What I Do; What I Won’t Do
Turning Great Performers into Great Leaders
A great leader makes you want to be a better person;
A lousy leader makes you want to do the least possible;
An awful leader makes you want to retalliate by exploiting your position
(with questionable perks)
and finding a justification for doing so.
-Warren Bennis
from Directors Monthly
I work with companies that want to grow their top performers into the best leaders. I have discovered that such leaders can only grow in an environment free of the following “7 deadly sins.” I have developed “zero tolerance” for companies that possess any of them or if they do, are not taking active steps to eradicate them. That’s because I find that I am unable–and because of that–unwilling* to help such companies.
1. Abuse - Any company where any people who do their job well are afraid to come to work because they fear being abused. I will not be the passive “parent” who sits back and allows the abusive parent to run over kids or employees.
2. Scorn - Most of the people I coach are either “jerks” or arrogant asses who perform so well that companies want to keep them. I will only work with them if they are that way because they don’t know any better. If any of them take delight in hurting, insulting and embarrassing others I will not participate.
3. Scapegoating - On the other hand some leaders and managers that are badmouthed as asses are in reality, tough task masters who hold themselves and others to a high standard. They have little tolerance for whiners, complainers, blamers and excuse makers (as do I) who seek to distract people away from having their incompetence exposed. I will not work with a company that doesn’t check out the the facts of a situation before it comes down on someone who is dedicated to the success of the company and is getting a bad rap by a slacker.
4. Punishment - I am almost always called in to remediate, correct and serve as “punishment” of an individual for bad behavior. After I meet with the company and the individual for the first time, I will not work with either unless working with me is viewed as an opportunity for both to improve–in ways they didn’t imagine were possible–rather than as a punishment for their actions. People do what they want to do, not what they need to do. Most people want to take advantage of an opportunity, nobody wants to be punished.
5. Greed - Any company where the owner(s) are greedy and exploit their most dedicated people for personal gain. That means that I will not work with a
