Summary: Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman answer the following questions in this episode: Is there such a thing as a perfect leader—regardless of situation? Or are there leaders better suited for certain jobs and industries over others? I work in the technology industry and would like to know if a specific type of leader would be better suited to my industry than another. What would you say to a person whose influence & respect within an organization is such that they could be a very good leader but does not have aspirations or desire to be a leader? Has leadership changed with the passing of time? Are leaders different today than say, 50 years ago? 25 years? 10 years? How can I use incentive programs & packages to help create a culture where going the extra mile and reaching for lofty goals is the norm? The culture where I work is specifically catered to certain types of leaders, and the only leaders who last are the ones that fit our organization’s “mold.” I don’t feel like I fit into that “mold” very well, but I don’t think I’m a bad leader…I just lead in a different way than my org. would like. What can I do to either change the way I lead (which I don’t want to do because it’s unnatural to me) or to get my company to respect the kind of leader that I am? In an organization rooted in “Tradition” and “This is the way it is,” how do I get people excited to jump on the ‘change’ bandwagon? I’ve been at my company for 6 years now and I have a lot of responsibility, but I’d like to move from my department to another area that interests me more. Any tips on how to approach a situation like that? You guys mention that we should work on our strengths, and for the most part I agree. But what about a situation where I am passionate about something and love doing it but am not necessarily good at doing it? In other words, it’s not a strength for me but it’s something that I’d like to develop and spend time at. Would I benefit more by focusing on something that I’m good at, or should I work on a passion that I’m not very competent in? We’d love for you to experience our award-winning leadership workshops in a city near you. We also invite you to join us for our monthly webinars. To learn more, visit zengerfolkman.com/events. To listen to past podcast episodes and view the notes for this episode, visit zengerfolkman.com/podcast. There you can also enter our monthly book contest.
