Caching the Alpha Male

www.hbr.org

Bold, self-confident, and

demanding, alpha males get

things done. But the traits that

make them so productive can

also drive their coworkers

crazy.

Coaching the Alpha

Male

by Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson

Reprint R0405C

Purchased by Andr?s Pucheu (apucheu@uc.cl) on August 09, 2012

Bold, self-confident, and demanding, alpha males get things done. But

the traits that make them so productive can also drive their coworkers

crazy.

Coaching the Alpha

Male

by Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson

COPYRIGHT © 2004 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Highly intelligent, confident, and successful,

alpha males represent about 70% of all senior executives. As the label implies, they’re the people

who aren’t happy unless they’re the top dogs—

the ones calling the shots. Although there are

plenty of successful female leaders with equally

strong personalities, we’ve found top women

rarely if ever match the complete alpha profile.

(See the sidebar “What About Alpha Females?”)

Alphas reach the top ranks in large organizations because they are natural leaders—comfortable with responsibility in a way nonalphas can

never be. Most people feel stress when they have

to make important decisions; alphas get stressed

when tough decisions don’t rest in their capable

hands. For them, being in charge delivers such a

thrill, they willingly take on levels of responsibility most rational people would find overwhelming. In fact, it’s hard to imagine the modern corporation without alpha leaders.

Then why do so many of them need executive coaches?

As it turns out, alphas’ quintessential

strengths are also what make them so chal-

lenging, and often frustrating, to work with.

Independent and action oriented, alphas take

extraordinarily high levels of performance for

granted, both in themselves and in others. As

one business journalist observed after meeting Jack Welch and Andy Grove in a single

week,...