Daily Archives: May 9, 2007
which one are you?
Examining the Alpha Male at Work
By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
They’re ambitious,
self-confident, competitive and opinionated. Often brilliant, they can be difficult
to work with and unpleasant to be around. They’re the alpha males. And they
represent three out of four senior executives and half of all middle managers
in corporate America.
Kate Ludeman Ph.D., and Eddie Erlandson M.D., are
experts on the alpha male phenomenon, having researched and written the book,
“Alpha Male Syndrome,” and built an entire consulting practice around
coaching — and dealing with — alpha males.
According to Ludeman and Erlandson, alpha males tend to
fall into one of four types:
·
Commanders.
Intense, charismatic leaders who set the tone, mobilize the troops and infuse
an organization with energy without necessarily getting into details. (They
cite George Bush, Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump as examples.)
·
Visionaries. Curious,
expansive, intuitive, proactive and future-oriented, they see possibilities and
opportunities that others either miss or dismiss as impractical. And they
inspire others with their vision. (They cite Tony Blair, Bill Gates and Michael
Dell as examples.)
·
Strategists.
Methodical, systematic, often brilliant thinkers who are oriented toward data
and facts, strategists have superior analytic judgment and a sharp eye for
patterns and problems. (They list Henry Kissinger and Boston Red Sox President
Larry Lucchino as typical strategists.)
·
Executors. Tireless, goal-oriented doers
who push plans forward with an eye for detail, relentless discipline and keen
oversight, surmounting all obstacles and holding everyone accountable for their
commitments. (Examples include Dell’s CEO Kevin B. Rollins and Gordon Brown –
présuméd successor to Tony Blair as UK Prime Minister.)
Along with its amazing strengths, each type also
carries some potentially disastrous liabilities. For instance, commanders tend
to isolate themselves from useful critical feedback; visionaries are prone to
extreme ADD (attention deficit disorder) and to bending the facts to get their
ideas accepted; strategists handle data better than people and executors tend
to engender mutinies due to their tendency to micromanage, find fault and be
slow to praise, yet quick to blame.
While it is currently the alphas who dominate, Ludeman
and Erlandon say the climate is changing. They believe that many of those who
came to power in the early 90s, would not make it today. Why? Because of the
critical mass of women in middle management and a corresponding emphasis on
collaboration, rather than confrontation and emotional intelligence as much or
more than I.Q.
“Today’s employees who are well educated — increasingly
female and concerned with job satisfaction and work-life balance would sooner
quit than put up with an abusive manager,” Ludeman says.
“Sometimes, talented people want to work for
someone precisely because he or she isn’t an aggressive alpha. That’s an
important factor if you believe, as many people do, that the main function of
corporate leaders is to attract, retain and develop talent in their
companies.”
While Ludeman and Erlandson believe that non-alphas
have much to offer an organization, they concede that those who aspire to upper
management won’t get there without adopting at least a few alpha traits.
They say that perhaps the best combination of all in a
leader is the alpha assertiveness and willpower combined with a softer, more
consensus-building management style. Adding that, “Those who have little
need to dominate a room can be very useful in opening up the culture and giving
stability to an organization.”
