Strategic snippet #1
How to mitigate your
leadership flaws
davidlancefield.com
Some personality flaws have
a disproportionately negative
impact on the quality and
execution of strategic choices.
Just when leaders need to bring
their ‘A game’, they get in their
own way.
Instead of thinking clearly,
they default to habits influenced
by deeper and well-reinforced
personality flaws.
davidlancefield.com
ASK YOURSELF
Which one of the
four leadership types
are you and what can
you do about it?
The overconfident,
chronically certain
leader
CHARACTERISTICS
Tendency to overpromise and develop unrealistic
strategies, myopia and over-determinism.
IMPACT
Unnecessary anxiety for the people
charged with the execution of strategy,
increased risk of disruption.
MITIGANTS
• Orchestrate debate and dissent.
• Assemble people with the courage to
challenge you.
• Immerse yourself in external developments.
• Invite outside voices.
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The impulsive
leader
CHARACTERISTICS
Can’t resist the titillation of a new idea or
the latest fad, craving the adrenaline rush
of pioneering what’s not been done.
IMPACT
Exhaustion in the organisation,
overcommitment of resources and overpromises
to customers and shareholders.
MITIGANTS
• Insert time and data into strategic decisions.
• Build extra discipline into the strategy process
and allow others to run it.
• Over-index on risk factors and resource
requirements.
• Get to the heart of your adrenaline binges.
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The rigidly
controlling leader
CHARACTERISTICS
Everything — and everyone — works in a
prescribed way. They struggle to accommodate
novel or non-traditional views.
IMPACT
People retreat from coming forward with
creative ideas.
MITIGANTS
• Increase transparency.
• Take calculated risks.
• Test ideas with trusted colleagues.
• Examine your aversion to curiosity.
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The insecure
leader
CHARACTERISTICS
Self-doubt, worry about what others think
of them and anxiously expect to fall short.
IMPACT
Analysis-paralysis, endless mitigation efforts
for risks only they can see.
MITIGANTS
• Get to the heart of your fears.
• Do worst-case and best-case scenarios.
• Reframe the conversation to opportunities.
• Relive past successes.
davidlancefield.com
READY FOR MORE?
This snippet is based on an article ‘Every leader
has flaws. Don’t let yours derail your strategy’ by
Ron Carucci and David Lancefield in Harvard
Business Review.
For more resources go to davidlancefield.com:
David Lancefield
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