For example, one executive who was seen by his colleagues as overly aggressive applied his inherent determination to himself-to stop coming on so strong. Extremely high ratings on a 360-degree feedback report may offer clues. How to strike a balance? First, seek evidence that you’re overusing particular strengths. ![]() Overdo consensus-building, and morale may rise but productivity might ultimately suffer (for instance, decisions take too long), eventually eroding morale. Overdo forcefulness, and your team’s productivity may improve but its morale will weaken, eventually undercutting productivity. Taken too far, your strengths can become weaknesses.Ĭonsider two leadership strengths: forcefulness (driving your team hard) and consensus-building (getting everyone’s agreement on decisions). Once you know which attributes you’re overdoing, you can recalibrate. Are you going to extremes with any of them? To check for lopsidedness, you can prompt feedback from other people with a list of qualities you’ve composed or one you’ve gleaned from other sources. Ask yourself: Is this too much of a good thing? Another technique is to make a list of the traits you most want to have as a leader. You can start with a review of the highest ratings on your most recent 360 report. But there are other ways to bring that information to light. That’s no easy task since most leadership development tools don’t spell out that you’re overdoing your strengths. To strike a balance between two key leadership dualities-forceful versus enabling, and strategic versus operational-you need to see your actions and motivations clearly. ![]() A leader who is very good at building consensus, for example, may take too long to move into action. Second, you’re at risk of becoming extremely lopsided-that is, diminishing your capacity on the opposite pole. For instance, quick-wittedness can turn into impatience with others. Strengths taken too far have two consequences: First, they become weaknesses. The authors suggest several strategies, based on their years of consulting experience and research, for figuring out which attributes you’ve employed to excess and adjusting your behavior accordingly. ![]() Dividing qualities into “strengths” and “weaknesses” and rating them on a five-point scale will not account for strengths overplayed. Unfortunately, that’s where leadership development tools such as 360-degree surveys fail to deliver, say Kaplan and Kaiser. Although most managers can recognize an off-kilter leader (consider the highly supportive boss who cuts people too much slack), it’s quite difficult to see overkill in yourself.
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