Seven habits that spell disaster.In the July 2003 issue of Fast Company author Sydney Finkelstein outlines seven habits that will transform even the best-intentioned manager into a disastrous boss and business leader. So while you're working on business skills that will speed your progress on the road to success, here are seven personal qualities to guard against developing. 1. Seeing oneself and one's organization as "dominating [the] environment." CEOs who exhibit this quality suffer from "the illusion of personal preeminence pre·em·i·nent or pre-em·i·nent adj. Superior to or notable above all others; outstanding. See Synonyms at dominant, noted. [Middle English, from Latin prae ," observes Finkelstein, emphasizing that "successful leaders try to shape the environment precisely because they know they can't dominate the environment." 2. Identifying with the organization so completely that the CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. views it as an extension of himself or herself. This "private empire" mentality causes CEOs to use their organizations to achieve personal ambitions. 3. Believing you have all the answers. 4. Eliminating anyone who doesn't endorse your vision. This "unnecessary and destructive" approach leads CEOs to "cut themselves off from their best chance of seeing and correcting problems as they arise." 5. Developing a high-profile persona persona /per·so·na/ (per-so´nah) [L.] in jungian psychology, the personality mask or facade presented by a person to the outside world, as opposed to the anima, the inner being. per·so·na n. obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with constantly being in the public eye. Management efforts of CEOs caught up in a public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most frenzy Frenzy Beatlemania term referring to the Beatles’ (rock musicians) immense popularity; manifested by screaming fans in the 1960s. [Pop. Culture: Miller, 172–181] Big Bull Market "become shallow and ineffective." 6. Underestimating obstacles. 7. Clinging to tried-and-true methods of the past "instead of considering a range of options that fit new circumstances." Visit www.fastcompany.com/magazine /72/Thabits.html to view the full article. |
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