There’s an article titled “Uncovering the Blind Spot of Leadership” in the latest issue of Leader to Leader magazine. Author C. Otto Scharmer writes about four different modes of listening for Leaders. I’ve provided excerpts below.

Those of you who have heard me speak know that I often frame the Leader in four dimensions – Physical, Intellectual, Emotional and Spiritual. Along with Scharmer’s thoughts, I have added my own in the context of which dimensions a Leader listens from . . . .

Think about conversations you’ve already had today.

I’m always interested to see a list of “top leadership traits.” When I was still running a company, I would scan it and see how I measured up. Perhaps you do this.

On November 19th, the Wall Street Journal had this article:

“Tough CEOs Often Most Successful, a Study Finds.”

A week later, also in the WSJ, this title:

“Are You CEO Material? Find Out With This Test.”

Both articles referred to the same recent University of Chicago business school study. From the study, “here are five CEO traits that correlate most closely with business success . . . :” (Check yourself)

A CEO getting fired is always an occasion for learning. Wall Street has given us two such occasions in the past two weeks.

What caught my attention were the observations about Stan O’Neal of Merrill Lynch. Note these descriptions from The Wall Street Journal in an article sub-titled ‘Startled Board Ditches a Famously Aloof CEO:’

“Mr. O’Neal’s talent and steely drive came with a tragic flaw: