Can You Learn from Temptation?

by Kim Taylor

According to author Patrick Lecioni, the answer is yes. 

I typically think business books written as fables are better used as door stops, and swore them off after reading “Our Iceberg is Melting.”  But, everything changed last night after reading “The Five Temptations of a CEO.”  Written as a fable—sans the cartoon penguins—the author quickly summarizes 5 temptations that can lead to CEO failure.

I won’t share all of the temptations, but one in particular stood out: 

Temptation No. 2, Choosing Popularity over Accountability.

It seems pretty basic, right?  We even have a step dedicated to accountability in our firm’s Five Steps to Professional Success; but when you drill down to what the author really means, he puts accountability in everyone’s hands … janitor all the way up to CEO. 

When we think of accountability, we usually put the onus on the person in control of the outcome, or whoever’s doing the actual work.  However, the author subtly points out that equal burden should be placed on the CEO who may not have been clear about expectations, or even worse, chose popularity or friendship over holding staff accountable. 

Whether you’re a CEO or a junior associate, leadership in some aspect is likely part of your job. So, what temptations are you trying to resist?