Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Kind Executive


There might be a dissenter somewhere out there somewhere so I'll say that almost everyone likes Paul.

He is always friendly. He takes care of his team. He's a good listener, His high ethical standards are smoothly integrated into everything he does. He quietly achieves things and is willing to give credit to others.

I've never seen him playing power games or manipulating others. He's never pushed for recognition. His reputation has been that of a thoroughly reliable and thoughtful manager.

Paul was promoted to executive positions and he held several that were very challenging. He performed well in each of them. He should have been promoted even further but was not due to a promotion board that was grossly unappreciative of his accomplishments.

Paul was not soured by that setback. He never complained. He continued to work and help others as he had done before. I know what some of you are thinking. "He should have touted more of his achievements." "He failed to make political alliances."

That may be true. He is certainly smart enough to know about those options. He didn't completely neglect those strategies and yet I suspect there was a line that Paul decided not to cross, perhaps out of fear that if he did so he would stop being himself.

Paul is on my short list of one of the best leaders and most decent human beings I've ever encountered. He is far from being weak and yet sometimes I wonder, "Did the promotion board fall prey to the notion that Paul is too nice to be a chief executive officer?"

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