Here is a snippet from another great article from Chris Brady:
In a recent article in Fortune Magazine (January 22, 2015 by Geoff Colvin), Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld presented a very simple model for what they as a company look for in leadership development. Klein stated:
"There is a T-shaped model. The horizontal line across the top represents qualities [we look for] related to analytics, strategic thinking, languages, some math skills, and some international experience. But I also look at depth. A person needs to have the stamina to experience, at an early point in his or her life, something very deep or challenging or frustrating—and getting through it.
And I almost don’t care what it is. If somebody said, “I spent two years in India studying Indian spiritual practices,” and then I find out how the person thinks and what the individual has learned, that for me counts as one of those deep dives.
If you want to lead anything, it doesn’t work to just have the general management skills because there are going to be one or two or three issues where you have to roll up your sleeves and get into it and don’t stop digging until you’ve found the bottom. If you don’t do that, you’re not going to earn respect."
It has been said that genius is taking the complex and boiling it down to the simple. I believe that Mr. Kleinfeld has displayed at least a touch of that quality here. For over twenty years Orrin Woodward and myself have been teaching leadership and seeking to intentionally develop people in their marches toward high achievement. We have talked about the "Science" side and the "Art" side of leadership. We have taught that there are "methods" and "principles" involved in success. We have tried to relate this nuance that there are at least two dimensions involved in all of this. I think Kleinfeld's T-shaped diagram makes a nice contribution to the concept.
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