Leadership in Action: Issues and Observations—Learning a Lesson in Executive Selection

WRONG REASONS

What lessons can be learned from O'Neal's swift ascent and subsequent derailment? From our perspective the lessons are neither new nor surprising; in fact they are quite predictable. O'Neal's derailment can be traced to three sets of distinct factors.

First, he was hired by the Merrill Lynch board to deal with a single issue—cutting costs and tightening management practices—with no consideration of his track record as a leader. CCL's research on executive selection indicates that top leaders are typically brought in to address one or two burning organizational needs. In other words, long-term success is sacrificed for the sake of short-term fixes and performance touch-ups.

Second, O'Neal was hired by the board based on his technical ...