In order not to fall into this all-too-human trap, we are using this new year to focus instead on the first point and look back. Reflecting a very special highlight in 2022: our “Rethinking Leadership” event with Dr. Robert Hogan, who did us the honor in Munich at the end of October.
RT, as he is known by most, gave a fascinating and provocative talk on leadership effectiveness, leadership failure, and the selection of leaders, followed by an engaging discussion with our many guests from academia and business.
Here is a short and concise summary of what particularly stuck in our minds:
- 65% is a number that keeps coming up and is being replicated over and over again: It’s the percentage of leaders who fail. Frighteningly high!
- Effective Leaders are able to build and sustain high-performing teams – Emergent Leaders, on the other hand, are those who are intelligent, charismatic, and political, and thus rise quickly in organizations. The intersection of the two groups is only 10%!
- Leadership should be seen as a resource for the team, not a privilege for individuals to exercise power – consistent with this, effective leaders are characterized by humility rather than charisma.
- In the end, the crucial question is: “Do employees work for a leader, because they have to or because they want to?” which tells us a lot about the interpersonal skills that make leaders effective.
- The phrase “Power does not corrupt, it reveals the dark side” particularly stuck – a strong plea not to be blinded by an attractive cover in the selection process, but to define objective selection criteria and measure them.
Did you find some ideas for good resolutions while reading this post? Wonderful – then let’s go straight into action together, so that your resolutions don’t remain just that. At RELEVANT, we use Hogan Assessments every day in the selection and development of people and organizations to help companies make objective and resilient decisions, nurture key talent, and identify leadership potential. As always, we’re just a phone call or email away.
