Leadership Blindspots E-Book

Robert B. Shaw

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 472

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Good leaders become great by skillfully managing their own vulnerabilities Leadership Blindspots: How Successful Leaders Identify and Overcome the Weaknesses That Matter is a comprehensive guide to recognizing and acting on the weak points that can impair effectiveness, diminish results, and harm a career. Written by a 30-year veteran of the leadership consulting industry and author of Trust in the Balance, the book contains examples, worksheets and surveys that illustrate the practical application of the advice presented. An online questionnaire helps readers discover their own leadership vulnerabilities, and the book provides a roadmap for creating a targeted plan to increase their awareness in the areas that truly matter. The blindspot risk is that leaders fail to respond to weaknesses or threats due to a variety of factors including the complexity of their organizations, over-confidence in their own capabilities, and being surrounded by deferential subordinates. Leadership Blindspots provides a useful model for understanding how blindspots operate and why they persist, but at the same time suggests real, actionable steps to improvement. The book details a range of techniques that make blindspots stand out in sharp relief, so action can be taken before severe damage occurs - to a leader or his or her company. Topics include: * A framework to understand the threats posed by blindspots * The four most important types of blindspots - self, team, company and markets * Detailed case studies of blindspots in leaders across a variety of industries * A summary of the most common leadership blindspots * Corrective practices that help mitigate the risks that blindspots pose The one characteristic great leaders share is the constant desire for self-improvement. Good can always be better. These weaknesses and threats are called blindspots because they are invisible to the individual but have the potential to wreak havoc on one's reputation and long-term success. Identifying and fixing crucial problems is the leader's job, and sometimes the most debilitating problems are with the leaders themselves. Leadership Blindspots: How Successful Leaders Identify and Overcome the Weaknesses That Matter is the first step toward owning and addressing one's vulnerabilities and, as a result, becoming a more effective leader.

Leseprobe

Contents

Introduction

Section 1: Why Blindspots Matter

Chapter 1: The Dangers and Rewards of Being Blind

Steve Jobs: Blindspots About Himself

Jamie Dimon: Blindspots About His Team and Company

Henry Ford: Blindspots About His Market

Notes

Chapter 2: How to Spot Blindspots in Yourself and Others

The Blindspot Matrix

Degrees of Blindness

Responses to Blindspots

Identifying Your Own Blindspots

Notes

Chapter 3: The Common Blindspots Holding Leaders Back

Blindspots That Can Derail You

Blindspots About Yourself

Blindspots About Your Team

Blindspots About Your Company

Blindspots About Your Markets

Obtaining Further Blindspot Feedback

Notes

Chapter 4: Why Blindspots Are an Ever-Present Challenge

The Tenacity of Blindspots

Willful Blindness

Overcoming Blindspots

Notes

Section 2: How to Surface and Overcome Blindspots

Chapter 5: See It for Yourself: Customers, Colleagues, and Outsiders

Awareness of Customers and Markets

Awareness of Frontline Colleagues

Awareness of High Potentials

Awareness of Outsiders

Actions for Increasing Awareness

Notes

Chapter 6: Seek Out That Which Disconfirms What You Believe

Asking the Right Questions in the Right Way

Surface Disconfirming Data About Your Leadership Impact

Surface Disconfirming Data About Your Team

Surface Disconfirming Data About Your Organization

Surface Disconfirming Data About Your Markets

Actions for Seeking Out Disconfirming Data

Notes

Chapter 7: Develop Peripheral Vision and See What Others Miss

Know Your Team Members

Pay Attention to Behavioral Flags

Create Openings for Contrarians

Establish a Three-Strike Rule

Listen Differently

Actions for Developing Peripheral Vision

Notes

Chapter 8: Build a Network of Trusted Advisors in Critical Areas

Target the Areas Where You Need Advice

Match the Type of Advisor to Your Need

Maximize the Advice You Receive

Actions for Building a Network of Trusted Advisors

Notes

Chapter 9: Promote Productive Team Fights on the Vital Few Priorities

Hire a Group of Smart, Diverse, and Passionate People

Focus the Team on the Vital Few Priorities

Embrace High-Level Conflicts, Shun Low-Level Conflicts

Establish Ground Rules for Having Productive Fights

Ensure One Voice on Execution

Actions for Promoting Productive Team Fights

Notes

Conclusion

Section 3: Additional Resources

Resource A: Blindspot Q&A

Resource B: Leadership Blindspot Survey: Self-Assessment

Resource C: Common Leadership Blindspots: Feedback Worksheet

Resource D: Readings on Leadership Blindspots

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

Access to Companion Site

End User License Agreement

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Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

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LEADERSHIP BLINDSPOTS

How Successful Leaders Identify and Overcome the Weaknesses That Matter

ROBERT BRUCE SHAW

Cover design by Wiley

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Shaw, Robert B.

Leadership blindspots : how successful leaders identify and overcome the weaknesses that matter / Robert B. Shaw. —First edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-118-64629-8 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-64622-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-64609-0 (ebk)

1. Leadership. I. Title.

HD57.7.S4826 2014

658.4'092—dc23

2014002404

To Jackie, for reasons great and small.

INTRODUCTION

An executive I know believes that leadership, when all is said and done, is simply making better decisions than your competition. When asked how people can best develop this capability, he smiles and says, “Make a lot of bad decisions that don’t kill you.” The fact that good judgment is built on bad judgment means that you learn primarily as result of your experiences—particularly your mistakes. Over time, you develop better judgment as you live with the outcomes of your choices. You also observe other leaders and extract lessons from their decision-making process. The full truth, however, is that experience is no panacea. You may not make the same mistakes twice and will most likely make fewer mistakes as your career progresses—but you will make mistakes. Even the most talented and best-prepared leaders learn on the job—facing complex, ever-changing, and often unexpected challenges.

It is equally true that mistakes become more costly as you move up in a company. Take the case of Ron Johnson at JCPenney. Johnson was appointed CEO based on his stellar performance at Target and later at Apple, where he created a retail division that became one of most profitable in the world. Some viewed him as a retail genius. The board of JCPenney believed that Johnson’s innovative leadership was needed to revitalize the firm. He would determine how to rebrand the company and bring in new customers. Soon after being hired, he pushed forward with his bold vision for the century-old retailer. He moved the company away from its historical roots as a retailer offering bargains on heavily discounted and private-label merchandise. The company would now offer a range of branded products at “everyday low prices.” Johnson implemented his changes quickly, despite warnings that he was moving too fast in a company and marketplace that he didn’t fully understand. Extremely confident, some would say arrogant in the mold of his former Apple colleagues, he saw no need to pilot test his ideas before pulling the switch on a massive and risky undertaking. It was soon apparent that his vision was ill-conceived and even more poorly executed. Many of the firm’s traditional customers, without the lure of steep discounts, stopped shopping at JCPenney, resulting in a loss of $1 billion in the first year after Johnson took charge. A business school professor noted that “Penney had been run into a ditch when he took it over. But, rather than getting it back on the road, he’s essentially set it on fire.”