a rising stock price. Often their drive enables
them to be professionally successful for a while,
but they are unable to sustain that success. As
they age, they may find something is missing
in their lives and realize they are holding back
from being the person they want to be. Knowing
their authentic selves requires the courage
and honesty to open up and examine their experiences.
As they do so, leaders become more
humane and willing to be vulnerable.
Of all the leaders we interviewed, David
Pottruck, former CEO of Charles Schwab, had
one of the most persistent journeys to selfawareness.
An all-league football player in
high school, Pottruck became MVP of his college
team at the University of Pennsylvania.
After completing his MBA at Wharton and a
stint with Citigroup, he joined Charles Schwab
as head of marketing, moving from New York
to San Francisco. An extremely hard worker,
Pottruck could not understand why his new
colleagues resented the long hours he put in
and his aggressiveness in pushing for results. “I
thought my accomplishments would speak for
themselves,” he said. “It never occurred to me
that my level of energy would intimidate and
offend other people, because in my mind I was
trying to help the company.”
Pottruck was shocked when his boss told
him, “Dave, your colleagues do not trust you.”
As he recalled, “That feedback was like a dagger
to my heart. I was in denial, as I didn’t
see myself as others saw me. I became a lightning
rod for friction, but I had no idea how selfserving
I looked to other people. Still, somewhere
in my inner core the feedback resonated
as true.” Pottruck realized that he could not
succeed unless he identified and overcame his
blind spots.
Denial can be the greatest hurdle that leaders
face in becoming self-aware. They all have
egos that need to be stroked, insecurities that
need to be smoothed, fears that need to be allayed.
Authentic leaders realize that they have
to be willing to listen to feedback—especially
the kind they don’t want to hear. It was only
after his second divorce that Pottruck finally
was able to acknowledge that he still had large
blind spots: “After my second marriage fell
apart, I thought I had a wife-selection problem.”
Then he worked with a counselor who
delivered some hard truths: “The good news is
you do not have a wife-selection problem;
the bad news is you have a husband-behavior
problem.” Pottruck then made a determined
effort to change. As he described it, “I was like
a guy who has had three heart attacks and finally
realizes he has to quit smoking and lose
some weight.”
These days Pottruck is happily remarried
and listens carefully when his wife offers constructive
feedback. He acknowledges that he
falls back on his old habits at times, particularly
in high stress situations, but now he has
developed ways of coping with stress. “I have
had enough success in life to have that foundation
of self-respect, so I can take the criticism
and not deny it. I have finally learned to tolerate
my failures and disappointments and not
beat myself up.”
Practicing Your Values and
Principles
The values that form the basis for authentic