Leadership By Numbers :: How to Identify the Soft Evidence for Impending Failure

Category Management
If your company is lurching into financial uncertainly, you'll want to read the Jim Collin's excerpt "How the Mighty Fall" in this week's Business Week. What's especially worth posting on the wall, is the trait list for the The Dynamics of Leadership-Team Behavior:

Teams on the way down: People shield those in power from unpleasant facts, fearful of penalties and criticism for shining light on the rough realities

Teams on the way up: People bring forth grim facts, "Come here and look, man, this is ugly" to be discussed; leaders never criticize those who bring forth harsh realities

Teams on the way down: People assert strong opinions without providing data, evidence, or a solid argument

Teams on the way up: People bring data, evidence, logic, and solid arguments to the discussion

Teams on the way down: The team leader has a very low questions-to-statements ratio, avoiding critical input and/or allowing sloppy reasoning and unsupported opinions

Teams on the way up: The team leader employs a Socratic style, using a high questions-to-statements ratio, challenging people, and pushing for penetrating insights

Teams on the way down: Team members acquiesce to a decision but don't unify to make the decision successful--or worse, undermine it after the fact

Teams on the way up: Team members unify behind a decision once made, then work to make the decision succeed, even if they vigorously disagreed with it

Teams on the way down: Team members seek as much credit as possible for themselves, yet do not enjoy the confidence and admiration of their peers

Teams on the way up: Each team member credits other people for success, yet enjoys the confidence and admiration of his or her peers

Teams on the way down: Team members argue to look smart or to further their own interests rather than argue to find the best answers to support the overall cause

Teams on the way up: Team members argue and debate, not to improve their personal position but to find the best answers to support the overall cause

Teams on the way down: The team conducts "autopsies with blame," seeking culprits rather than wisdom

Teams on the way up: The team conducts "autopsies without blame," mining wisdom from painful experiences

Teams on the way down: Team members often fail to deliver exceptional results and blame other people or outside factors for setbacks, mistakes, and failures

Teams on the way up: Each team member delivers exceptional results, yet in the event of a setback each accepts full responsibility and learns from mistakes