How Leadership Reputations Are Won and Lost by Dr. Richard Ford

Ask a leader about their performance, they typically describe what they’ve accomplished. But ask others and they will describe how the leader behaves, what they are like as a person and how they achieve those results. Reputation is what people say about you when you’re not in the room and is what makes or breaks careers. UK-based psychologist, and WJM Faculty member, Dr. Richard G. Ford describes reputation as a blend of the rational and irrational and details the cognitive biases that influence how we judge others and ourselves. With detailed descriptions of reputational differentiators that predict career progression, and strategies for excelling at each of them, Ford provides a powerful and actionable reference manual for anyone aspiring to leadership success.

HIGHLIGHT(S): When we succeed, we tend to credit our personality, talent, motivation, etc. When we fail, we tend to blame external factors beyond our control, like poor market conditions, etc. In judging others, it’s flipped - we attribute their success to good luck and circumstances and their failures to a lack of competence or other shortcomings.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/How-Leadership-Reputations-Are-Lost/dp/191145062X