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Making Yourself Indispensable If you want to get to the top, develop skills that complement what you already do best. by John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, and Scott K. Edinger

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Spotlight ARTWORK Vincent Fournier, Space Project: MDRS #04, Mars Society, 2008, U.S.A. SPOTLIGHT ON TALENT

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John H. Zenger is the CEO, Joseph R. Folkman is the president, and Scott K. Edinger is the executive vice president of Zenger Folkman, a leadership development consultancy. They are the authors of The Inspiring Leader (McGraw- Hill, 2009).

Making Yourself Indispensable If you want to get to the top, develop skills that complement what you already do best. by John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, and Scott K. Edinger

A MANAGER WE’LL call Tom was a midlevel sales ex- ecutive at a Fortune 500 company. After a dozen or so years there, he was thriving—he made his num- bers, he was well liked, he got consistently positive reviews. He applied for a promotion that would put him in charge of a high-pro!le worldwide product- alignment initiative, con!dent that he was the top candidate and that this was the logical next move for him, a seemingly perfect !t for his skills and am- bitions. His track record was solid. He’d made no stupid mistakes or career-limiting moves, and he’d had no run-ins with upper management. He was stunned, then, when a colleague with less experi- ence got the job. What was the matter?

As far as Tom could tell, nothing. Everyone was happy with his work, his manager assured him, and a recent 360-degree assessment con!rmed her view. Tom was at or above the norm in every area, strong

not only in delivering results but also in problem solving, strategic thinking, and inspiring others to top performance. “No need to reinvent yourself,” she said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Go with your strengths.”

But how? Tom was at a loss. Should he think more strategically? Become even more inspiring? Practice problem solving more intently?

It’s pretty easy and straightforward to improve on a weakness; you can get steady, measurable re- sults through linear development—that is, by learn- ing and practicing basic techniques. But the data from our decades of work with tens of thousands of executives all over the world has shown us that developing strengths is very di"erent. Doing more of what you already do well yields only incremen- tal improvement. To get appreciably better at it, you have to work on complementary skills—what

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we call nonlinear development. This has long been familiar to athletes as cross-training. A novice run- ner, for example, benefits from doing stretching exercises and running a few times a week, gradu- ally increasing mileage to build up endurance and muscle memory. But an experienced marathoner won’t get signi!cantly faster merely by running ever longer distances. To reach the next level, he needs to supplement that regimen by building up comple- mentary skills through weight training, swimming, bicycling, interval training, yoga, and the like.

So it is with leadership competencies. To move from good to much better, you need to engage in the business equivalent of cross-training. If you’re tech- nically adept, for instance, delving even more deeply into technical manuals won’t get you nearly as far as honing a complementary skill such as communica- tion, which will make your expertise more apparent and accessible to your coworkers.

In this article we provide a simple guide to be- coming a far more e"ective leader. We will see how Tom identi!ed his strengths, decided which one to focus on and which complementary skill to develop, and what the results were. The process is straightfor- ward, but complements are not always obvious. So !rst we’ll take a closer look at the leadership equiva- lent of cross-training.

The Interaction E!ect In cross-training, the combination of two activities produces an improvement—an interaction effect— substantially greater than either one can produce on its own. There’s nothing mysterious here. Combin- ing diet with exercise, for example, has long been known to be substantially more e"ective in losing weight than either diet or exercise alone.

In our previous research we found 16 di"erentiat- ing leadership competencies that correlate strongly with positive business outcomes such as increased pro!tability, employee engagement, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Among those 16, we won- dered, could we !nd pairs that would produce sig- ni!cant interaction e"ects?

We searched through our database of more than a quarter million 360-degree surveys of some 30,000 developing leaders for pairings that resulted in far higher scores on overall leadership effectiveness than either attribute did on its own. The results were unambiguous. Take, for example, the competencies

“focuses on results” and “builds relationships.” Only 14% of leaders who were reasonably strong (that is,

scored in the 75th percentile) in focusing on results but less so in building relationships reached the ex- traordinary leadership level: the 90th percentile in overall leadership e"ectiveness. Similarly, only 12% of those who were reasonably strong in building re- lationships but less so in focusing on results reached that level. But when an individual performed well in both categories, something dramatic happened: Fully 72% of those in the 75th percentile in both cat- egories reached the 90th percentile in overall leader- ship e"ectiveness.

We measured the degree of correlation between overall leadership e"ectiveness and all possible pair- ings of our 16 di"erentiating competencies to learn which pairings were the most powerful. We also matched our 16 competencies with other leadership skills and measured how those pairs correlated with overall leadership e"ectiveness. We discovered that each of the 16 has up to a dozen associated behav- iors—which we call competency companions—that were highly correlated with leadership excellence when combined with the differentiating compe- tency. (For a complete list of the competencies and their companions, see the exhibit “What Skills Will Magnify My Strengths?”)

Consider the main competency “displays hon- esty and integrity.” How would a leader go about improving a relative strength in this area? By being more honest? (We’ve heard that answer to the ques- tion many times.) That’s not particularly useful ad- vice. If an executive were weak in this area, we could recommend various ways to improve: Behave more consistently, avoid saying one thing and doing an- other, follow through on stated commitments, and so on. But a leader with high integrity is most likely already doing those things.

Our competency-companion research suggests a practical path forward. For example, assertiveness is among the behaviors that when paired with honesty and integrity correlate most strongly with high levels of overall leadership e"ectiveness. We don’t mean to imply a causal relationship here: Assertiveness doesn’t make someone honest, and integrity doesn’t produce assertiveness. But if a highly principled leader learned to become more assertive, he might be more likely to speak up and act with the courage of his convictions, thus applying his strength more widely or frequently to become a more e"ective leader.

Our data suggest other ways in which a compe- tency companion can reinforce a leadership strength. It might make the strength more apparent, as in the

Before you can build on your strengths, you need an objective view of what they are. Ideally, this comes from a formal, confidential 360-degree evaluation. But if that’s not possible, a direct approach can work. Try simply asking your team members, colleagues, and boss these simple ques- tions, either in person or in writing.

WHAT LEADERSHIP SKILLS do you think are strengths for me?

IS THERE ANYTHING I DO THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A FATAL FLAW—that could derail my career or lead me to fail in my current job if it’s not addressed?

WHAT LEADERSHIP ABILITY, IF OUTSTANDING, WOULD HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT on the productivity or e+ec- tiveness of the organization?

WHAT LEADERSHIP ABILITIES OF MINE have the most significant impact on you?

Do your best to exhibit re- ceptiveness and to create a feeling of safety (especially for direct reports). Make it clear that you’re seeking self-improvement. Tell your colleagues explicitly that you are open to negative feedback and that you will absorb it professionally and appropriately—and without retribution. Of course, you need to follow through on this promise, or the entire process will fail.

An Informal 360

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case of the technically strong leader who improves her ability to communicate. Or skills learned in de- veloping the competency companion might be pro!tably applied to the main competency. A leader strong in innovativeness, for instance, might learn how to champion change, thus encouraging his team to achieve results in new and more creative ways.

Building Strengths, Step by Step As a practical matter, cross-training for leadership skills is clear-cut: (1) Identify your strengths. (2) Choose a strength to focus on according to its impor- tance to the organization and how passionately you feel about it. (3) Select a complementary behavior you’d like to enhance. (4) Develop it in a linear way.

Identify your strengths. Strengths can argu- ably be identi!ed in a variety of ways. But we con- tend that in the context of e"ective leadership, your view of your own (or even some perfectly objective view, supposing one could be had) is less important than other people’s, because leadership is all about your effect on others. That’s why we start with a 360—as Tom did.

Ideally, you should go about this in a psycho- metrically valid way, through a formal process in which you and your direct reports, peers, and bosses anonymously complete questionnaires ranking your leadership attributes on a quantitative scale. You and they should also answer some qualitative, open- ended questions concerning your strengths, your fatal flaws (if any), and the relative importance of those attributes to the company. By “fatal #aws,” we mean #aws so critical that they can overpower any strengths you have or may develop—#aws that can derail your career.

Not every organization is able or willing to con- duct 360s for everyone. So if that’s not feasible, you may be able to solicit qualitative data from your col- leagues if—and this is a big caveat—you can make them feel comfortable enough to be honest in their

feedback. You could create your own feedback form and ask people to return it anonymously. (See the sidebar “An Informal 360” for a suggested set of questions.) We have also seen earnest one-on-one conversations work for this purpose; if nothing else, they show your coworkers that you are genuinely interested in self-improvement. (Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that anyone will tell you directly if you have fatal #aws.)

In interpreting the results, people commonly fo- cus !rst on their lowest scores. But unless those are extremely low (in the 10th percentile), that’s a mis- take. (We have found that 20% of executives do typi- cally discover such a critical problem in their 360s; if you’re among them, you must !x the #aw, which you can do in a linear way.)

What makes leaders indispensable to their orga- nizations, our data unmistakably show, is not being good at many things but being uniquely outstanding at a few things. Such strengths allow a leader’s inevi- table weaknesses to be overlooked. The executives in our database who exhibited no profound (that is, in the 90th percentile) strengths scored only in the 34th percentile, on average, in overall leadership e"ectiveness. But if they had just one outstanding strength, their overall leadership e"ectiveness score rose to the 64th percentile, on average. In other words, the di"erence between being in the bottom third of leaders and being almost in the top third is a single extraordinary strength. Two profound strengths put leaders close to the top quartile, three put them in the top quintile, and four put them nearly in the top decile. (See the exhibit “What Dif- ference Can a Single Strength Make?”)

In this context, a look at Tom’s 360 results sheds light on the question of why he was passed over for a plum assignment. Tom had no critical #aws, but he hadn’t yet demonstrated any outstanding strengths either. With no strengths above the 70th percentile, he didn’t score “good,” let alone “outstanding,” in

Idea in Brief Good leaders can become exceptional by developing just a few of their strengths to the highest level—but not by merely doing more of the same.

Instead, they need to engage in the business equivalent of cross-training—that is, to enhance complementary skills that will enable them to make fuller use of their strengths.

For example, technical skills can become more e+ective when communication skills improve, making a leader’s expertise more apparent and more accessible.

Once a few of their strengths have reached the level of outstanding, leaders become indispensable to their organiza- tions despite the weaknesses they may have.

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN A SINGLE STRENGTH MAKE? Raising just one com- petency to the level of outstanding can up your overall leadership e+ec- tiveness ranking from the bottom third to almost the top third.

PERCENTILE RANKING

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LEADERS WITH NO OUTSTANDING STRENGTHS

#" LEADERS WITH ONE

$% ...TWO

&' ...THREE

&( ...FOUR

(' ...FIVE

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overall leadership ability. Anyone in the organization with a single notable strength was likely to outpace him for promotion opportunities. But if Tom could lift just a few of his relative strengths from the 70th to the 80th and then the 90th percentile, his overall leadership e"ectiveness might go from above aver- age to good to exceptional. Clearly, those strengths merited a closer examination.

Like many people, though, Tom was initially gal- vanized by the low bars on his chart, which evoked a mixture of guilt and denial. His relatively low score on building relationships called up uncomfortable memories of high school—something he didn’t men- tion as he looked over the results with his boss. But he did say that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t scored higher on innovativeness, and he started to tick o" initiatives he felt he deserved credit for. Maybe he

was innovative, and maybe he wasn’t. It’s common for your self-assessment to vary sharply from every- one else’s assessment of you. But remember that it’s others’ opinions that matter.

When Tom did turn his attention to his strengths, he wasn’t surprised to see that he scored well in fo- cusing on results and in solving problems and ana- lyzing issues. Less obvious to him, and perhaps more gratifying, were his relatively high marks in develop- ing strategic perspective and inspiring and motivat- ing others. Now he could move on to the next step.

Choose a strength to focus on. Choices be- tween good and bad are easy. But choices between good and good cause us to deliberate and second- guess. It may not matter which competency Tom selected, since enhancing any one of them would markedly improve his leadership e"ectiveness. Nev-

What Skills Will Magnify My Strengths?

ABOVE!Our research shows that 16 leader- ship competencies correlate strongly with positive busi- ness outcomes. Each of them has up to a dozen “competency companions” whose development will strengthen the core skill.

DISPLAYS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

Shows concern and consideration for others Is trustworthy Demonstrates optimism Is assertive Inspires and motivates others Deals well with ambiguity Is decisive Focuses on results

EXHIBITS TECHNICAL" PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE

Solves problems and analyzes issues Builds relationships and networks Communicates powerfully and broadly Pursues excellence Takes initiative Develops others Displays honesty and integrity Acts in the team’s best interest

INNOVATES

Is willing to take risks and challenge the status quo Supports others in risk taking Solves problems and analyzes issues Champions change Learns quickly from success and failure Develops strategic perspective Takes initiative

Inspires and motivates others Is willing to take risks and challenge the status quo Gains the support of others Develops strategic perspective Champions change Is decisive Has technical and business expertise Focuses on results

SOLVES PROBLEMS AND ANALYZES ISSUES

Takes initiative Is organized and good at planning Is decisive Innovates Wants to tackle challenges Develops strategic perspective Acts independently Has technical expertise Communicates powerfully and broadly

PRACTICES SELF# DEVELOPMENT

Listens Is open to others’ ideas Respects others Displays honesty and integrity Inspires and motivates others Provides e+ective feedback and development Takes initiative Is willing to take risks and challenge the status quo

TAKES INITIATIVE

Anticipates problems Emphasizes speed Is organized and good at planning Champions others Deals well with ambiguity Follows through Inspires and motivates others Establishes stretch goals Displays honesty and integrity

FOCUSES ON RESULTS

Is organized and good at planning Displays honesty and integrity Anticipates problems Sees desired results clearly Provides e+ective feedback and development Establishes stretch goals Is personally accountable Is quick to act Provides rewards and recognition Creates a high-performance team Marshals adequate resources Innovates

CHARACTER PERSONAL CAPABILITY GETTING RESULTS

ESTABLISHES STRETCH GOALS

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ertheless, we recommend that developing leaders focus on a competency that matters to the organi- zation and about which they feel some passion, be- cause a strength you feel passionate about that is not important to your organization is essentially a hobby, and a strength the organization needs that you don’t feel passionate about is just a chore.

You can use your colleagues’ importance ratings from the 360 assessment to get a somewhat objec- tive view of organizational needs. But the prospect of following his passions alarmed Tom, who didn’t know how to begin. Answering a series of questions made the notion more concrete. For each of the 16 competencies, he ran down the following list:

Do I look for ways to enhance this skill? Do I look for new ways to use it? Am I energized, not exhausted, when I use it?

Do I pursue projects in which I can apply this strength?

Can I imagine devoting time to improving it? Would I enjoy getting better at this skill?

Counting his “yes” answers gave Tom a solid way to quantify his passions. A simple worksheet showed him how his skills, his passions, and the or- ganization’s needs dovetailed (see the exhibit “Nar- rowing Down the Options”). When Tom checked o" his top !ve competencies, his !ve passions, and the organization’s top priorities, he could see a clear con- vergence. He decided to focus on the strength that, as it happens, we have found to be most universally associated with extraordinary leadership: “inspires and motivates others.”

Select a complementary behavior. People who excel at motivating others are good at persuad-

COMMUNICATES POWERFULLY AND BROADLY

Inspires and motivates others Develops strategic perspective Establishes stretch goals Deals e+ectively with the outside world Is trustworthy Involves others Translates messages for clarity Solves problems and analyzes issues Takes initiative Innovates Develops others

INSPIRES AND MOTIVATES OTHERS

Connects emotionally with others Establishes stretch goals Exhibits clear vision and direction Communicates powerfully and broadly Develops others Collaborates and fosters teamwork Nurtures innovation Takes initiative Champions change Is a strong role model

DEVELOPS OTHERS

Practices self-development Shows concern and consider- ation for others Is motivated by the success of others Practices inclusion and values diversity Develops strategic perspective Provides e+ective feedback and development Inspires and motivates others Innovates Provides rewards and recognition Displays honesty and integrity

CHAMPIONS CHANGE

Inspires and motivates others Builds relationships and networks Develops others Provides rewards and recognition Practices inclusion and values diversity Innovates Focuses on results Is willing to take risks and challenge the status quo Develops strategic perspective

BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS

Collaborates and fosters teamwork Displays honesty and integrity Develops others Listens Communicates powerfully and broadly Provides rewards and recognition Practices inclusion and values diversity Demonstrates optimism Practices self-development

COLLABORATES AND FOSTERS TEAMWORK

Is trustworthy Builds relationships and networks Practices inclusion and values diversity Develops strategic perspective Establishes stretch goals Communicates powerfully and broadly Displays honesty and integrity Adapts to change Inspires and motivates others Develops others

DEVELOPS STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE

Focuses on customers Innovates Solves problems and analyzes issues Communicates powerfully and broadly Establishes stretch goals Demonstrates business acumen Champions change Inspires and motivates others

CONNECTS THE GROUP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Develops broad perspective Develops strategic perspective Inspires and motivates others Has strong interpersonal skills Takes initiative Gathers and assimilates information Champions change Communicates powerfully and broadly

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS LEADING CHANGE

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Develop it in a linear way. Having settled on a competency companion, Tom could now work at directly improving his basic skills in that area. Strong communicators speak concisely and deliver effec- tive presentations. Their instructions are clear. They write well. They can explain new concepts clearly. They help people understand how their work con- tributes to broader business objectives. They can translate terms used by people in different func- tions. Tom saw lots of room for improvement here: No one would ever call him concise; he didn’t always !nish sentences he’d started; and he found writing a challenge.

We would have recommended that he look for as many opportunities as possible, both inside and out- side work, to improve his communication. He could take a course in business writing. He could practice with friends and family, in his church or his commu- nity. He could volunteer to make presentations to se- nior management or ask colleagues to critique some of his memos and e-mails. He might volunteer to help high school students write college application essays. He could videotape himself making speeches or join a local Toastmasters club.

Tom decided to seek the advice of a colleague whose communication skills he admired. The col- league suggested (among other things) that because writing was not a strong point, Tom should practice communicating more in person or over the phone. This turned out to be challenging: Tom found that before he could even begin, he had to change his approach to e-mail, because he was in the habit of constantly checking and replying to it throughout the day. He couldn’t always substitute the phone, be- cause he couldn’t make calls while he was in a meet- ing or talking to someone else. He started to set aside speci!c times of the day for e-mail so that he could reply by phone or in person—a small change that had unexpected consequences. Instead of being inter- rupted and distracted at random moments through- out the day (and evening), his sta"ers had concen- trated, direct interactions with him. They found these more e$cient and e"ective, even though they could no longer choose when (or whether) to reply to Tom’s cryptic e-mails. Tom found that he connected better with people he talked to, both because his at- tention wasn’t divided between them and his Black- Berry and because he could read their tone of voice and body language. As a result, he absorbed more information, and his colleagues felt he was more at- tentive to their views.

Narrowing Down the Options The strength you focus on should be both important to the organization and important to you. A simple worksheet (like Tom’s, below) can help you see where your strengths and interests and the needs of your organization converge. Choose five competen- cies in each of the three categories.

ing them to take action and to go the extra mile. They e"ectively exercise power to in#uence key decisions for the bene!t of the organization. They know how to motivate di"erent people in di"erent ways. So it was not surprising that Tom already did those things pretty well. He scanned the list of competency companions:

Connects emotionally with others Establishes stretch goals Exhibits clear vision and direction Communicates powerfully and broadly Develops others Collaborates and fosters teamwork Nurtures innovation Takes initiative Champions change Is a strong role model

You should choose a companion behavior that, like a good strength, is important to the organiza- tion and makes you feel enthusiastic about tackling it. But at this point it’s also constructive to consider your lower scores. In talking these points over with his manager, Tom decided to work on his commu- nication skills, which didn’t score particularly high but were high enough that raising them a little could make a signi!cant di"erence.

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$. DISPLAYS HONESTY AND INTEGRITY

%. EXHIBITS TECHNICAL"PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE X $

&. SOLVES PROBLEMS AND ANALYZES ISSUES X $

'. INNOVATES X X %

(. PRACTICES SELF#DEVELOPMENT

). FOCUSES ON RESULTS X $

*. ESTABLISHES STRETCH GOALS

+. TAKES INITIATIVE X $

,. COMMUNICATES POWERFULLY AND BROADLY X $

$-. INSPIRES AND MOTIVATES OTHERS X X X &

$$. BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS X $

$%. DEVELOPS OTHERS X $

$&. COLLABORATES AND FOSTERS TEAMWORK X $

$'. DEVELOPS STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE X X %

$(. CHAMPIONS CHANGE

$). CONNECTS THE GROUP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD

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Tom also started to pay more attention not just to how he was communicating but to what he was say- ing. His colleague suggested that Tom start to keep track of how often he issued instructions versus how often he asked questions. Tom also took note of how much of what he said was criticism (constructive or otherwise) and how much was encouragement. Increasing the proportion of questions and encour- agement had an immediate e"ect: His team began to understand him more quickly, so he didn’t have to repeat himself as often. Several team members actu- ally thanked him for allowing them to express their points of view.

Like Tom, you should expect to see some con- crete evidence of improvement within 30 to 60 days. If you don’t, what you’re doing is not working. That said, complementary behaviors improve steadily with practice, and Tom’s progress is typical: Fifteen months later, on taking another 360, he found he’d moved into the 82nd percentile in his ability to in- spire. He wasn’t extraordinary yet, but he was getting close. Our advice would be to keep at it—to improve another competency companion or two until he reaches the 90th percentile and becomes truly excep- tional at inspiring others. Then he can start the entire process again with another strength and its comple- ments, and another—at which point he will be mak- ing a uniquely valuable contribution to his company.

Can You Overdo It? Everyone knows someone who is too assertive, too technically oriented, too focused on driving for re- sults. Many people cite examples like these to argue against the wisdom of improving your leadership e"ectiveness by strengthening your strengths. Our research does in fact show a point where balance be- comes important. The data suggest that the di"er- ence between having four profound strengths and having !ve is a gain of merely 2 percentage points in overall leadership e"ectiveness. Thus leaders who are already exceptional should consider one more variable.

You will note in the exhibit “What Skills Will Mag- nify My Strengths?” that the 16 di"erentiating com- petencies fall into !ve broader categories: character, personal capability, getting results, interpersonal skills, and leading change. People who have many strengths should consider how they are distributed across those categories and focus improvement ef- forts on an underrepresented one.

But we cannot think of a less constructive ap- proach to improving your leadership e"ectiveness than treating your strengths as weaknesses. Have you ever known anyone who had too much integ- rity? Was too effective a communicator? Was just too inspiring? Developing competency companions works precisely because, rather than simply doing more of the same, you are enhancing how you al- ready behave with new ways of working and inter- acting that will make that behavior more e"ective.

FOCUSING ON your strengths is hardly a new idea. Forty-four years ago Peter Drucker made the busi- ness case eloquently in The E!ective Executive: “Un- less…an executive looks for strength and works at making strength productive, he will only get the im- pact of what a man cannot do, of his lacks, his weak- nesses, his impediments to performance and e"ec- tiveness. To sta" from what there is not and to focus on weakness is wasteful—a misuse, if not abuse, of the human resource.” Since then a body of work has grown up supporting and advocating for Drucker’s approach. Our own research shows how big a di"er- ence developing a few strengths can make. It is dis- tressing to !nd that fewer than 10% of the executives we work with have any plan to do so.

We are convinced that the problem is less a mat- ter of conviction than of execution. Executives need a path to enhancing their strengths that is as clear as the one to !xing their weaknesses. That is the great- est value, we believe, of the cross-training approach: It allows people to use the linear improvement tech- niques they know and understand to produce a non- linear result.

Often executives complain to us that there are not enough good leaders in their organizations. We would argue that in fact far too many leaders are merely good. The challenge is not to replace bad leaders with good ones; it is to turn people like Tom—hardworking, capable executives who are rea- sonably good at their jobs—into outstanding leaders with distinctive strengths.

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Executives need a path to enhancing their strengths that is as clear as the one to fixing their weaknesses.

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