Remember the character Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street? Michael Douglas won an Oscar for his portrayal of this rude, larcenous wheeler-dealer.
Well, I worked with a real-life investment banker who in some ways could have inspired the Gekko character.
As an executive coach, I work with successful people who may need to change some behaviors to achieve the next level of success. The man I coached – let’s call him Mike – wasn’t amoral and unethical like Gekko, but his competitive fires made him treat people like gravel in a driveway. He ran right over them.
Mike’s score for treating direct reports and colleagues with respect was 0.1 percent. Out of 1,000 managers rated, he was dead last! But Mike put up equally astounding numbers with his trades. His profit contribution was so vast that the CEO promoted him to management. This should have been the apex of Mike’s career. Instead, it exposed his bad side.
The firm’s leaders, who had been insulated from Mike’s behavior, then got a firsthand dose of his “lead, follow, or get out of my way” style. In meetings, they saw that there was often no checkpoint between Mike’s brain and mouth.
This story is from the May 2018 edition of SME Magazine Singapore.
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This story is from the May 2018 edition of SME Magazine Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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