John Zenger and Joseph Folkman
Sergio Caredda
Zenger, J. H., & Folkman, J. (2009). The extraordinary leader: Turning good managers into great leaders. Mcgraw-Hill.
Description:
John Zenger and Joseph Folkman (2009) in their book The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers Into Great Leaders, propose a simple visualization model of leadership.
Imagine a standard tent held up by five tent poles (or clusters of leadership competencies and behaviours). The centre pole is called Character. It includes integrity, ethics, and humility. The four poles that support the tent sides are Personal Capability (technical/professional expertise and cognitive ability), Focus on Results, Interpersonal Skills (including communicating, inspiring, connecting, developing) and Leading Organizational Change (the highest expression of leadership, according to the authors).
These “poles” are made up of clusters of competencies—sixteen in all—that, according to the authors’ research, differentiate the most effective 20% of leaders from the rest. Extending the metaphor, “leadership effectiveness” equates to the total cubic volume under the tent canvas. So, when you heighten the length of the poles—i.e. enhance competencies—overall effectiveness will increase.
Leadership becomes a “balancing act” of these clusters, and no one pattern or configuration of competencies exists that works for all leaders or in all organizations. According to the model, there is, emphatically, no one way to lead.
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