Risk & Business Magazine Benson Kearley Risk & Business Magazine Summer | Page 19

BAD HABITS OF SMART LEADERS
that his colleagues were not the unusual
ones – he was! I pointed out that no one in
the room but him had an IQ of 170. They
were good people, who worked hard, they
were smart people. They were just not
quite as smart as he was. Almost nobody
in the world was quite as smart as he was.
Joe needed to learn to work with normal
human beings. I also added that, unless he
changed, no one who was as smart as he
was would ever want to work for him.
THE FOUR HABITS
1. PROVING HOW SMART WE ARE
2. PROVING HOW RIGHT WE ARE
3. I ALREADY KNOW THAT
4. WHY CAN’T THEY BE ME?
‘Super-smart’ people can often make
connections and see patterns that are not
obvious to normal people – or even ‘smart’
people. It can be challenging for any of
us to accept that what may seem obvious
to us may be a complete mystery to the
people around us. In many cases, the
smarter we are, the more difficult this may
be to understand.
A FINAL THOUGHT
Great leaders help others to succeed.
One of the greatest leaders I have ever met
taught me a wonderful lesson: “For the
great individual achiever, it is all about me.
For the great leader, it is all about them.”
It can be incredibly difficult to make
the transition from ‘it is all about me –
proving I am smart, proving I am right,
knowing all of the answers’ to it is all
about them – ‘proving they are right and
being proud of them having the answers’.
There can be a huge difference between
intelligence and wisdom. While smart
leaders may spend their time proving how
clever they are, wise leaders spend their
time helping other people be the
heroes. +
Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 35 books, which have sold over two million copies, been translated into 30
languages and become best-sellers in 12 countries. His two other New York Times bestsellers are MOJO and What
Got You Here Won’t Get You There - the Harold Longman Award winner for Business Book of the Year. In February
2016, Amazon.com recognized the ‘100 Best Leadership & Success Books’ in their To Read in Your Lifetime series.
The list included classics and newer books - management and self-help books. Both Triggers and What Got You
Here Won’t Get You There were recognized as being in the top 100 books ever written in their field. Marshall is only
one of two authors with two books on the list.
Dr. Goldsmith’s Ph.D. is from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management where he was the Distinguished Alumnus of
the Year. He teaches executive education at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He is one of a select few executive
advisors who has worked with over 150 major CEOs and their management teams. He served on the board of the
Peter Drucker Foundation for ten years. He has been a volunteer teacher for US Army Generals, Navy Admirals, Girl
Scout executives, International and American Red Cross leaders – where he was a National Volunteer of the Year.
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