“I don’t want to be nit-picky…”, he replied

I had just asked him to tell me the areas for improvement he saw in his boss.

I was in the midst of a 360 degree review of sorts with one of the CEOs I work with.  I was interviewing each one of his executive team with 3 simple questions:

1. What are his strengths – what does he bring when he is at his best?
2. What are his areas for improvement – what would make him a better leader?
3. What is his personal brand – if someone found out you worked for him and asked “What kind of a guy is he?”, what would you say?

I find this is a great way to get a fairly honest glimpse into what the CEO is really like as a leader.  I collect the input from the executive team and present it all together so the feedback cannot be attributed to any one person.  All the feedback is presented anonymously to encourage the execs to be as honest as possible.

The CEO is not typically that interested in their perceived strengths.  Sure, it’s great to get the affirmation, but what they really want to know are their perceived ‘weaknesses’.  They want to see if the areas in which their people see they need improvement are what they already see themselves.

Everybody has ‘blind spots’, those areas we need change in that we can’t really see for ourselves.  That’s why we need others to help us see these areas – we can’t see them, we are blind to them.  That’s also why good leaders are humble, they recognize they need the input of others to be their best.

There is no way you can see your blind spots if you will not trust others to help you see them.  That takes humility.  Without humility and trust in others you truly are blind.

The leaders I have the privilege of working with are fairly high level leaders.  They are committed to their personal growth so they want to hear the input of their executives.  This also makes them quite self-aware.  In all the interviews I have had so far I have not come across any real surprises, nothing that the leaders were not already aware of.

I have discovered what I call the “Spectrum of Change”: on the far left is Massive, the middle is Moderate, on the far right is Microscopic.  Any mature leader is going to be on the Moderate to Microscopic side of the Spectrum of Change.  They will be fairly aware of the areas of improvement they need to address.  They may need moderate change in some areas and microscopic change in others.

Mature leaders will very rarely need Massive change.  And by ‘mature’ I mean leaders who have led well for many years; leaders who have given themselves for the betterment of their people; leaders who are humble enough to learn from others, and have invested in themselves to learn and grow to be the best leader they can be.  These ‘mature’ leaders often simply need Microscopic change.

Microscopic change is the kind of change that is difficult to see.  It’s fine tuning.  It’s measuring with a micrometer instead of a measuring tape.  It’s these microscopic changes that create leadership excellence.  Good leaders understand that excellence is a habit developed by holding themselves to a high standard in the small things – in the Microscopic details.

Good leaders have the humility to give themselves to the entire Spectrum of Change.  Over the course of many years of leadership they have initially addressed the Massive changes, then the Moderate, then the Microscopic.  Poor leaders don’t have the humility to address the Massive changes, let-alone the Moderate and Microscopic.

Great leaders don’t see small adjustments to their leadership as ‘nit-picking’ – they see it as Microscopic adjustments in leadership excellence.  They have done the heavy lifting to address the Massive and Moderate changes, and continue to grow through the input of others by making Microscopic changes.

Good leaders are committed to the Spectrum of Change, because they are on a journey into leadership excellence.

Where are you on the Spectrum of Change?