The Prodigal Executive Myth That A Leopard Can't Change Its Spots

There is an old adage that says “A leopard can’t change its spots,” which means we cannot change our innate nature. The saying has been around for thousands of years and is derived from the biblical Book of Jeremiah: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?”

While there is much truth in that adage, it is not true 100 percent of the time in the workplace. I’ve found again and again that toxic executives can change their personality, even if they have been that way for a long time. Personality is malleable if there is a reward for doing so. Prodigal executives can manage the personality they are given if there is a good reason.

Meet Beverly, an executive with a large financial institution. She was exquisitely ambitious, highly focused, task driven, willing go the extra mile to make sure everything done and done correctly. Beverly truly was a star performer in anyone’s business model. However, she was seen as unapproachable and devoid of any emotion by the people around her.

What got her off track was not unusual. When we over use our strengths they become a weakness. Beverly was so task oriented she forgot to take care of people around her. This caused conflicts with her direct reports and a noticeable drop in their productivity. She wasn’t making a personal connection with her business connections.

When it comes to improving and maintaining our relationships with others, Stephen Covey’s metaphor of the Emotional Bank Account is probably one of the most helpful ideas ever created for the developing personal relationships at work (Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989).

Covey says anyone with whom we have a relationship with, whether it be our coworkers, family or friends, we maintain a personal “emotional” bank account with them. This account begins with a zero balance. And just as with any bank account, you need to make deposits before you can make withdrawals. Deposits are things like sincere compliments and personal interest in the other person’s goals. When you ask direct reports to work late or do extra work, that is a withdrawal. If you haven’t made the deposits beforehand then you have nothing to withdraw and the account becomes overdrawn. As a general rule, the formula is you need to make five deposits for every withdrawal. Because Beverly was not doing this, her direct reports greatly resented her.

Sometimes all that is needed to change is new information. With coaching Beverly was able to show more interest in people. She now views the people equation as another part of her job, a necessary component to get the job done.