In this article, I want to discuss the concept of leadership in business.
A dictionary definition of leader is: “The person who goes first; the inspiration or head of a movement; a person whose example is followed.”
In the 21st Century, with all the business scandals enveloping us like Enron, HIH, WorldCom, just to name a few, just where is the leadership? Were the people leading these organisations worthy of the title of leader? Personally, I think not.
To be fair to the people who led these and other organisations like them, I would contend that in some ways, it is society and its expectations regarding business performance that put them into positions where they felt it necessary to delude their shareholders and act in less than honest ways. Mind you, the fact that they acted without integrity says a lot about them as individuals, as I explain below.
Business leaders today are very different to those of 20 years ago. There is immense pressure to perform, to keep stock prices high, to continually show ever greater profits, in shorter and shorter timeframes. The average tenure of a CEO is three to four years. In this time, he is expected to deliver massive returns, for which in return, he will be handsomely paid in stock options and a large salary with bonuses.
The problem here is that we live in a bubble economy which is very narrowly focused on unrealistic returns. Leaders play into a deadly symbiosis where they don’t know how to say “no” to ever greater demands, tell their boards that they can deliver, try to do their job, often fail spectacularly, and then exit. Knowing that their tenure is short, in the quest to stay on longer in the job, there is often a temptation to cheat.
What are some of the factors causing this leadership turmoil?
In a leadership position, everything gets magnified if you have power. The old saying, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” is often true.
Great success can cause great harm!
Success can harm as it exacerbates everything in our lives. For example, if we’re a little bit greedy, it can make us greedier. You can see this with some notorious company failures where the directors have taken more and more out of the company – claiming it was their right. If we’re stingy, we could become miserly. Anger can turn to rage. Honesty to brutality.
All through literature we read about people who have had too much power and too much money. I’m not going to define “too much” here – suffice to say, it is above the amount that individual could handle before being corrupted by it.
Hubris, the Greek concept of overweening pride and arrogance in the face of the Gods, very aptly describes what happens to some leaders who start to believe their own hype. Often we see it when leaders are surrounded by sycophants who tell them what they want to hear, flatter their egos and pretend that the leader is the lord and master.
All of these “dark” tendencies exist in our “shadow”.
Our shadow is that part of us we try to keep hidden from the world. It represents the deep undercurrents of our personality. Is the shadow something to be avoided and feared? No, the shadow is part of us. Sometimes it’s repressed, however, it is most useful when we are aware of it and our tendencies. Rather than hiding the shadow and pretending it does not exist, shine a light on it, embrace it and understand it. This will allow you to witness whether you are heading over to the dark side and gives you choices as to your own behaviour.
So how do some people handle success without being corrupted by it?
People, who handle success without it harming them, never define themselves by their role in the organisation or society. They are the same person on the job, off the job, with their friends and their family. Usually they are quite modest and humble and you’ve never know the power and money they wield just by looking at or talking to them.
A case in point is a gentleman I met yesterday. He was the retired regional director of the leading toothpaste and soap manufacturer worldwide – you know the one! It was only after I asked direct and pointed questions as to his past work life that he volunteered the information – and that too in an incredibly modest way. There was absolutely no pretension about him.
What are the qualities of a great leader?
The two major qualities of a great leader are integrity and courage.
Integrity is, if I slice into you, you are the same all the way through. You don’t have a different persona or external personality that you show people at different times or circumstances. Effectively, it is “what you see is what you get”. You’re not hiding behind a mask.
Courage is the ability to say “no” and to reduce expectation. It takes courage and integrity to not become inflated, full of oneself and self important.
How do you discover a great leader?
Ask the question – “Tell me who you are.”
Some leaders will go right to the power. They will tell you how busy they are, what responsibilities they have, what their problems are, all in the name of establishing importance.
The best leaders don’t do this at all. They will get right down to basics, who they are, their values, hopes, dreams and goals. They don’t try to impress and are generally focused on ideals – often about changing the world.
How do you become a great leader?
Great leaders keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. They take great pains to avoid the sin of hubris.
Effective leaders spend a lot of time on teamwork, ensuring their people can handle their success so that they don’t harm themselves or their organisation. They worry about ecology and the consequences of their actions.
Good leaders remember the basics – friendship, intimacy, trust, loyalty and above all humility.
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