How do you to tell whether you’re one of those who are better off in the pack than leading it?  Trisha Scudder, executive coach and founder of the Executive Coaching Group, explains in Forbes:

You can’t draw the line between personal and professional. Let’s say employee Suzie (a) comes to you and tells you her father is gravely ill and (b) later repeatedly drops the ball on big accounts, causing the clients to  leave.  Would your sympathy for Suzie’s problems with her father stand in the way  of firing her? Strike one.

You still want to hang out with the gang — at all costs. You now supervise some of your work buddies, and you’re faced with a making a move that will have a negative impact on some of them. Do you hesitate because you know the decision will deprive you of their friendship? Strike two.

You love workplace chit-chat and gossip. Employee A stops you in the hallway and says, “Hey, did you hear about how Johnnie got disciplined for faking an expense report?” You answer: “No, what happened?” Strike three. You’re out.

Combine that information with a study out of Australia concluding that “management types” are born, not made. In other words, people who make it as managers generally have specific personality traits that were formed at an early age. For instance, successful managers in the study tended to be “less agreeable.”

The list was put together by Forbes magazine, and matches the executive’s salary with company performance (or, rather, nonperformance):

• Kenneth D. Lewis, CEO of Bank of America
  Tenure as chief: Eight years
  Average annual company performance during that period:   Lost 8%
  Average annual salary during that period: $29.7 million
• Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO of General Electric
  Tenure as chief: Eight years
  Average annual company performance during that period:  Lost 12%
  Average annual salary during that period: $14.4 million
• Ramani Ayer, CEO of Hartford Financial Services
  Tenure as chief: 12 years
  Average annual company performance during that period: Lost 8%
  Average annual salary during that period: $13.5 million
• James R. Tobin, CEO of Boston Scientific
  Tenure as chief: 10 years
  Average annual company performance during that period: Lost 7%
  Average annual salary during that period: $8.5 million
• Robert E. Rossiter, CEO of Lear Corp.
  Tenure as chief: Nine years
  Average annual company performance during that period: Lost 29%
  Average annual salary during that period: $5.5 million