These examples were not bad people. They had many strengths. Unfortunately, they let shady character traits permeate their behavior and dilute their potential. They lost their right and ability to lead. And they severely damaged their companies in the process.

Three Recent Examples:

• Consider the Vice President of Global Accounts who was so worried about keeping his job that he failed to DO his job. Due to his insecurity, he promoted mediocre management in an attempt to maintain superiority. When they couldn’t perform, he lost his job.

• Consider the General Manager who became complacent and alienated his team. Soon, they did not bother to tell him about issues they faced in the marketplace. He became so out of touch he was demoted twice. Today, a former direct report is his divisional president.

• Consider the Sales Professional who lost the respect of his technical team by taking full credit for every sales victory and referring to their top accounts as “his customers.” He soon lost multi-million dollar opportunities because he couldn’t inspire the much needed team support. The company lost millions.He left in defeat.