The effects of a leader’s personality on an organization’s culture have been long understood. But some personality flaws have a disproportionately negative impact on the quality and execution of strategic choices — in particular, where to focus, how to compete, and what to build (and discard). It might be excitement or fear that reduces their ability to self-regulate their reactions. Instead of thinking clearly, they default to habits influenced by deeper and well-reinforced “personality flaws” — or in some cases, leadership pathologies. These are far more than just annoyances, as they cast a large shadow across their organizations, contributing to failures in the design and execution of strategy. The authors have identified four personality flaws of leaders and their specific impacts on strategy. For each type, they set out mitigating actions leaders can take.

That strategy execution is one of the greatest organizational challenges is nothing new. The causes of derailed strategies have been well chronicled — from not actually being strategies, to organization dysfunction and misalignment, to excessive internal focus.

But there’s (at least) one more stone to turn over in the hunt for answers, and it’s within the leader themselves.

The effects of a leader’s personality on an organization’s culture have been long understood. But we believe that some personality flaws have a disproportionately negative impact on the quality and execution of strategic choices — in particular, where to focus, how to compete, and what to build (and discard).

We find that just when leaders need to bring their “A game,” they get in their own way. It might be excitement or fear that reduces their ability to self-regulate their reactions. Instead of thinking clearly, they default to habits influenced by deeper and well-reinforced “personality flaws” — or in some cases, leadership pathologies. These are far more than just annoyances, as they cast a large shadow across their organizations, contributing to failures in the design and execution of strategy.

Based on our combined 60 years of experience, we’ve identified four personality flaws of leaders and their specific impacts on strategy. For each type, we set out mitigating actions leaders can take.

The Overconfident, Chronically Certain Leader

An overconfident, chronically certain leader has a tendency to overpromise and develop unrealistic strategies. This creates unnecessary anxiety for the people charged with their execution. These leaders also suffer from myopia and over-determinism, oblivious to the impact of longer-term trends, complex dynamics, and disruption from new entrants. By the time they realize what’s happening, it’s often too late to respond.

One of David’s clients, John, was the CEO of a midsize organization. He made bold, provocative statements about the future and didn’t listen to alternative views. Rather than motivating his team, he was close to alienating them. David suggested a first move that would enhance his awareness of his context without requiring him to make a dramatic change: Appoint a seasoned industry advisor he respected to mentor him. This created a safe space for John to reflect on the validity of the assumptions he had baked into his plans.

If you lean toward excessive confidence in your views, here are some ways to mitigate chronic certainty:

The Impulsive Leader

We’ve all seen the leader with “shiny object syndrome.” They can’t resist the titillation of a new idea or the latest fad. They crave the adrenaline rush of pioneering what’s not been done. In the process, they exhaust their organizations, overcommit resources, and overpromise to customers and shareholders. They tend to speak in flashy, hyperbolic declarations that whip people into frenzies of excitement. This soon dies down once they catch on to the pattern of abandoning last week’s big idea to pursue the next one. Instead, they wait it out, unable to sustain focus on something long enough to see it through.

One of Ron’s clients, Eduardo, was division president of a global apparel company. He prided himself on his entrepreneurial success launching new products and influencing fashion trends. But his inability to restrain his impulsivity with the discipline needed to see strategies through proved costly. Warehouses became full of inventory rejected by retail buyers who’d started to lose faith in Eduardo’s brands. The more desperate he felt, the more impulsive he became. Ultimately, the best solution was to find a role more suitable to Eduardo’s creative strengths in another part of the company.

If you struggle to resist the “next new thing,” here are some approaches to consider:

The Rigidly Controlling Leader

Some leaders create a highly controlled environment. Everything — and everyone — works in a prescribed way. They struggle to accommodate novel or nontraditional views. This silences the voices of employees, who in turn produce low-risk, barely incremental strategies in order to avoid their leader’s exacting critique. They retreat from coming forward with creative ideas. When it comes time to execute, the fearful organization cowers from trying anything new, making change much slower, if not impossible.

Sarah, one of David’s clients, had all the hallmarks of being a controlling leader. Meetings were orchestrated with precision, her diary managed tightly, and the people she interacted with were carefully chosen. She found herself excluded from creative discussions, as others discounted her ability to explore beyond her purview. Maintaining this level of control was exhausting for her (and everyone who supported her) and took its toll on her health. Returning to work after a long illness, she found that her direct reports had performed well in her absence. This led her to reexamine where she could release control and explore better uses of her time.

You can mitigate your tendency to over-control by learning to:

The Insecure Leader

While every leader faces a crisis of confidence at some point, some leaders live with a paralyzing sense of self-doubt. They worry about what others think of them and anxiously expect to fall short. Many find ways of masking these deeper feelings with a confident game face and measured demeanour. Some are overly accommodating and nice. By purchasing the regard of others with benevolence, they reduce their deeper fears of failure and rejection.

These leaders have a particularly noxious effect on strategy. They’re often taken advantage of by more aggressive leaders who cajole them into saying yes to every idea they’re offered. In addition, many are so fearful of failure that they end up with “analysis paralysis” and endless mitigation efforts for risks only they can see. They often refer to past failures as the basis of their risk concerns, no matter how long ago they took place or how much has been learned since.

Linda, a former client of Ron’s, is a case in point. She was the chief marketing officer of a growing clean energy company, hired to reposition the company’s brand to serve a variety of new markets. Her background prepared her well for the role, but her anxiety about failure eroded others’ confidence. The CEO expected her to show up with well-formed ideas and recommendations, but she kept coming in with “rough drafts” under the guise of engaging the team to enlist their ownership. They interpreted it for what it really was: an insatiable need for approval and affirmation. Her insecurities led to numerous market launch delays and unclear brand messaging. Fortunately, Ron was able to help her get to the root of her fears and pivot, regaining some lost ground.

If you suffer from an anxious sense of self-doubt, here are some ways to reduce their impact on strategy:

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All leaders arrive with some blemishes on their personalities. Those parts of our humanity can be a great source of vulnerability and connection to those we lead. But when those blemishes extend too far, they can be particularly destructive to the visions we’re casting and the strategies we’re executing. For some, the question isn’t “Which are you?”, but “Which are you when?” You already face plenty of obstacles to bringing those aspirations to life in the competitive landscape and within your company. Be sure that one of those obstacles isn’t you.