Why CEO's Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top and How to Manage Them

Take a walk on the dark side of leadership with executive coaches David Dotlich and Peter Cairo. Why CEOs Failsucceeds in tracking the downfall of careers and companies by defining eleven "derailers"--the deeply ingrained personality traits that shape leadership behavior. Among them: melodrama, aloofness, volatility, perfectionism, eccentricity and eagerness to please.

The authors alternate high profile cases (the arrogance of Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, the melodrama of Vivendi Universals’ Jean-Marie Messier, Rick Thoman’s aloofness at Xerox) with compelling case examples from their coaching practice. Each chapter is a gem, illuminating one derailer in concrete and nuanced terms with red warning flags and strategies for damage control. One exceptional chapter explores "mischievousness" in rule breaking leaders including Bill Clinton and Mattel’s Barbie Maven, Jill Barad.

Derailing behaviors can’t be eliminated, the authors warn, because they are the shadow of our strengths. Consider, for example, how charisma can cross the line to melodrama or how decisiveness becomes arrogance. CEOs and leaders-in-waiting must map the stress that triggers derailers and engage in unflinching self-reflection by asking, "What would my worst critics say about my behavior?" Because they counsel leaders to ask these tough and essential questions, Dotlich and Cairo suggest that we approach our leadership failures as research. It’s a brilliant idea. --Barbara Mackoff