Are Any of the Eight Universal Leadership Derailers Undermining Your Success?

UNIVERSAL LEADERSHIP DERAILERS 

(Excerpted from the CDR Leadership Risk Assessment)

Leadership success and derailment largely depend upon two factors:  

1) the perceptions of others about your performance which includes your relationships with them; and 

2) your contributions or results produced for the good of the organization.  

Overwhelmingly, the first of these is the most critical in terms of leadership derailment.  A leader may have produced outstanding results; yet if he/she has damaged relationships along the way, or has operated with a lack of integrity, derailment may be inevitable.  Universally, or across organizations, leadership derailers can be defined as:

LEADERSHIP DERAILERS	Examples
1. Erosion or betrayal of trust	lack of integrity (honesty, acting congruently with core values, showing respect, etc.), loss of credibility, over-focus on personal agenda, failure to meet commitments
2. Failure to deliver and be accountable	slow to act, studies issues and solutions too long, waits for instruction, short on results
3. Failure to adapt	resists change, difficulty with multiple priorities, lacks flexibility
4. Lack of courage and decisiveness	risk aversive, freezes under uncertainty, fails to assert views; avoids making decisions
5. Creating or endorsing a dysfunctional work environment	failure to support staff, displays  inappropriate emotionality or lack of "emotional intelligence", supports or tolerates hostile work environment
6. Failure to develop people and organization	fails to coach, mentor others, or provide developmental resources; and, unconcerned with bench strength,organizational growth planning issues
7. Lacks forward-looking and inspirational approach	lacks a vision, can't rally troops to produce; does not build enthusiasm toward stretch goals
8. Lack of objectivity and broadmindedness	narrow views, undervalues diversity, strives to preserve personal wishes and bias, not perceived as fair, shows favoritism, does not consider sufficient views or sufficient data in decision making

Copyright © CDR Assessment Group, Tulsa, OK. 1998. All rights reserved. No portion of this may be copied or reproduced without the copyright owner's written permission. Contact:  nparsons@cdrassessmentgroup.com to request permission.

(Authors:  Kimberly Leveridge, Ph.D. & Nancy E. Parsons)