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Thought Leaders
Industry Gurus Live
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| Welcome to the Thought Leaders - Best Practices from HR Executives Newsletter! You are receiving this email because as a member of the HR.com community you have expressed an interest in receiving our Thought Leaders update. It is our mission at HR.com to always provide you with the most relevant and up-to-date HR information. To alter your subscription preferences or noted areas of interest please update your online profile here. New articles are added daily. |
Thought Leaders: Bob Kaplan and Rob Kaiser on Being a Versatile Leader
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Bob Kaplan is a partner with Kaplan Devries Inc., which specializes in leadership consulting for individual executives and management teams. Previously Kaplan had a senior role at Center For Creative Leadership (CCL) where he is presently honorary senior fellow. He has consulted to many top executives over the years and is the author of numerous articles as well as the book Beyond Ambition, How Driven Managers Can Lead Better And Live Better.
Rob Kaiser, also a partner with Kaplan Devries Inc., is director of research and development. He is a Thought Leader in this field with over 75 presentations and articles to his credit. He was editor of a book called Filling The Leadership Pipeline by The Center For Creative Leadership and served as an adjunct research scientist there as well.
Bob Kaplan and Rob Kaiser have just published a book entitled The Versatile Leader: Make the Most of Your Strengths Without Overdoing It.
KE: Gentlemen, what was the impetus for you two to write this book?
BK: I was at the Center for Creative Leadership for the start of what's now come to be called executive coaching. People tell me I was one of its founders. I also developed, in the late 80s, one of the first 360-degree surveys, which CCL is still selling. Over the last 15 years, I've noticed blind spots in these twin fields of leadership coaching and 360 feedback, and opportunities to improve the practice of coaching and the practice of 360 feedback. And, with Rob, I've come up with ways to fill those gaps.
KE: Much has been written on the strengths-based approach to developing leaders. Why do you think it's gained such popularity and media attention?
RK: I think it came out of a needed correction. We have been obsessed with what's wrong for a long time, going back at least to Freud 100 years ago. There is a growing movement called positive psychology and they are turning out important new research showing how growth, health, and fulfillment are about far more than the absence of pathology. This logic has been applied to the management and leadership realm and it simply assumes that becoming a better leader is more about fully developing your natural gifts and less about trying to get good at something for which you might not have an interest or an aptitude. So, why is it so popular? Well if you think about it, it really is an easy sell. Who wouldn't prefer to deal with their bright side versus muck around in their dark side? There is a bit of feel good story in all of this.
BK: In a way, it lets people off the hook regarding their shortcomings and says, "It's okay, don't worry about those problems, instead focus on what you are good at, what you enjoy." There is the problem too, that it might overlook what the organization needs.
KE: In an interview I did with Marcus Buckingham several months back he talked about some disappointing survey results showing that despite his sales of over a million copies of his book, Now Discover Your Strengths, the majority of people still focus in on their weaknesses. Why is that?
BK: Well I could talk about the gravitational pull of negative feedback, of criticism, of the weaknesses. It's almost comical to Rob and me and other consultants in our firm. Typically, when we go over the positive feedback, managers are patient and they feel pretty good about what they are hearing, but they are chomping at the bit to get onto the negative feedback. Why is that? Well they'll say, "That's something I can do something about. That's the gold that I have been looking for in the feedback." They just overlook the value of positive feedback.
KE: Unlike Marcus and many others in the leadership space, you are both committed to the idea that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Tell us what happens when a leader overdoes a particular strength.
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Karen Elmhirst is a Senior Analyst with HR.com focused on learning and leadership. She is also co-host of our weekly Thought Leader Live interviews delivered via webcast each week. For a complete listing of our Thought Leader interviews,
click here.
Karen has over a dozen years of experience as a sales and marketing executive in various industries including recruitment and training, work as a communication coach, a writer, and editor. Karen graduated with a business degree from the University of British Columbia. |
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Sponsored by
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Join us for our next live Thought Leader interview with
Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D on How Your Mindset Impacts Your Success - in Business and in Life
August 7, 2006
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET
In this live webcast you will learn:
- The two basic mindsets.
- The role that mindset plays in our success.
- Qualities of each mindset and questions to ask to determine yours.
- How executives can promote the growth mindset in themselves and others.
- Parenting and the role that mindset plays.
- Ways to change your mindset and maintain the change over time.
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This upcoming webcast is free for Premier Members of HR.com, or you can pay to see this webcast for $150 US per webcast.
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If you enjoy the Thought Leader interviews, then you will enjoy our recently published book,
Thoughts From The Top: A Collection of Interviews with Business Gurus
by HR.com Publishing
Thoughts From The Top: A Collection of Interviews with Business Gurus is an amazing anthology of higher thinkers including, David Ulrich, Kenny Moore, Marshall Goldsmith and Erin Brockovich. It's 348-pages of exclusive interviews with top experts discussing the proven strategies, the philosophies, and the best methods they have used to strengthen their organizations. Each chapter features a different expert who reveals his/her best practices to help professionals deal with the people side of business.
 Buy this book today! |
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