“Polarities,” according to Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, MCC in a May 21, 2019 Forbes article.
He goes on to say…. “As Bob Kaplan and Rob Kaiser described in a Harvard Business Review article, strengths overused become weaknesses, and virtues become vices. Most leaders are aware of their areas of weaknesses but are often blind to the downsides of overusing their strengths, such as when “taking charge” turns into micromanaging or when “empowering” becomes abdication of leadership responsibility for setting a clear direction.”
I couldn’t agree more. When I see articles like this I feel like Tatoo from Fantasy Island — dating myself. if you don’t know who Tatoo is or what Fantasy Island is about – Here you go.
Rothaizer credits Barry Johnson’s work while unfortunately linking to a dated article. And, his voice resolving the age-old debate is really useful and appreciated. Now, the next question is how to leverage the many polarity tensions that show up everyday, and not just for leaders — their teams and organizations, too. For that, we’ve got the goods in the form of principles and tools. Coaches, consultants, internal HR/OD professionals can all benefit from our library of Polarity Maps and other resources in the Polarity Resource portal. And, when the inevitable question arises for how to measure performance for multiple polarities simultaneously — we’re ready to help measure and even better — put those powerful tools and processes in your hands via certification.
