Star performers have the highest future value to their organisation, but ensuring their future success can be a balancing act. Dianne Jacobs explores how the same qualities that lead this A-list to the path of success can also hinder their ability to step up to the next level or even veer them into mediocrity
Star performers have the highest future value to their organisation, but ensuring their future success can be a balancing act. Dianne Jacobs explores how the same qualities that lead this A-list to the path of success can also hinder their ability to step up to the next level or even veer them into mediocrity
It is inspiring to see a talented achiever at the pinnacle of success. Business, as with sport, arts, science or politics has its field of tall poppies. Yet, ask any group of successful business people, “What is the key to reaching the top?” and you will hear a variety of answers. Often you hear about intelligence, confidence, passion, ambition and the willingness to take responsibility – all ingredients of the corporate alchemy. Peter Drucker, the renowned management thinker, believes that success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves – their strengths, their values and how they perform best.
So what differentiates an excellent executive from all the others? There are a variety of reasons that, and although not universal, may well be the indicative DNA of those star performers on the corporate A-list. Consider the following.
Successful people are goal-anchored, truly present, show remarkable persistence, resilience and preparation. They are involved in what they do with commitment and dedication. They focus with sensory sharpness, clarity of outcome and optimism. They visualise what they want to achieve. They understand risk and how to manage it. They are macro and micro-centric in their perspective so they can view the action from both the balcony and the dance floor. Rejection for them is just one more opportunity to demonstrate their skill. They see failure as another step to innovate and test the status quo. They are good problem-solvers blending the input from a diverse network of contacts. They continually adjust their mindset about the future, while striving to achieve exemplary results today. With this comes the flexibility to hone or reinvent capabilities.
A path of intent and optimism
While everyone has multiple intelligences that impact on potential and self-esteem in different areas at different times, the A-list do tend to have a belief or self-determination about their success.
Early in life, the A-list realise that they are genuinely smarter than most. From significant early relationships, they develop an idealised view of authority and leadership, plus how success is conferred. As adults, the A-list believe their insights are unique and rarely vulnerable. Status anxiety is not part of their psyche. They are emotionally engaged to excel. It is part of their life-script.
Independent and action oriented, the A-list believes that they are doing what they choose to do. It is often about choice and adaptability in an unpredictable world.
They are, as a consequence, committed rather than compliant and own the outcome. This personal commitment means that they are more likely to achieve results.
Being a cliché does not make it any less true that success breeds success. The A-list believes that they can make desirable things happen. They see opportunities where others see threats. They feel in control and rarely the victims of fate, luck, muses or chance. They believe there is a meritocracy. Using their track record as a validation of who they are and what they have done, they regard success as a direct result of their own drive and ability – even if these positive outcomes were caused by external factors.
As the circle of confidence continues, it leads to an increasing optimism about the future and an increasing likelihood of future success. With a greater comfort for ambiguity these A-list ‘movers and shakers’ willingly try more different things to achieve greater returns.
A fork in the road
Success can have its quandaries – there is a normal life cycle of nurture, growth, peak and decline. This is not schadenfreude. To break the road to decline, what is needed is to start a second curve before the first one reaches its peak and before any distinctive competence becomes a liability. As Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE warns, “Change before you have to.” This is the paradox of success – when things are going well, there seems to be no reason to change.
The entire concept of change is somewhat counter-intuitive for the A-list. Their self-talk is: ‘I act a certain way. I am successful. Therefore, I must be successful because I am this way!’ This is their proof that their way works. From this, they create their own self-affirming reality that reinforces the need to keep doing more of the same.
A-listers can be inclined to hold on to certain logic, even if this logic is seen as illogical to others. Reality checking is not their strength; accurately reading indirect feedback is not their strong suit. While success is often based on high levels of competence and interpersonal skills there can still be dysfunctional actions including narcissism, aggressive-defensive positioning, conflict avoidance and micro-management.
The human side of change is complicated. The pursuit of power often changes people in profound ways. The key beliefs that help the A-list succeed can become roadblocks to do what is needed to change. There are various conscious and unconscious barriers to change. It was John Maynard Keynes who made the valid point that “the greatest difficulty in the world is not for people to accept new ideas, but to make them forget their old ideas”. It can be difficult for smart and intelligent people to reassess skill-sets, behaviours or their level of emotional intelligence.
High achievers often do not realise that they are successful because of some behaviour and in spite of others. They also need to come to terms with the fact that some skills that have been effective for them in the past have a use-by-date and that both the pace of change and the new corporate realities require them to be agile and relevant.
The A-list in corporations holds fast to their image of knowing and they mark it through activity, effort and achievement. Even though they work under the ever-present pressure to have answers – and let’s face it they are used to giving answers – they should resist the temptation to merely react and avoid the ready-fire-aim syndrome. The reality of today’s complex and changing businesses means an executive is often in the realm of not-knowing or no longer being in control of a situation. In essence, the A-list needs the capacity to patiently work with uncertainty, half-knowledge, ambiguity and paradox.
Analytical, questioning and critical in their cognitive style, A-listers may pay little or lesser attention to the feelings and emotions of others and even detach from their own. They attempt to separate their personal world of feelings, ideas, ambitions and fears from their business world. But in reality what they think and feel is deeply personal and they will make important business decisions in their personal way. They are also not fully aware of their impact on others or how others see them or the defenses they have developed to protect their world.
The natural tendency when confronted with our imperfections is to deny them or cover them up. When needing to defend their view A-listers focus on the flaws in other people’s logic or ideas. Separating the message from the messenger will help A-listers take on board feedback. They deny the importance of disconfirming information for three common reasons: it is being delivered by someone that they do not see as an equal in terms of success, therefore they tell themselves it doesn’t count; they assume that any information which is inconsistent with their self-view is inaccurate and the other person is off track or they agree with the information, but assume that what is being noted must not be important since they are successful.
Keeping on the upward track
The behaviour traits that make the A-list successful and upwardly mobile may also be the clues to their vulnerability. These traits can signpost when there is a need to create a second curve on the career path to avoid derailment or a career crisis.
And, paradoxically, what will make good executives even better is failure. Bill Gates of Microsoft makes the point that: “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” The lessons learned from dealing with fear and uncertainty, and from experiencing frustration, can transform good executives into leaders. Per ardua ad astra – through difficulties to the stars. Those who have endured adversity are most likely to be the ones with the resilience and resolve to succeed. “Succeeding is not really a life experience that does that much good. Failing is a much more sobering and enlightening experience,” is the view of Michael Eisner of Disney. Failure tests people in the most fundamental way. It is also a reminder of what matters in life.
The A-list often has difficulty asking for help. Yet, deep down they know that without continuous development, they will not keep pace with the changing demands of corporate life. This is a powerful motivator. People who want to reinvent or renew themselves have to first understand what happens inside them. It was Socrates who said “The unexplored life is not worth living.”
The fast-paced, action-oriented, transaction-driven corporate world gives very little acceptance to being self-reflective. In fact, reflection and the unlearning of habits that is needed for the A-lister to move to the next level makes them feel uncomfortable and anxious. In this neutral zone, the old reality has gone, but the new reality is not functional yet. Used to being actively in control they now feel as if they are lost in a state of transition.
Although great advocates of accountability, A-listers can be resistant to the personal accountability needed for this type of lasting change. The A-list needs a process that helps them experiment with changes in their leadership in a safe environment and realise that they do have options and can make choices.
Improvement should not be about changing the A-lister’s strengths, their focus on results or their drive for outcomes; it is helping them improve the process for achieving them. It is not changing the person it is improving the way the person performs. This is a critical distinction for the A-list star performer.
Part of this process for successful change is trust. Unfortunately, building trust is not easy for highly competitive people. But, the successful executive cannot go it alone. The marketplace requires more collaboration not less – and at the heart of collaboration is trust. If the successful executive feels they are being judged or manipulated, they may become antagonistic to the process and quit trying. They need to feel safe and need support. They need their colleagues to let go of past negatives, help them focus on what is needed for a more positive future, participate in ongoing follow-up, engage in purposeful conversations rather than creating background-noise and support them to be more effective.
Strategic paradigm
Leadership is different now. While we live in a time of discontinuity, it is also one of extraordinary opportunity and possibility. In this information rich, interconnected world, markets continue to open as ideas, people, goods and investment move with ease across cultural borders. Technologies, shrinking and increasingly diverse workforces, shareholder pressure and new approaches to work are creating challenges that did not exist a few years ago.
The key to future competitive advantage will be the capacity to generate intellectual capital. High-potential talent represents one of the greatest sources of current and future value for the organisation. Successful people will want to find new ways to be relevant and competent. Taking your best and brightest to even higher levels of success will deliver strategic value at the leadership level.
Coaching the A-list to win
Leadership coaching has become one of the fastest growing areas of executive development. It is personal, relevant, congruent and effective in achieving sustainable change. It fulfils the deep inner need to be heard and understood without judgement. Once viewed as a tool to help correct underperformance, today it has truly been taken up by the A-list to provide a range of personal and professional benefits and to place them competitively in the leadership stakes. So, if you choose to have a leadership coach, what needs to happen for a sustainable outcome?
Context: The leadership coach will start by obtaining constructive feedback which may include assessment tools and then gains an even deeper understanding by talking to a range of colleagues or other stakeholders you have chosen. There needs to be absolute clarity around both the purpose and the content of the coaching agenda, so you can scope and visualise a more positive and successful future. Without the right context there is no canvas on which you can paint.
Commit: You have to fully buy-in to the process, take responsibility and learn through your own efforts. You also need to commit to the identified priorities for change which are usually the few factors that will make the most positive difference. Then be prepared to measure the outcomes. If you agree to work on these high-leverage items, take the processes seriously, seek support from respected colleagues and actively follow-up, then change is more likely to occur.
Choice: Improvement is often relational to what you have chosen. If you personally set and own a goal, document it and tell others, you will tend to take accountability for achieving the chosen outcome. You are more likely to accept as valid the items you have chosen as being important, as evaluated by the people you respect, and take on board the suggestions from the people you have chosen to participate in the process.
Connect: Vulnerability and anxiety may be experienced during this change and transition process. Leadership coaching will help you get back in touch with your emotions and overcome any fear of failure or fear of the unknown. Connecting with your trusted colleagues and family in a way that achieves mutual benefit and unconditional acceptance is equally important. Successful people do listen to and learn from respected associates and you need to feel that you are being protected, encouraged and supported by the people around you.
Dianne Jacobs is principal of human resources for Goldman Sachs JBWere and a member of Human Resources magazine’s editorial board. Email: [email protected].
