It's no secret in the business world that Eisner has refused to announce his succession plan or even acknowledgement he has one for some time. As recently as November 2003 when asked why Disney hasn't announced any succession plans, Eisner said, "I still like what I'm doing, and I'm not 102." Who cares if he's hit by a car or takes ill? Michael Eisner believes Michael Eisner's destiny is completely in his own hands, I guess.

He continued stating that if he acknowledged a successor that was paramount to declaring himself a lame duck before his current contract expires in 2006. So much for the CEO doing what's best for the organization. This was clearly about one individual calling the shots on his terms until he said he was good and ready to go.

Although control, dominance and ambition are certainly personal traits of leaders that have fueled the success of many an organization, these styles also have a darker side as well. Continue reading below about The Tale of 2 Michaels and What would a personality assessment tell us about the Michaels?

Don't stop reading here - for the rest of the story.

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The Tale of 2 Michaels - To plan or not to succession plan
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Michael Eisner clearly plays to win and more clearly hates to lose. To individuals like Eisner, everything is a game. There is only one winner and everyone else loses. When he wins, it is because of what he did. When he loses, it is not his fault but because others didn't follow through or play up to their potential.

He also seems almost oblivious to the criticism and barbs tossed at him. That is a good thing. You certainly wouldn't want an overly sensitive, prone to public tantrums and outbursts representing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. But exuding confidence is one thing, displaying arrogance is another. And there is a fine line. When confidence becomes arrogance, listening skills get impaired.

Just a few days before Disney's shareholder meeting, Eisner said, I have a very good relationship with my board," he said. A bit over-confident you might say considering that 43% of the shareholder voted "no-confidence" - an overwhelming negative response for someone who still claims he is right.

Now let's contrast Michael E. with Michael Dell. Dell, only 39 years old, announced the day after Eisner was voted out that he will hand the operations of the company he founded to his No 2 guy, Keith Rollins, nearly 51 years old. Now that is a switch - succeeding to an "older" generation.

Michael Dell, like Eisner, is described as a fierce competitor - and a strategic genius. But unlike Eisner, Dell comes with an undersized ego or a humble personality. The USA Today recently described Dell and Rollins as strong leaders who both can walk into a room without being noticed. Up until recently, I can only imagine the scene if Eisner was introduced and the audience responded with "Michael who?". I suspect there would be an immediate opening in the Public Relation and Marketing department.

Also unlike Eisner who runs off his top talent, Dell "never had an ego when it came to hiring brilliant people." Those who know Rollins observe that "he absorbs every bit of information quickly." (Source: USA Today, March 5, 2004)

While both Michaels are very bright and talented individuals, how they lead and manage is clearly affected by their personalities and values.

Avoid Hiring and Promoting the Wrong Employee with The Whole Person Approach - CriteriaOne Training for managers and consultants who want to learn to identify, select and retain talent- April 21-23, 2004

Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #106 to #110
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Fact #110

Fact #107

Fact #108

Fact #109

Fact #110

Source: Adult Literacy Survey

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TotalView Corporate Coach reports provide information that will assist a manager or coach in understanding an employee's unique profile. It also provides each employee with a better understanding of him or herself.

The report provides insight into the employee's personality profile and important work related characteristics such as their:

TotalView Corporate Coach is intended to assist the coaching or mentoring relationship by providing a starting point for meaningful discussion about an employee's values, needs and objectives. Further, the report assists the Coach in asking pertinent questions and providing relative feedback and ideas that are tailored for the employee.

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What would a personality assessment tell us about the Michaels?
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Using a personality model like that used in the TotalView(tm) Assessment System, two of the personality traits evaluated are competitiveness and assertiveness.

The scales used in the TotalView reports are "scored" from 1 to 10. An individual who scores a "10" on competitiveness means he or she considers winning to more important than nearly 98 percent of the population.

Striving heard to reach goals is a good thing. Isn't winning, coming in first, being number one the motivations that drives super-achievers? They sure sound like the descriptors used to define the top talent that organizations are hunting for. Who wants to be a loser anyway? Not someone who scores a 10 on competitive, that's for sure.

One "10" manager in fact shared this story with me. While coaching his son to hit a baseball, his son just wanted to have fun and play with his friends. His fatherly advice was that "2nd place is just the 1st place for losers."

But don't condemn 10s to the narcissistic, ego- centric corner just yet. Desirable behaviors you might observe with a "10" competitor are that they don't give up, they get things done, and they play hard at any cost (and even harder when they are losing). When the game is on the line, give me a "10" anyday.

What is important to know is that the difference between driven to win and refusing to lose has as much to do with Business Values and Motivators as it does with personality traits alone. For example, a fierce competitor driven by Power and Authority may have a tendency to put their success over the success of the team and the organization, while another individual equally driven by the competition but fueled with a Social value may be fighting for the benefits that winning can bring to the team, organization and community. But make no mistake about it - it is all about competitors winning and someone losing, no matter what the driving value and motivator. Even those driven by the Social value still enjoy the "thrill of victory" and feel "the agony of defeat."

(To learn more about Power and Authority, Social and the other four values and motivators, visit www.businessvaluesandmotivators.com)

One of my favorite stories about competitors gone wild involves Michael Tyson, the former world boxing champion. Sometimes fierce competitors don't stop fighting when the bell rings. As I mentioned earlier, losing is not an option. After the gloves come off, anything goes including biting off your opponent's ear. Tyson lost the bout and his crown but I'm sure he feels he at least got the last punch in - or should I say bite. Only about 16 percent of the population "scores" between 8 and 10 on any personality scale.

Individuals who "score" between 4 and 7 represent nearly 68% of the population. These moderate competitors seem to balance their need to win with the enjoyment of the competition. These more moderate competitors value teamwork over winning and collaboration over individual achievement. They are good at getting things done but respect the needs and wishes of others around them. While their extreme competitor counterparts - the 10s - may believe that the team can't win without them, the more moderate competitors believe that Together Each Achieves More (TEAM).

So does that mean that an individual who scores a 1, 2 or 3 on competitive is a loser. Hardly. Much to the surprise of the 10s, those individuals are great team players. Just tell them what to do and they will do it (assuming of course it is ethical, moral and legal). Individuals who "score" near the "1" end of the scale represent the cooperative individual. They are very, very good at making contributions as members of team and foregoing their own success to help others. They may even bench themselves if they feel another player could benefit or make a greater contribution.

Cooperatives just don't understand why every stroke has to be counted and value good intentions and effort as much as who scores the most points.

As opposed to our first manager who believed losing was not an option, a more cooperative manager shared her philosophy as well. When playing games with her young son, she admitted that she sometimes "threw" the game. She didn't want her son to grow up thinking he wasn't very good at anything and therefore was trying to boost his confidence by saying "you're number one, you even beat Mommy."

Now all this might be nice to know but how does it translate into life at work.

Let's talk teamwork - we hear and read about it all the time. "If you're a team player, we're looking for you" or something similar to that is listed as the job requirement in virtually every employment ad written. Here's the problem with teamwork when you understand how people operate. What's does the organization really mean when it asks for team players - individuals who want to win at all costs or individuals who are willing to forego personal glory and share success with their co-workers, even if they didn't work as hard or have the same abilities?

Second, the level of competitiveness may impact how a manager evaluates and coaches his or her reports. The competitive manager might believe coaching is "showing a young whipper-snapper new employee how it's really done around here while the cooperative manager might attempt to build up the novice employee's confidence by allowing him to succeed, even if he or she doesn't and won't have the ability to ever do the job on their own. The competitive manager might under-rate an employee believing you can always do better and try harder. The cooperative managers might over-rate an under- performing employee believing that everyone deserves another chance.

Understanding personalities is a key component to understanding how employees will or will not perform. As in the case of the Michaels, what part of personalities don't people understand? No manager should ever be surprised again at the behavior of an employee. The combination of technology and advancements in the art of personality assessment removes the guesswork from hiring, developing and coaching employees. Personalities assessments means the difference between hiring and retaining the right people or having to deal with a employee performance situation.

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What do employees value?
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One of the great benefits of understanding people's values and motivators is that we can recognize their "hot buttons," what "turns them on" and makes them run. It's how a particular person is "wired."

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