Derailed fnl pass
9/8/09
11:00 AM
Page 20
RUNNING OFF THE RAILS
WHAT MESSAGES COULD YOU BE IGNORING? Just as the California engineer received (and ignored) the warning signals about the parked freight train ahead, we, too, may be the recipients of early warning signals. While colorful, bold, and even entertaining in some instances, leaders who derail misread the symptoms of their own doom. They fail to take the corrective actions needed to sustain their viability as a leader. Particularly in the early stages, signals of derailment may not be a glaring red light alerting us of trouble ahead; the warning signs are likely to be more subtle. Over time the young advertising executive simply became marginalized; his termination occurred months after the more subtle signals indicated trouble ahead. In corporate Japan, senior management sends a not-so-subtle message by assigning out-of-favor executives to the “window seat” or “window job” (mado giwa zoku).10 The new assignment requires the banished executive to sit by a window with nothing to do. Before shriveling into total irrelevance, the holder of the window job no doubt morosely ponders what could have been of their life and career. One of my U.S. clients refers to some poor performers as “Gentlemen Cs.” This disparaging term marginalizes the person as “nice” but wholly ineffective in their job. In tough economies, these “C performers” are often the first to go. Early warning signals are the topic of greater detail in a later chapter, but we should always pay attention to the following signs: • Not getting a promotion • Not getting assigned to a strategic project team 20