This book is about potentially great business leaders: often people thought to have, and indeed having, great skill, charm and determination. It is about people often initially feted to be high flyers; talented or those with potential who get noticed and promoted. Nearly all derailed leaders have an impressive CV: a history of achievement and success. But something went wrong. To rise to the top of any organization takes ability and effort: it often takes great determination and great skill. Leaders of organizations need to be courageous and bold; self-confident and socially skilled, and many other things beside. By contrast bad managers make poor decisions, can't motivate their people and fail to learn from past mistakes. They fail on the basics: finding, forming and motivating a team to fulfil worthwhile and appropriate goals which they articulate as clear targets and challenges. The author explains how and why potentially good leaders get appointed but then fail and derail, and how to spot the signs. Bad managers can break and destroy whole organizations. The author shows how potentially good leaders can become derailed and how this leads to failure
'Although leadership is the most important topic in the organizational sciences, there is no consensus in the professional literature regarding the characteristics of effective leaders. There is, however, surprising consensus regarding the characteristics of incompetent leaders, whose actions ruin companies and even countries. In this useful and engaging book, Professor Adrian Furnham summarizes what we know about this vitally important problem.' - Robert Hogan, PhD, President, Hogan Assessment Systems
'This is an enlightening book, which lifts the lid on some of the secrets of the causes of managerial failure. The elephant is there in the corner and Professor Furnham has shone a light so that the beast can be seen clearly. This is a service that was sorely needed and this very readable book will prove invaluable in understanding (and perhaps avoiding) leadership failure.' - Business Executive
'This is an enlightening book, which lifts the lid on some of the secrets of the causes of managerial failure. The elephant is there in the corner and Professor Furnham has shone a light so that the beast can be seen clearly. This is a service that was sorely needed and this very readable book will prove invaluable in understanding (and perhaps avoiding) leadership failure.' - Business Executive