached its peak. As a manufacturing engineer, she is responsible for finding ways to enhance the efficiency of the organization’s new state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar manufacturing system, while also meeting quality standards. Catherine’s extensive analysis of the system’s performance has revealed some irregularities. She thinks that if these irregularities were addressed, they would lead to decreased down time and fewer production errors. Catherine put together a detailed analysis for her boss some months ago that recommended some moderate reconfigurations to the existing system plus the addition of some support systems. After a long delay, her boss returned her report with a detailed request for more supporting information. Catherine didn’t understand, because she felt that everything was well documented and laid out; nonetheless, she complied. A similar response from her boss followed. Catherine tried addressing her proposed solutions at staff meetings, but her boss would quickly turn the conversation to other matters. Confused and feeling stymied, she consulted the company’s rules and regulations, which clearly revealed that she was following the right process. Furthermore, Catherine reflected, the approach she was taking had worked in the past, albeit on a smaller scale, even with the same boss. As she began preparing another report for her boss on the matter, Catherine felt at a loss to understand why she couldn’t get this problem addressed.

Emma – Skilled

As manager of corporate events, Emma is responsible for all public and private events, including VIP visits, industry tradeshows, and the annual shareholders meeting. Her role requires her to navigate a tangled, high-stakes web of egos, agendas, last-minute changes, and sometimes outrageous demands. Her secret to doing this is to focus as much (and sometimes more) attention on the people involved, not just the event itself. Emma understands that an event can go perfectly from a logistics standpoint and still fall well short of expectations. So she makes sure to spend time before the event with key players trying to find out what they really want from the event—separating the must-haves from the nice-to-haves and surfacing doubts and concerns. Emma probes not just for the facts, but also for any relevant history and context that helps sort out what this event really means for the people involved. Leading up to the event, she carefully plans for contingencies and taps into her network to make sure special requests can be met. She also communicates her knowledge and understanding about the event to her team so they know the key things to attend to, what to keep their eyes open for, and when to reach out to her for help. During the event, Emma is always monitoring and making adjustments. This includes checking in with key people, observing the proceedings, and seizing opportunities to leverage her understanding of the situation to anticipate and meet others’ needs.

Suggested Readings

Cross, R. L., Parker, A., & Cross, R. (2004). The hidden power of social networks: Understanding how work really gets done in organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Perrewe, P. L., Brouer, R. L., Douglas, C., & Lux, S. (2007). Political skill in organizations. Journal of Management, 33(3), 290-320.

Linsky, M., & Heifetz, R. A. (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Soriano, D. R. (2008). Political skills in organizations: Do personality and reputation play a role? The Academy of Management Perspectives, 22, 66-68.

Communicating Effectively

Sakie – Lacks Self-Awareness

As a manager in the global marketing group for a major pharmaceuticals company, Sakie was often required to make presentations to clients and key stakeholders. Since she is fluent in three languages and conversant in two more, she considered public speaking to be one of her strengths. Sakie naturally assumed that her presentations, which were always thoroughly organized, were well-received. She never thought to ask anyone if, indeed, they were. Had she done so, she would have been surprised. Sakie’s preparedness wasn’t enough to compensate for her lack of spontaneity and flexibility in dealing with various audiences. She would have been shocked to learn that her audiences generally perceived her as a dull, wooden presenter.

Luciano – Self-Aware

It’s not an overstatement to say that Luciano once had a phobia about public speaking. Until a few months ago, he had abhorred it, hated that every time he got up to speak, his stomach would be in knots, his mouth would be dry, and his palms would be damp. But presenting and speaking were not optional for Luciano. Since being assigned as the engineering expert on a team responsible for the global rollout of a new product, he’d been put in the spotlight and asked to make many presentations to customers and internal stakeholders. Before one of his first major presentations, one of his co-presenters gave Luciano some unsolicited but helpful advice. He told Luciano to find a friendly face in the crowd and to focus on that face. Somehow he made it through that presentation, and each successive presentation seemed to get easier. As his confidence grew, Luciano determined to do more than just make a passable presentation. He wanted to excel. So after every presentation, he made it a practice to ask at least three people in the audience for feedback. Luciano acted on that feedback and turned every presentation into a learning experience.

Suggested Readings

Appleman, J. E. (2008). 10 Steps to successful business writing. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press.

Booher, D. (2007). The voice of authority: 10 Communication strategies every leader needs to know. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Harrison, M., & Kase, L. (2007). The confident speaker: Beat your nerves and communicate at your best in any situation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Koegel, T. J. (2007). The exceptional presenter: A proven formula to open up and own the room. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group Press.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Sant, T. (2008). The language of success. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Weissman, J. (2008). Presenting to win: The art of telling your story (Updated and expanded ed.). Upper Saddle River, NH: FT Press.

Managing Up

Margaret – Unskilled

Margaret, a manager of marketing communications, is a complete team player. She is always quick to collaborate with her peers in marketing, looks out for others, and is willing to pick up those tasks that others might find tedious or otherwise less desirable. In addition to putting others’ needs ahead of her own, she is also quite willing to let her team or specific individuals take the credit for successes. Her comfort zone is being in the background and functioning as an effective but “quiet” contributor. While Margaret’s peers and direct reports appreciate her selfless dedication, few individuals outside marketing, particularly those higher up in the organization, have any recognition of her talents or accomplishments. Margaret’s overlooked skills and contributions are due, in part, to her generally unassuming nature but are also the product of some intentional behaviors on Margaret’s part. Margaret is intimidated by those at higher levels in the organization, particularly outside of marketing. Their power and their stature are unnerving, and Margaret fears the consequences should she come to their attention for any negative reasons. Margaret’s solution is to stay out of the spotlight and go about getting things done without “getting on someone’s radar.” Even if positive attention were to come her way, she would find it unsettling because it might raise others’ expectations and put more scrutiny on her activities and accomplishments. Of course, the trade-off is that she is likely to live a life of relative obscurity within the organization.

Henry – Skilled

Henry, the VP of research and development, knows how easy it is to get lost in the shuffle. In an organization that clearly emphasizes sales and marketing and is run by individuals whose primary strength is business acumen, not technical savvy, he understands the need to often speak loudly and have his voice clearly heard and understood. Without raising his profile with those in higher management, he knows that his personal accomplishments and those of his team are easily overlooked. His approach is not to grandstand and seek praise for his latest accomplishments. Instead, he seeks to make the connection between his work and the strategic goals of the business clear and evident. In many instances, he seizes opportunities to position R&D as a key driver and shaping force on the company’s strategy, rather than an enabler. He holds weekly briefings with members of the C-suite and also initiates many informal hallway conversations. In each case, he talks not as a scientist, but as a business partner committed to helping the organization achieve its goals. The result is that Henry is more clearly regarded as a credible force for change than his predecessors. This has caused his star to rise within the business and has also strengthened his team’s influence in key organizational matters.

Suggested Readings

Arruda, W., & Dixson, K. (2007). Career distinction: Stand out by building your brand. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Dobson, M. S., & Dobson, D. S. (2000). Managing up! 59 Ways to build a career-advancing relationship with your boss. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Gabarro, J. J., & Kotter, J. P. (2005). Managing your boss. Harvard Business Review, 83(1), 92-99.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Yeung, R. (2006). How to manage your boss. Accountancy, 137(1354), 134-135.

Relating Skills

Frank – Unskilled

Frank is much too preoccupied to engage in idle chit chat. He completely lacks patience for the mundane details of the lives of his coworkers. After all, he doesn’t burden them with the detailed logistics of his life outside of work, why should he have to suffer by pretending to listen to theirs? He’s gotten feedback that in order to be a good manager, he needs to interact with his team in a respectful, patient, diplomatic way. But he doesn’t see what that has to do with the work. After seeing the results of HR’s latest engagement survey, he did make some effort by having a team off-site. But it was a half-hearted effort with ulterior motives, and his team saw right through his flimsy veneer. The trouble now is that even when he decides to make an effort, he is seen as less than sincere. It will take him exponentially more effort and time to build his interpersonal skills to a point where he makes a neutral impact, much less a positive one.

Jeff – Skilled

Most people would say that Jeff is a down-to-earth, likable guy. He relates well to all kinds of people. He is incredibly gifted at making other people feel at ease. But he wouldn’t consider it a skill. He’s genuinely interested in other people. He naturally builds relationships by inquiring about people’s interests, priorities, and perspectives. Beyond that, he listens and remembers what people talk to him about. There’s something about him that makes people willing to open up and share without worrying when he’s going to try to wrap up the conversation and escape. He’s so observant that, after a short time of interacting with a person, he can anticipate what gestures this person would appreciate. And after spending time with him, people feel like they matter. His positive, affirming nature makes others feel important and valued. People are quick to offer the same respect and consideration back to Jeff.

Suggested Readings

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2005). The emotional intelligence quick book. New York, NY: Fireside.

Coutu, D. (2007). Making relationships work. Harvard Business Review, 85(12), 45-50.

Ginsberg, S. (2005). The power of approachability.: Front Porch Productions.

Goleman, D. (2007). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York, NY: Bantam.

Goman, C. (2008). The nonverbal advantage: Secrets and science of body language at work. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Caring About Others

Rodrigo – Lacks Self-Awareness

Results mattered to Rodrigo. In fact, it was about all that mattered. He set the bar high and drove himself relentlessly. He had high expectations for others, too, and wasn’t shy about communicating those expectations. Rodrigo believed work was more effective when personal issues were kept outside of the office. Personal issues were distractions. Noise. The source of lost productivity. He didn’t have time for small talk and chided others for engaging in it. In Rodrigo’s view, he was creating a high-performance work environment and excelling as a manager. His team saw things differently. They felt the work environment was dismal and oppressive. They saw Rodrigo’s exacting management style as bordering on dictatorial. His lack of interest in their personal lives meant he didn’t even know them. Not really. How could he really know them if he didn’t know them on a personal level? No one, of course, wanted Rodrigo interfering in their personal lives. But in an effort to create some distance, Rodrigo had created a chasm that damaged morale and negatively impacted team performance.

Fernanda – Self-Aware

Fernanda was tough. She knew she’d have to be in order to achieve her lofty career ambitions in a male-dominated industry. But recently, after receiving some 360° feedback, she had reexamined her approach to “toughness” and had begun to modify her behavior. The 360° data highlighted many areas of strength, but Fernanda didn’t fare so well in personal and interpersonal skills. And there were critical comments that referred to her as being aloof, cold, unconcerned with people, and having a “sharp edge.” This was a difficult message to accept, and Fernanda’s first reaction was to dismiss the feedback as invalid, the result of being misunderstood by others who could never appreciate how difficult it was for a career-minded female in a male-dominated culture. But to her credit, Fernanda reflected on the feedback and decided she’d make some efforts to remove her sharp edge. She started by letting her peers and direct reports know that she was aware she needed to make some changes and asked for their support. Then she made a conscious effort to simply ask others occasionally how they were doing and, importantly, to really listen to how they responded. It didn’t take much time, and it didn’t feel unnatural. Within a few weeks, she had several people provide her positive feedback and thank her for taking a personal interest.

Suggested Readings

Ash, M. K. (2008). The Mary Kay way: Timeless principles from America’s greatest woman entrepreneur. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Baker, W. F., & O’Malley, M. (2008). Leading with kindness: How good people consistently get superior results. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Cashman, K. (2008). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Kay, B., & Jordan-Evans, S. (2008). Love ’em or lose ’em: Getting good people to stay (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Managing Diverse Relationships

Serina – Lacks Self-Awareness

As the newly assigned leader of a cross-functional team charged with implementing an important global enterprise IT initiative, Serina had more responsibility than she’d ever had. She was facing daunting technical and organizational challenges that were creating lots of stress for her, and it didn’t help that she was uncomfortable with her team. Serina felt like she’d inherited a group of misfits. They were anything but cohesive. Each team member had been selected for his or her special expertise and assigned by the leaders of various business units and functions. Serina didn’t know why, but they made her nervous. If she would admit it, she actually found them a bit threatening. Maybe it was because they represented disciplines that were unfamiliar to Serina. Maybe it was because they each seemed to have a very different view on how the initiative should be rolled out. Or maybe it was because several of the team members were senior people that had a higher position level and much more tenure than Serina. Whatever the reason for her discomfort, Serina figured her best approach was to act the part of team leader. She was determined to maintain control, to direct this diverse cast of characters with a firm hand.

Stefan – Self-Aware

Stefan had to laugh at himself. What else could he do? Once again, that very morning, his cultural ignorance had been on display with a group of managers from India. Rather than get embarrassed or make excuses, Stefan decided it was better not to take himself so seriously. He just had to face the facts: he’d been ill-prepared to take on the job of regional sales manager for the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to moving to Singapore last month, he’d never traveled to Asia and had little experience working with people from Asian cultures. But he was considered a high-potential, fast-track sales manager, and his company told him he was needed in Singapore. It was a big job with responsibility that stretched from India to New Zealand to Japan. So many countries. So many languages. So many cultures. He thought he had possibly made a huge mistake by accepting the assignment when, in his first week, he’d made several cultural missteps with team members in Australia and with the regional president in Shanghai. But rather than beat himself up over it, Stefan decided to acknowledge his cultural ignorance and just accept the fact that he was going to have to learn a lot. As Stefan chuckled at his latest faux pas, he reminded himself to continue to be curious, to learn, and to adapt. If he did, maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad assignment after all.

Suggested Readings

Ashkenas, R. N., Ulrich, D., Jick, T., & Kerr, S. (2002). The boundaryless organization: Breaking the chains of organizational structure (Rev. ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bates-Ballard, P., & Smith, G. (2008). Navigating diversity: An advocate’s guide through the maze of race, gender, religion and more. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing.

Kennedy, D. (2008). Putting our differences to work: The fastest way to innovation, leadership, and high performance. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Lukaszewski, J. (2008). Why should the boss listen to you: The seven disciplines of the trusted strategic advisor. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Underwood, C. (2007). The generational imperative: Understanding generational differences in the workplace, marketplace, and living room. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing.

Inspiring Others

Mike – Unskilled

Mike started a new job as CFO for a Fortune 500 company and was surprised to find the finance department in disarray. Systems were outdated, processes were unclear, and they weren’t fully compliant with some of the latest regulations. If you asked him, he would have told you that he didn’t think the department had the talent or smarts to perform well. He passed judgment on the approach other leaders took to date and did not spend much time in learning mode. Regardless, his work was cut out for him, and he knew he needed to galvanize the team quickly. With the support of HR, he gathered the “troops” at monthly leadership summits and made an effort to give inspirational speeches. During one of these speeches he announced a new VP by saying, “If you’re looking for who’s responsible for this area, he’s the one throat to choke.” Often his motivating speeches were thinly veiled threats like “we’re in this together—if you’re not with me, I won’t hesitate to throw you under the bus.” Needless to say, this approach backfired in the collaborative, supportive culture of the company. And, in the end, Mike failed in his attempt to reform the finance department.

Larry – Skilled

Larry had been in turnaround situations before, but taking a job as headmaster of a school that had almost been closed was new territory. Morale was very low in this underperforming school. Teachers, parents, and students had little faith that things could be turned around. Larry went to work right away creating a common purpose for teachers, parents, and students to rally around. He also knew that he needed to build their confidence and infuse a sense of optimism so that everyone in the school could picture an alternative future. They had been so beaten down with budget cuts, layoffs, low test scores, deteriorating physical plants, and environmental disasters that they had lost hope. Larry immediately made himself available to hear all kinds of feedback, input, and ideas. He organized teams of individuals to tackle tough problems and equipped them with the resources to take action. He was quick to celebrate any wins and share credit for the positive changes. People began to take pride in their work and school community again. Ultimately, the momentum began to shift from a downward spiral to a slow, upward climb.

Suggested Readings

Adair, J. (2003). The inspirational leader. London: Kogan Page.

Center for Creative Leadership, Cartwright, T., & Baldwin, D. (2007). Communicating your vision. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Conger, J. (2008). The necessary art of persuasion. Harvard Business Review Classics. Boston: MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Drake, S., Gulman, M. J., & Roberts, S. (2005). Light their fire: Using internal marketing to ignite employee performance and wow your customers. New York, NY: Dearborn Publishing.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. E. (2008). Employee motivation. Harvard Business Review, 86(7/8), 78-84.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Sheehan, J. K. (2007). A leader becomes a leader: Inspirational stories of leadership for a new generation. Belmont, MA: True Gifts Publishing.

Stark, P., & Flaherty, J. (2009). Engaged! How leaders build organizations where employees love to come to work. San Diego, CA: Bentley Press.

Acting with Honor and Character

James – Unskilled

James, a director of IT, looks at work through the lens of survival. He figures that any systems implementation, any vendor review, or any presentation to senior management could be his last, so better to do what needs to be done to stay ahead of the game. This leads James to engage in a fair amount of scheming to make sure that he has what he perceives to be a favorable position. As a result, his behaviors continually change with the situation. Whatever needs to be said, whatever needs to be done, he’ll do it if it helps him stay afloat. It’s not that he does anything particularly harmful or egregious. On the contrary, it’s the embellishment here, the omission there, making the commitment he doesn’t intend to hold, or voicing agreement with a point of view that he doesn’t really believe. And therein lies the problem. People are confused by James’ behavior and distrust him because they can’t make sense of what he stands for. The fact of the matter is that James doesn’t really stand for anything; he will merely shift with the breeze, hoping to keep getting carried along.

Elizabeth – Skilled

As a regional sales manager, Elizabeth is frequently faced with situations that put issues of character at the forefront. Whether the situation involves putting together the details of a potentially lucrative sales contract, dealing with customer complaints about defective products, or positioning the company against its competitors, she has many opportunities to walk a line that is not straight and true. These situations have the potential to be confusing and unsettling, and they certainly are for some, but Elizabeth is able to navigate them with certainty and calm. This is partly because she has a clear awareness and understanding of her own values. Elizabeth also pays careful attention to act in accordance with her values and does so consistently. This creates comfort not only for herself, but also for her customers and others that seek to place their trust in her. They can clearly see for themselves that Elizabeth’s actions are rooted in a stable set of values and that she can be counted on to act consistently and stay true to her word. The trust she is able to foster and sustain is a significant asset to developing strong customer relationships and a solid sales record.

Suggested Readings

Badaracco, J. L., Jr. (1998). The discipline of building character. Harvard Business Review, 76(2), 114-124.

Cloud, H. (2006). Integrity: The courage to meet the demands of reality. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

George, B. (2007). True north: Discover your authentic leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hurley, R. F. (2006). The decision to trust. Harvard Business Review, 84(9), 55-62.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Being Open and Receptive

Mai – Unskilled

Mai rounded the corner and made a beeline for Ginny, one of her peers. She needed a piece of information from Ginny to stay on deadline for a high-visibility assignment she was chairing. Ginny was in conversation with another coworker, but Mai was in a hurry and decided to interrupt them, saying, “Excuse me, Ginny, I need to talk to you for a couple of minutes.” After getting what she needed from Ginny, Mai threw a muttered, over-the-shoulder “thank you” and returned to her office. But instead of being able to settle down to work, hovering at her door was Ben, one of her direct reports. Barely concealing her annoyance at being sidetracked, Mai stood behind her desk and quickly asked Ben what was up. While Ben was describing his latest project roadblock, Mai discreetly checked her cell phone a few times to see what was on her calendar and if her boss had sent e-mail feedback on her latest proposal. Ben asked Mai if she had ever been in a similar predicament as the one he was facing. Mai hesitated in her response—there had been a similar instance in her past where she had ended up making a bad decision that cost the project and counted against her. She didn’t think it prudent to share that with Ben, though. As his supervisor, Mai believed it important for her to present a strong, capable persona. So she deftly sidetracked the question and steered the conversation to a prompt conclusion.

Seth – Skilled

“You’re really on the right track here!” Duwayne told Seth enthusiastically. “Let me know how I can help going forward.” After chatting briefly about weekend plans, Seth walked Duwayne to the elevator and then returned to his office, thinking how gratified he was to have secured this key stakeholder’s support for his new project. Seth knew that Duwayne was not an easy sell on these kinds of things, especially when it involved substantial change. But Seth had worked hard to build a relationship with Duwayne, who headed a similar department as Seth in an adjacent business unit. Seth recalled his initial interaction with Duwayne and how he made a point of asking questions about Duwayne’s work and some nonwork questions as well. Seth also did some sharing (business and a little nonwork-related) and the two quickly found things in common. Since then, the two had had some disagreements, but Seth always tried to actively listen to Duwayne’s perspective, consciously shutting off his own mental responses so he could really be present and absorb what Duwayne was saying. Seth knew that this sent a strong message to Duwayne that Seth valued him.

Suggested Readings

Huntsberry, R., & Cutler, C. V. (2007). Creative listening: Overcoming fear in life & work. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.

Lerner, H. (2002). The dance of connection: How to talk to someone when you're mad, hurt, scared, frustrated, insulted, betrayed, or desperate. New York, NY: Quill/HarperCollins.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Mehrotra, R. (Ed.). (2005). The essential Dalai Lama: His important teachings. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Tamm, J. W., & Luyet, R. J. (2004). Radical collaboration: Five essential skills to overcome defensiveness and build successful relationships. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Tillquist, K. (2008). Capitalizing on kindness: Why 21st century professionals need to be nice. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.

Demonstrating Personal Flexibility

Martin – Unskilled

Martin just received some good news, finally! For the first time since he could remember, he was going to work on an assignment related to the job he’d been doing for the past 10 years at the company. As he moved his chair into his favorite position in front of his computer, he re-read the message from the Policy Services department. They wanted training on managing escalated customer complaints. Martin rubbed his hands together and thought, “Now this I can handle!” He really liked being a trainer, and he was good at it, always had been. But it seemed like, lately, the job had changed. His boss, Tim, had explained it to Martin a few times—their department needed to act more as partners with the businesses, rather than being what Tim called “training order takers.” Martin didn’t understand why it wasn’t good enough to have his internal customers just request training and he would make it happen, like it used to be. With a small twinge of annoyance, Martin recalled some recent feedback he’d received. Tim was concerned that, while he felt Martin understood the new direction for the department, he wasn’t open to changing his behavior to evolve with the job. But Martin had been around long enough to know this “new direction” was probably just another fad that would eventually go away. Mentally shrugging off the memory, Martin reached for his tried-and-true training design folder so he could begin work on that course for Policy Services.

Brad – Skilled

Brad sighed. It had been a busy morning for him in his role as an HR manager, and he was glad to have a few spare minutes to regroup at his desk. He set his cup down on top of some paperwork, including some mail that still had his old title of director of new business acquisition. Brad’s day had started with a breakfast meeting with Dan, the company’s top sales producer, who was demanding a better comp package or he’d “walk.” Brad reflected on the meeting, mentally replaying the conversation. It felt a little like he delivered some tough love to Dan. He probably could have been a little more tactful (tact not being at the top of his skill list but he’s working on it). This was a challenging meeting for Brad—in his old role, he and Dan were more peers. Now that he was in this staff role in HR, Brad was wearing a very different hat. After breakfast with Dan and some other meetings, Brad spent time with his supervisor, Jennie. Four months into the role and with no previous HR experience, Brad was grateful for input from Jennie. Most recently, Jennie indicated that Brad needed to soften his brusque messaging style which, while having served him well in his various line manager roles at the company, would limit his ability to influence without authority as an HR leader. Now, Brad tried to make a conscious effort to read his audience and adapt on the spot to fit their needs.

Suggested Readings

Cashman, K. (2008). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Eichinger, R. W., & Lombardo, M. M. (2004). Learning agility as a prime indicator of potential. Human Resource Planning, 27(4), 12-15.

Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2007). What got you here won’t get you there: How successful people become even more successful. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

McCall, M. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M. (1988). The lessons of experience. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Nardon, L., & Steers, R. M. (2008). The new global manager: Learning cultures on the fly. Organizational Dynamics, 37(1), 47-59.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Vandergriff, D. (2006). Raising the bar: Creating and nurturing adaptability to deal with the changing face of war. Washington, DC: The Center for Defense Information.

Balancing Work/Life

Edward – Unskilled

Edward, a customer service manager, never does anything halfway; not even close. It’s always 100%. Commitment with a capital C. When he works, he works…hard. He’ll drive three hours at the end of a day to have dinner with a dissatisfied customer, grab a few hours of sleep at a roadside motel, and be back in the office at 6:30 a.m. for another 12+ hour day. Don’t be mistaken that Edward’s family gets the bare minimum of his time and attention. When Edward is not at work, he does the books for his wife’s catering business, never misses one of his son’s piano recitals, and is working on building an attic studio for his daughter’s art projects. As a result, he lives an exhausting life of extremes. And for all the time and energy Edward exerts trying to do it all, he never quite feels that he’s living up to his obligations. He’s never quite satisfied that he couldn’t be doing one or two more things to be a better employee or a better husband and father. So when the alarm rings at 5:00 a.m., he just gets up and tries it again.

Charles – Skilled

Charles, a controller, has a demanding job and a young family but is able to maintain a balance between the two that works for him. The key for him is not setting hard and fast boundaries regarding what he will engage in and when. He knows roughly how much time and energy he wants to allocate to both work and nonwork responsibilities and monitors how closely he is meeting these targets. This results in a continual state of adjustments to keep things in balance. From time to time, the balance of his efforts might tilt more heavily toward work obligations—for example, two or three nights in a row of coming home late for dinner (if at all). Before things get too out of control, he will attempt to balance this with some concessions toward family, such as leaving the office a bit early to cheer on one of his kids at a sporting event. He manages not only his own expectations, but those of key people in his life, especially his boss and his spouse. By checking in with them and explaining when he feels he might be getting pulled too far in one direction or the other, he can better manage things accordingly. Finally, he makes an effort to be in the moment wherever he might be. By not being preoccupied by family matters while he is at work or vice versa, he can be more productive and get more out of what he is doing.

Suggested Readings

Addis, S. (2008). Work/life balance…your tightrope to a rewarding career. Rough Notes, 151(10), 50-52.

Drago, R. W. (2007). Striking a balance: Work, family, life. Boston, MA: Dollars & Sense.

Gambles, R., Lewis, S., & Rapoport, R. (2006). The myth of work-life balance : The challenge of our time for men, women and societies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hewlett, S. A., & Luce, C. B. (2006). Extreme jobs: The dangerous allure of the 70-hour workweek. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 49-59.

Lockwood, N. R. (2003). Work/life balance: Challenges and solutions. HR Magazine, 48(6), 2-11.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Doesn’t Relate Well to Others

Ian – Unskilled

Ian, a logistics manager, lives and works on his own terms. No excuses, no regrets. If someone doesn’t like how he manages or the decisions he makes, that’s their problem, not his. Don’t waste your time giving him feedback, because he’s not listening. He might even tell you that to your face. With 20+ years of experience, Ian has “been there, done that.” No way is someone with a fraction of his experience or some new-fangled technology going to show him a better way to get it done. Just move along, because he’s going to do it his way.

Suggested Readings

Anderson, K. (2000). Handling criticism with honesty and grace. Public Management, 82(5), 30-33.

Cava, R. (2004). Dealing with difficult people: How to deal with nasty customers, demanding bosses and annoying co-workers (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Firefly Books.

Cloke, K., & Goldsmith, J. (2005). Resolving conflicts at work: Eight strategies for everyone on the job (Rev. ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Coutu, D. (2007). Making relationships work. Harvard Business Review, 85(12), 45-50.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Self-Centered

Mike – Unskilled

Jan shook her head wearily. She’d just come out of a meeting with her teammates and her boss, Mike. As usual, Mike spent the majority of the meeting talking, mostly about his own projects. And, since he always started meetings by giving updates on his work, the rest of the team had to rush through their own updates. Thankfully, Mike’s demeanor in this meeting was fairly neutral. With a small shudder, Jan recalled a meeting a few weeks back when Mike heatedly berated the team about an error in one of their deliverables. He said the error made him look bad in front of senior leaders. Jan was especially frustrated by a recent interaction between her, Mike, and the chair of their department. Jan and Mike had been collaborating on a project and were splitting the work, decisions, and overall direction fifty-fifty. But when Mike was describing progress with the department chair, he made it seem like he was the one “getting it done,” having all the great ideas—basically taking full credit for work that Jan was also instrumental in! It seemed like the only time Mike took time to really focus on Jan was when he needed something from her, a task completed or some kind of favor. Outside of those times, Jan felt like she pretty much didn’t matter to Mike.

Suggested Readings

Bence, B. (2008). Top 10 secrets to mastering your personal brand. American Salesman, 53(10), 26-29.

Berardi, A. I. (2001). Never offer your comb to a bald man: How to get what you want by giving others what they need! Novato, CA: New World Library.

Coutu, D. L. (2004). Putting leaders on the couch. Harvard Business Review, 82(1), 64-71.

Denton, D. K. (2008). Knocking down the tall poppies. Industrial Management, 50(5), 8-12.

Hotchkiss, S. (2003). Why is it always about you? The seven deadly sins of narcissism. New York, NY: Free Press.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Doesn’t Inspire or Build Talent

Sean – Unskilled

Sean is well-meaning but ineffective. He wants to let go and let other people contribute their talents, but he’s admittedly a bit of a control freak. Who can blame him? He was the most amazing sales rep and now, as manager of the entire department, he can still outperform any individual on his team. The problem is he can’t outperform 10 people at one time—but he still tries. He inherited most of the team members, and he clearly favors the team members he hired himself. Most of the time, his office door is shut. The few who are part of his inner circle know what is going on; the rest are deprived of information. He is overly involved in other people’s accounts. He would call it striving for the best results. Others would call it meddling. He finds his way into meetings and onto calls where he monopolizes the conversation instead of letting his employees shine, and—worst of all—he takes credit for everything. His complete disregard for the professional contribution of others is staggering. And, even though he’s generally a nice guy, he completely lacks awareness of the issues he’s creating on his team.

Suggested Readings

Bobinski, D. (2009). Creating passion-driven teams: How to stop micromanaging and motivate people to top performance. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.

Byham, W. C., Smith, A. B., & Paese, M. J. (2002). Grow your own leaders: How to identify, develop, and retain leadership talent. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Capretta, C. C., Eichinger, R. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Swisher V. V. (2009). FYI for teams (2nd ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Lominger International: A Korn/Ferry Company.

Eichinger, R. W., & Lombardo, M. M. (2004). Learning agility as a prime indicator of potential. Human Resource Planning, 27(4), 12-15.

Hallenbeck, G. S., Jr., & Eichinger, R. W. (2006). Interviewing right: How science can sharpen your interviewing accuracy. Minneapolis, MN: Lominger International: A Korn/Ferry Company.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Ready, D. A., & Conger, J. A. (2007). Make your company a talent factory. Harvard Business Review, 85(6), 68-77.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Turner, E., & Rimanoczy, I. (2008). Developing high-impact teams. Training & Development, 62(8), 31-34.

Too Narrow

Marco – Lacks Self-Awareness

Just five more years. Five more years and he would be able to retire. Marco couldn’t wait. He was tired. Tired of his job. Tired of his boss. And especially tired of creating an annual development plan. Really, what was the point? He’d paid his dues. He’d gotten his credentials, his degree years ago. Since then, he’d worked hard and had always received reasonably good performance evaluations. And he knew his job inside and out. But that wasn’t good enough for Sam, his boss. Sam was a fanatic about learning, always leaving Marco articles in his inbox, “thought starters” he called them. Later, Sam would question Marco to see what he thought of the article. Marco didn’t understand why Sam couldn’t cut him some slack. There were plenty of younger employees who were anxious to please the boss, to attend a seminar, to read Sam’s articles. As far as Marco was concerned, thought starters could be left for those five years into their careers. Not someone with five years remaining.

Suggested Readings

Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2007). What got you here won’t get you there: How successful people become even more successful. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

McCall, M. W., Lombardo, M. M., & Morrison, A. M. (1988). The lessons of experience. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Waitzkin, J. (2008). The art of learning: An inner journey to optimal performance. New York, NY: Free Press.

Woller, L., & Woller, J. (2008). The skill: The most critical tool needed to increase your potential, performance, and promotability. Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing.

Doesn’t Deliver Results

Anita – Unskilled

With dread, Anita looked at her watch. 3:55. Five more minutes until her update with her boss, Teresa. If this update was anything like all the other ones recently, Anita knew it would not be good news for her. Teresa kept giving Anita the same feedback—she expected Anita to be more productive and that when she was productive (which Teresa said wasn’t often enough—ouch), it was always a last-minute scramble that wasted resources or went over budget. Anita could sense that her colleagues were getting frustrated with her missing deadlines or asking for their help so much. Lately, it seemed no matter how hard she worked, things just weren’t going right. Certain parts of Anita’s job were super easy, so much so that she usually operated in autopilot mode. Other parts, though, had become progressively tougher, and she hadn’t been able to master them. Looking over her department’s most recent financials, Anita had to admit that the key performance indicators were well below expectations. She allowed herself a moment of frustration with Teresa and even her colleagues. Really, they could be of more help to her instead of always finding fault. After all, her job came with a lot of pressure and responsibility. All this negative feedback made it hard for Anita to feel motivated or even have energy to keep trying. One thing she was sure about, something needed to change, and soon!

Suggested Readings

Bolles, R. (2009). What color is your parachute? 2009: A practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.

Cashman, K. (2008). Leadership from the inside out: Becoming a leader for life. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Gottfredson, M., & Schaubert, S. (2008). The breakthrough imperative: How the best managers get outstanding results. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Lefton, R. E., & Loeb, J. T. (2004). Why can’t we get anything done around here? The smart manager’s guide to executing the work that delivers results. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Lombardo, M.M., & Eichinger, R.W. (2009). FYI for your improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.

Morgan, M., Levitt, R. E., & Malek, W. A. (2007). Executing your strategy: How to break it down and get it done. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Ruyle, K.E., Hallenbeck, G.S., Orr, J.E., & Swisher, V.V. (2010). FYI for insight: The 21 leadership characteristics for success and the 5 that get you fired. Minneapolis, MN: Korn/Ferry International.