Mighty Tools

Chapter 7: Tolerating Dysfunctional Leaders

Mighty Tools Chapter 7 Assessment

Step 1 of 2

Tolerating Dysfunctional Leaders was identified as one of seven growth killers targeting midsized firms in Robert Sher’s book, Mighty Midsized Companies: How Leaders Overcome 7 Silent Growth Killers (Bibliomotion, September 16, 2014).

Chapter 7 describes the silent growth killer and examines the problems of midsized firms that dysfunctional leadership teams precipitate. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Growing a midsized company requires strong leadership across the board. Is your leadership team up to the task?

What follows is an assessment rubric that works effectively for most types of growing midsized firms.

All the leaders on my team are the ideal people who are capable of and will significantly help pull the company to the next level.*
I would hire every member of your leadership team now, if they weren’t already on board.*
Your team has undergone 360 degree evaluations at your firm in the past 18 months, and generally scored very highly.*
The vast majority of the team has had other employment at larger or more advanced firms. In other words, they have all traveled the road ahead for your firm, at a prior job.*
Draw the organizational chart of the future (boxes with no names). You are eager to place all your current leaders in that org chart—given the size the firm will be in a few years.*
If we have a great high performer who is also hard to deal with (or a pain in the neck), we will bend over backwards to keep him/her on board.*