Business leaders only admit to having weaknesses that could be viewed positively

MARTHA STEWART says her three greatest character flaws are impatience, being too forgiving and not being forgiving enough.

Pierre Yves Gerbeau declares that his greatest weakness is being “brutally honest”. Barbara Stocking , head of Oxfam, describes her worst failing like this: “I move too fast.”

And David Giampaolo of Pi Capital has shortcomings that are the most sick-making of the lot. He is, he says, “too trusting and too accessible”.

Every week for the past year and a half, the Financial Times has asked business leaders 20 questions including: “What are your three worst features?”

By studying the replies, I’ve amassed a treasure trove of data that overwhelmingly support a pet theory of mine. The three worst traits of chief executives are a lack of self-knowledge, a lack of self-knowledge and an extraordinary willingness to give themselves the benefit of the doubt.

When it comes to describing their dark sides, 58 out of 60 leaders felt bound by the same rule: any weakness is perfectly admissible, so long as it is really a strength. They almost all cite impatience, perfectionism and being too demanding – all of which turn out to be things that it’s rather good for a chief executive to be. One or two leaders mentioned real faults, only to neutralise them with excuses.

Sean Parker, the internet entrepreneur, says his fault is lateness, which in my book is a heinous crime as it shows you think your time is more precious than everyone else’s. But he went on to explain: “Sometimes you need to seize the moment of inspiration”, thus making his rudeness seem admirable.

What is particularly interesting about this outpouring of faux weaknesses is that there is no difference between men and women. And no difference between Americans and Europeans. All are as bad as each other.

What is going on here? Could it be that highly successful people are actually lower on faults than the rest of us? This theory was offered by Teruo Asada of Marubeni who, when asked for his faults said: “I must not have any, or I couldn’t have become chief executive officer, right?” Even allowing for what gets lost in translation, I assume and hope he was joking.

In fact, anyone who has ever spent five minutes talking to a chief executive can tell you that they have more faults than the next person, because they are extreme versions of humanity.

I’ve drawn up a list of the seven most common deadly sins. They are control freaks. They are vain. They are ditherers. They don’t listen. They are bullies. They are afraid of conflict. They can’t do small talk.

Given that most of the 60 interview candidates were probably guilty of at least one of the above, why did none of them own up?

The first possibility is that they didn’t dare. Chief executives are on pedestals and if they announce from on high “I’m a bit of a bully”, someone is likely to knock them down. But I suspect the real problem is worse: they don’t know what their faults are. A decade of psycho-babble, coaching and 360-degree feedback has made no difference. It has not changed the most basic truth: people never speak truth to power.

This denial of flaws is alarming because if flaws are unmentionable they can’t be addressed. But it is also a pity: we like people better when they wear their blemishes openly. It makes them seem more human. There is only one senior leader I know who appears to have no obvious faults at all. His lack of weaknesses does not make me think him the most brilliant executive I’ve ever met. Instead, it makes me think him flimsy and slightly untrustworthy. I’m sure there is a weakness in there somewhere, and it troubles me that I haven’t yet found it.

Of the 60 leaders, only two admitted to big faults. Marcus Wareing owned up to one of the most common yet unmentionable sins: he doesn’t listen. But then he’s a chef, and chefs aren’t meant to be listening. They are meant to be making sure the îles flottantes are taken to table six – now!

My prize for honesty goes to Jon Moulton, the private-equity tycoon who has made enough money to be able to say what he likes. His declared weakness is absolutely taboo, yet goes with the territory.

Indeed, it is a weakness the other 59 leaders demonstrated through the self-serving answers they gave. His stated fault: “excess of ego.” – (Copyright: The Financial Times Limited 2011)