A Look at Derailment Today: North America and Europe

Jean Brittain Leslie · Ellen Van Velsor

Jan 1996 · Center for Creative Leadership

About this ebook

Research studies conducted at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) during the 1980s explored the dynamics of derailment among North American executives. Most of these studies contrasted people who "make it" to the top with those who derail as a way to understand the kinds of development needed for senior leadership positions. Results from this research have been used in training programs, assessment instruments, and numerous human-resources initiatives in several organizations. These studies defined the successful manager as one who has reached at least the general management level and continues to be considered highly promotable by senior executives. The derailed manager is one who, having reached at least the general manager level, either leaves the organization involuntarily (through resignation, being fired, or retiring early) or reaches a plateau as a result of a perceived lack of fit between personal characteristics and skills and the demands of the job. Derailment doesn't usually end a manager's career. Often, managers who derail in one organization go on to either start their own companies or to be successful in other organizations. One might wonder whether derailment factors identified in the United States during the 1980s have stood the test of time and whether they are applicable in other cultures or even useful in the context of fast-paced organizational change. It may no longer make sense to think about derailment factors in a specific organization or at one point in time. Yet in the business world today, the issue of understanding fit between individual skills and characteristics and organizational needs may be more critical than ever before. CCL has extended its research by comparing contemporary derailed and successful executives in the United States and in Europe, and by comparing these results to the earlier findings. The result is a review of CCL's research on executive derailment, a presentation of findings for North Americans and Europeans, and finally a comparison of derailment and success themes over time and across cultures that is geared toward a further understanding of the development needed for achieving and maintaining success at senior-level positions.