I listened to an article yesterday, where the author claimed that 7 our of 8 Americans were unhappy with their leaders. And not just unhappy, but so unhappy that it impacted their quality of work, their enthusiasm, and the quality of the relationships with their spouses.
As I listened to this I thought about some of the bosses that I had had, and I felt too that out of my last 8 bosses there were only really 2 that I enjoyed working for and would happily work for again – yes David one of them was you 🙂
So from a work perspective this really resonated with me, and then I started to think about leadership in a broader context and of the political leaders out there, and I can say that those stats again feel about right.
In our current political situation with what is going on in Gaza, Ukraine, Nigeria, and other places, I can honestly say that there are very few political leaders that make me feel comfortable or inspired.
We see atrocities almost daily and yet there is silence from most western leaders, even when their own people are calling our for action.
We also seem to be seeing a record number of cases of banks being fined for fraud, money laundering, breaking sanctions and yet there seems to be no change in laws or bankers being punished.
It feel like self interest has really taken over from group interest. Our leaders look to see what will be the impact on their interest, or how they can gain from situations before action is taken rather than stepping in and doing what we know to be right.
Yet how is all of this possible with the majority of leadership books and trainings talking about Servant Leadership, Authenticity, Stewardship, People Centric Leadership, etc., etc., which would put the group ahead of self interest.
It feels like these books are written to make us feel good about what leadership should be, but are not a model for what leadership really is.
As followers do we not get to pick and choose the leaders we follow, can’t we reject these types of leaders who are not good role models for leadership? Or are we just waiting for our turn at the trough where we can fill our pockets and benefit from leadership positions?
I believe that we should demand more from our leaders, they should represent us, or at least be representative of us, but this doesn’t appear to be the case.
How can it be that Stephen Covey has sold 15 millions copies of Seven Habits of Highly Effective people yet very few of our leaders show those qualities or habits?
I do believe that there is a crisis in leadership, and I think the evidence is right before our eyes.
Now is the time for those of us who believe in Servant Leadership and People Centric Leadership to step up, to provide the people with the kind of leadership that will inspire them, and which will make this world a better place.
I’d be very interested to hear your views or comments.
Gordon, thanks for this post.
What I have observed is that a certain type of manager will toil and sacrifice to attain the position and power of leadership and, having attained that goal, think that he or she has arrived. Certainly he (or she) will continue to toil and sacrifice to maintain the position, but not to grow and develop the people he manages.
I’ve also observed that the higher up the management ladder a person climbs, even in a small company, the more disconnected that person becomes from the day-to-day toils required on the production floor. The disconnect between management and production creates and “us-them” situation that can be profoundly corrosive to the morale of the company. That may be, to some degree, normal and expected; however, it can have profoundly negative effects on employee morale when the manager promises more than production can deliver, because production begins to feel less like valued employees and more like serfs.
Perhaps what is missing is empathy. Empathy seems to be missing in large segments of the world today. It would not surprise me if empathy is missing in business today also. Daniel Goleman had some interesting comments about this in a video from Harvard Business Review that I found interesting, though a bit over-complicated. If you haven’t seen it and are interested, the link is http://hbr.org/video/2838341939001/leaders-need-three-kinds-of-focus
i think some leaders just feel they have served their time, and now they can cash in. I have even seen people change completely going from good leaders to bad once they make it to the top
I’ve seen that also, Gordon. It’s heartbreaking.
if you’re an A hole all the way up, then we get what we expect, but if you become one at the top, then thats a real shame
Hello Gordon,
The problem is not with leadership but rather with followership.
Followers do no work investigating leaders before they follow.
Bob
Sometimes our leaders mislead about what they will do. I don’t think we can blame all the followers.
Hello Gordon.
If some people see that they are misleading, then what is it about the other followers that prevents them from seeing?
Awesome point
Thanks D, much appreciated