The HBR Guides Collection (8 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

Making Yourself Indispensable

63

tions”). When Tom checked off his top fi ve competencies,

his fi ve passions, and the organization’s top priorities, he

could see a clear convergence. He decided to focus on the

strength that, as it happens, we have found to be most

universally associated with extraordinary leadership: “in-

spires and motivates others.”

Select a complementary behavior

People who excel at motivating others are good at per-

suading them to take action and to go the extra mile.

They effectively exercise power to infl uence key decisions

for the benefi t of the organization. They know how to

motivate different people in different ways. So it was not

surprising that Tom already did those things pretty well.

He scanned the list of competency ...