Bad Leaders Can Change Their Spots; Harvard Business Review, 1/24/13

Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, Harvard Business Review; Bad Leaders Can Change Their Spots: "As with Governor Sununu, the flaws most commonly tripping up our at-risk leaders were related to failures in establishing interpersonal relationships. Far less frequent were fatal flaws involved in leading change initiatives, driving for results, and — we're happy to report — character. That might explain how they'd managed to get as far as they had. But past a certain point, individual ambition and results aren't enough. As they climb higher in an organization and the ability to motivate others becomes far more important, poor interpersonal skills, indifference to other people's development, and a belief that they no longer need to improve themselves come to haunt these less effective leaders the most...The exceptionally good news, our data show, is that far more often than not, those who take these issues seriously can succeed in shedding bad habits to become markedly better leaders. New spots, anyone?"