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What Makes a Great Leader?

A catalyst leader is someonewho ignites action in others.

Your New Job: Catalyst Leader

The term boss has taken a real beating both in work and popular culture. In movies the boss tends to be a ruthless gangster or amoral chieftain. In digital gaming, the boss is the last, biggest, and most horrific in a series of monsters that must be defeated. But in the workplace, now it's you. And you've got an image problem. Search for “Bad Boss” on Google and find over 36 million entries. Headlines include “Ten Things Only Bad Bosses Say,” “What Makes a Bad Boss Bad,” or, our favorite, “How to Survive 13 Types of Dysfunctional, Disrespectful and Dishonest Little Dictators.” There are even multiple websites for bad bosses. One, BadBosses.com, shows a photo of a person with the head of a wolf. Needless to say, you don't want to become the wolf in your office.

Consider Marian, a marketing and social media specialist and writer in a communications department at a midsized university. She had the classic bad boss: didn't communicate, failed to set team goals, missed deadlines, and played poorly with his peers in other departments. His inefficiency gave the department a bad reputation throughout the whole campus.

When Marian's boss was abruptly fired, the team was shocked. We had no idea he was so unpopular outside of our team, she said. But when Marian was tapped as his interim replacement, there was a catch: He had negotiated to stay on for six months and was refusing to announce Marian's new job or even train her for it. And all of this remained a secret. He told me that he didn't want to be seen as a lame duck, but it got really awkward, she said. As the months ticked by and no replacement was announced, the team became more and more anxious about the future and other departments began to openly revolt. To make matters worse, the not-yet-exiting chief had run projects aground across the university and had badly alienated senior leadership. Nasty surprises abounded. Marian, who was a half-time employee about to run a team of 11, had no idea what to do. This is his legacy, Marian said. And I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to turn it around. (For more on how Marian used her new network to revive her demoralized team, see Chapter 19 on networking.)

When we train frontline leaders, we use a different word that paints a far more positive picture than describing a leader as an irresponsible or horrific boss: catalyst. Much like an ingredient that induces a chemical reaction, a catalyst leader is someone who ignites action in others. That ignition might jump-start a change in an inefficient process, spawn a new idea for a new product, or, most important, effect change in others.

Both our research and observations show dramatic differences between poor and even average leaders and those we would label catalyst leaders. The latter have a knack for building engagement, involving others, and capitalizing on people's strengths and diverse viewpoints. And, they rarely blame others. Rather, they accept accountability to deliver on expectations.

Figure 2.1 illustrates what being a catalyst leader is all about.

Fig 2.1 Catalyst Leader

Whether you're a new leader or have a few years of experience, becoming a catalyst leader is hard work. It doesn't happen overnight. The common characteristic in great catalysts is their passion to become better leaders. They're constantly building their leadership skills. They're also introspective – looking in the mirror every day and asking what they could do to become better leaders.

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Tool 2.1 is a self-assessment of your current proficiency as a catalyst leader. It will allow you to pinpoint strengths and areas you might want to work on.

Catalyst Leader Self-Assessment

Catalyst leaders find opportunities to ignite action in others. Are you a catalyst leader? To find out, first circle the number for each item that represents your current behavior. Next, add the numbers to determine your catalyst index. Finally, in the column to the right, check () the three boxes opposite the behaviors you want to focus on.

*To download and print this form in pdf format, go to www.YourFirstLeadershipJob.com.

What Enables Frontline Leadership Success: A Deeper Look

Over the past four decades, DDI has conducted hundreds of job analyses in just about every industry and all over the world. Many of these were aimed at frontline leadership roles and involved conducting interviews with the leaders and their managers to gather information on factors that differentiate average from truly outstanding performance. The data, once consolidated, is transformed into what we call a Success Profile^SM. Our clients then use their success profiles as part of their selection, promotion, performance appraisal, and development programs. As shown in Figure 2.2, there are four components to a success profile for a frontline leader.

Fig 2.2 Success Profile

In Tool 2.2, you'll find many of these frontline leader “success factors.” Look at this tool as a compass to point you in the right direction. If you're considering a leadership position for the first time, you might ask yourself how you stack up against the profile. If you're already a leader, you can use the tool to guide your growth and development. Pick a few elements that might not be as strong as you'd like and incorporate them into your development plans. But, just as important, choose some strengths and use them to your advantage.

One friendly word of caution: You can acquire knowledge, and you can seek experience. You can adjust some behaviors. But personality elements are much tougher to change. For example, a high degree of arrogance – which is another way of saying overconfidence – is likely to derail your career. And you won't find a training course to make yourself less arrogant. Leaders normally don't go astray because they lack skills. More often than not, it's a personality mismatch. (We'll discuss this further in the Mastery chapters on selection and retention.) So, pay close attention to these factors when considering a move into leadership and be honest with yourself. Many former leaders have said that they gladly returned to a team member role. That can be a smart decision for many!

Frontline Leadership Success Profile

Write an “S” in each box that represents a strength. Write a “D” in each box that represents a development need for you.

*To download and print this form in pdf format, go to www.YourFirstLeadershipJob.com.

The Bottom Line

The journey to being an excellent leader is a long one, and the road can be rough. However, the rewards along the way can be very satisfying if you've chosen to be a leader for the right reasons. A few years back, we asked over 1,200 employees around the world what they thought about their managers. One question we asked was, What differentiates the best boss from the worst boss you ever worked for? Sadly, only 22 percent of employees feel they are currently working for their best boss ever. As you might expect, they rated their best bosses as two to three times more likely to use catalyst behaviors. Nearly 68 percent of employees who are currently working for their worst managers ever are looking at leaving. And, more surprisingly, only 11 percent of employees working for their worst boss ever are motivated to “give their best.” Compare that to the employees working for their best boss. The percentage jumps to 98!2

In another piece of research, we asked employees how much more productive they could be if they went back to work for their best-ever boss. One in four said they would be anywhere from 40 to 60 percent more productive.3

Reflection Points Explained

Throughout this book we'll be prompting you to think about where you are on your leadership journey. If you keep a journal in any form – Moleskine®, Evernote, digital recorder, whatever – consider memorializing your thoughts. Use these reflections to chart your progress, clarify next steps, and examine the emotions that might be undermining your effectiveness. Use your observations to help you gather useful feedback from trusted sources, and share meaningfully with others online and in real time. They'll also make excellent fodder for your best-selling memoir when you become a Big Shot.

Reflection Point

What makes you most anxious when you review Tool 2.2? Look at the boxes you marked with a “D” (development need). Are your concerns valid? Choose one or two items as a monthly To-Learn list. Consider consulting with a trusted member of your network for advice and feedback.

Then, look at the boxes you marked with an “S” (strength). Which of these can you leverage?

What will your list look like in six months? In 12 months?

2

Pete Weaver and Simon Mitchell, Lessons for Leaders from the People Who Matter, Trend Research (Pittsburgh: Development Dimensions International, 2012), 12.

3

Ibid., 14.