What the 7% is Costing You

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Let me tell you about three leaders I've been. Because the most important thing I can say about the cost of 7% leadership is that I know it from the inside.

The first was the boss who pushed too hard for results. I was in a network of businesses that should have been helping each other grow. But the 7% took over in the name of proving we were better. We competed when we should have collaborated. Both businesses got worse.

The second was the boss who got worn out. I hit the budget. But I stopped wanting to beat it — because I knew what that meant. A harder target next year. So, I stayed comfortable. And in staying comfortable I hurt the team, the customers, and the leadership around me.

The third was the boss so focused on results that he only found what was wrong. Not on purpose. I thought I was doing the right thing. What I didn't realize was that I was doing it without genuinely caring about the people around me.

I'm sharing this because this isn't theory. It's the map I wish I'd had. And every version of the 7% leader I've been came from exactly the kind of unconscious negativity bias we just named in Lesson 1..