I was over at Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership Blog yesterday where he does a weekly overview of some of the top business blog articles. Wally pointed to the Great Leadership Blog, and the article Would Your Peers Vote For You? As is often the case when I read insightful articles, it struck a cord with me. Simply because it was so relevant to the Silent Problem phenomenon I present in my book Without Warning. The reason being, the individuals closest to a silent problem or a potential silent problem are in the best position to avoid, identify and solve them. Here’s what the crux of the article pointed out.
A few years ago, I attended an executive development program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School called Leadership for Extraordinary Performance. We were all required to do a 360 assessment as a part of the program, using the Leadership Practices Inventory. As we reviewed the results in class, the instructors, Jack and Carol Weber, told us about a piece of research they did. Having conducted hundreds of these programs using the LPI, they decided to do a study to see which rater group – manager, direct reports, or peers – were the most significant predictors of promotability. They tracked down program graduates to see who had been promoted, and compared their 360 scores to those that had not been. The results were surprising them; but by now you’ve probably guessed the answer – it was peers! That was a wake-up call for me, and changed the way I work with my peers and how I think about leadership development.
It’s a blinding case of the obvious, yet one we too often forget about. It also points out why some of the best leaders are also most in tune with their employees, not just senior management. Peer observation is a powerful business tool. For instance in my book, I state, “It’s the individuals who are closest to the problem who can see ir for what it’s worth.”
Use and leverage the peer observation tool. It will provide great insight and rewards.
Rodney -
Thanks for the mention!
Thanks for the mention. I chose that post for the same reason you did. It introduces us to some interesting research, and Dan adds some great commentary to boot.