Lead with Your Strengths...

But learn to use both hands...

ONE OF A KIND

Greg (A.) Harris enjoyed a 14-year baseball career in the major leagues playing for 9 different teams beginning with the New York Mets in 1981 and throwing his last pitch in a Montreal Expo uniform. To date, there is no other major league pitcher on record who was a 'switch pitcher.' For the uninitiated, that means he could throw a baseball with either arm just about as effectively with either.

Game rules during his stint didn't allow for him to utilize this unique skill but as he was closing out his final season with the Expo's, he was allowed to do so. On September 28, 1995 and in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds Harris retired Reggie Sanders pitching right-handed, then switched to his left hand for the next two hitters, Hall Morris and Ed Taubensee, who both batted lefty. Harris walked Morris but got Taubensee to ground out. He then went back to his right hand to retire Bret Boone to end the inning.

As spectacular a feat this is, my guess is that you have forgotten of or had never heard of Greg Allen Harris. Beyond that, it may matter little to you that he had this unusual athletic ability. (For the record, Pat Vindette, a kid from Omaha is now playing in the minor leagues that can 'switch-throw' with either arm at 90 mph.)

 

Pat Vindette

Had Harris even been allowed to 'switch-throw' during games while in the league, my guess is that he would still naturally favor his stronger right arm. Opponents eventually would figure out how to deal with the 'switch-pitching.'

USE WHAT WORKS

Business leaders also tend to "throw' with their strong arm or manage to their perceived and or recognized strengths. While that may seem the natural thing to do, a bigger problem is that most leaders rely on that strength far too often. Staying with the baseball analogy, it could be likened to a pitcher who has a great fastball or 'slider' but little else. Simply put, a pitcher with a versatile array of pitches outlasts and outsmarts his opponents more often than not.

Robert Kaplan and Robert Kaiser, in their recent release, Fear Your Strengths, do a masterful job of helping leaders understand what a lack of management versatility can mean and the impact it can have on organizations.

"Strategically oriented leaders are lauded for their aggressiveness and vision, but often criticized for not being sufficiently grounded in reality. Operationally oriented leaders are admired for their focus and their ability to systematically drive the organization toward its goals, but they are frequently faulted for having tunnel vision and a lack of strategic boldness. Although it may seem that that these are inherently different and mutually exclusive kinds of leaders, they are in truth prime examples of lopsided leadership. They are leaders who overuse one set of strengths at the expense of under-using others."[1]

Most leaders will resist the notion that their approach to leading and management is, well, lopsided. As a result of depending solely on their strengths, they, more often than not, approach the thorniest of challenges with the same mind and skill-set.  They tend to 'over power' the opponent, challenge or issue in a way that is satisfactory in the short run but detrimental to the long-term objectives of the company.

Kaplan and Kaiser found that there is a distinct difference in results between companies whose leaders lack versatility and those whose leaders have developed a diversified 'portfolio' of skills with which they effectively lead.

"Versatility defined as striking a balance on both the forceful-enabling and strategic-operational dimensions accounts for about half of what separates the most effective leaders from the least effective leaders."[2]

LEADERSHIP PERFECTION DOESN'T EXIST

Kaplan and Kaiser have compiled a database of executives that numbers close to 7,000 and they admit there are few leaders among them that have developed a complete repertoire of operational, strategic and visionary skills. Understandably, those that rise closer to the top of the list have long-lasting success that wears well over time.

As they see it, there are three primary steps that leaders in pursuit of versatile excellence must take.

1.)           Accept Yourself

                "You must unflinchingly reconcile yourself to the reality of who you are and how you lead."[3]

2.)           Test Yourself

                "The stimulus of new experience outside your comfort zone can slowly but surely redefine and shore up the structure of your self."[4]

3.)           Offset Yourself

                " There is great good in working on yourself. In addition to the practical benefits, it’s a way of retaining your youthful energy. The moment you stop growing is the moment you grow old."[5]

When I first came across Fear Your Strengths, it was the following line that convinced me of the need to discuss this thought process at all;

“A whiff of brutal clarity, if it’s based on reality, is an essential component of leadership.”[6]

There's no time like the present. Get going!

Jim Naleid is a Life-long Entrepreneur, Change-Agent and Thought Leader, Managing Director of Naleid & Associates and Regional TEC (“The Executive Committee”) Chair leading a group of executives to become Better Leaders, Making Better Decisions with Better Results. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimnaleid

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[1] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B. (2013-04-01). Fear Your Strengths (BK Business) (pp. 27-28). Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

[2] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B.; Fear Your Strengths (p. 35).

[3] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B.; Fear Your Strengths (p. 86).

[4] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B.; Fear Your Strengths (p. 89).

[5] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B.; Fear Your Strengths (p. 92).  

[6] Kaplan, Robert E.; Kaiser, Robert B.; Fear Your Strengths (p. 25).