5 min read ⌚ 

Mastering the FISO Factor – The Key to Leadership Effectiveness in Business and Life

If you want to be successful, you have to make people love you and let you succeed by fitting in.

But, if you get too comfortable in the act of fitting in, you will fail to get noticed. Hence, you need to develop your instincts and know when it is time to stand out.

But, how do you find this balance?

Read on to find out.

Who Should Read “Fit In, Stand Out”? and Why?

In “Fit In, Stand Out,” McGavrie teaches readers that the seemingly paradoxical balance between fitting in and standing out is crucial for leadership success.

She explains that although you need to be accepted in order to thrive and learn how to become a part of your company’s structure, you also mustn’t allow yourself to blend in the background. To be able to move up and gain promotions, you need to stand out and show everything you are capable of.

This book helps you find the balance between these two qualities which all leaders need to nurture.

We recommend this book to all readers who are looking for a guideline on the path toward becoming leaders.

About Blythe J. McGarvie

Blythe J. McGarvie is an author, speaker, a president of a corporate consultancy and a board member of several major corporations.

“Fit In Stand Out Summary”

What is the secret to success in a workplace?

You want to be loved and respected by your colleagues, and yet be recognized for your achievements and stand out from the crowd.

Although these two may seem contradictory and illogical, all great leaders possess both qualities. And, if you want to get to a higher, managing position, it is time you adopted both of them as well.

Studies show that the top levels have plenty of room, despite the fact that there are many aspiring bosses to feel these positions.

Why is that the case?

Simple, these bosses do have the ambition, but they lack other essential skills, willingness to learn or brainpower.

So, if you do focus on developing different sides of yourself and continually improving, there is a fair chance that you may end at the top.

On your path, you have to develop your ability to decide whom you can trust and know where to look for your opportunities. You have to build your strategic, analytical, cognitive and organizational skills.

You have to be able to make tough decisions and take risks in times of uncertainty, to identify talent and to motivate and inspire your employees.

Your leadership success is tied to that of the company. If you do not succeed in producing a profitable business than your leadership is bad. That is the only way you can measure your abilities.

You may be the most innovative person in this world who makes the best products out there, but if your business does not make money – it all goes down the drain.

Now, let’s move on to our main subject: the balance between fitting in and standing out.

First, make sure you are a team player, which means that you can function well within your organization and its culture. But also, you have to stand out enough so you don’t blend and you don’t get noticed at all.

But how can you know when you need to be a team player and when you should put on the leadership hat?

Well, it all comes down to your instincts. You need to develop a sense which will help you in keeping the balance.

Do not worry; your instincts will sharpen as you gain more knowledge and experience.

Lastly, to be a successful FISO leader, you need to employ six key platforms: “financial acuity, integrity, linkages, learning, perspective and global citizenship.”

Financial acuity does not mean that you should only know how to talk money. Business is much more than that: it includes goals, ideas, vision, and results.

So, financial acuity is the ability to create a linkage between the numbers and your company’s goals. Start by taking a class on finance basics and work from there.

Next is the need for integrity. No company can have long-term success without it. It is not essential only to achieve the goals; it is much more important how you achieve them. Integrity incorporates “ethics, soundness, and completeness.” You should always keep your values and morals high.

Third are linkages. You need to understand that a leader cannot exist without people that follow him as well as people who he is in alliance with. The linkages are the networks of formal and informal relationships a leader has created.

Leaders who are part of a strong network have a more significant influence and competitive advantage.

Furthermore, leaders have to be in the process of constant growth and evolution. Change is unavoidable. To be able to answer and adapt to change, cultivate learning.

Finally, global citizenship has happened as a result of the advances in communication and technology, which have erased the importance of location. FISO leaders use these changes to their advantage, by gathering knowledge from all cultures and nationalities and pushing for global collaboration.

Key Lessons from “Fit In, Stand Out”

1.      Four Learning-Oriented Characteristics of FISO Factor Leaders
2.      Integration and Transformation
3.      Six Key Platforms of FISO Leadership

Four Learning-Oriented Characteristics of FISO Factor Leaders

• • “They are open to new perspectives.”

• • “They recognize their internal biases.”

• • “They seek unfiltered data.”

• “They maintain a sense of humility.”

Integration and Transformation

Each growing company embraces both transformation and integration.

Integration is the quality which enables you to fin in, while the transformation is the one that will help you stand out.

To be able to grow and keep up with your competitors, your company needs to foster both integration and transformation.

Six Key Platforms of FISO Leadership

• • Financial Acuity

• • Integrity

• • Linkages

• • Learning

• • Perspective

• Global Citizenship

Like this summary? We’d Like to invite you to download our free 12 min app, for more amazing summaries and audiobooks.

“Fit In, Stand Out” Quotes

Our Critical Review

“Fit In, Stand Out” is a thought-provoking book concerned with leadership development. The book’s value is even bigger since it is not just a theory – the FISO development program is based on the author’s rich executive experience.