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| by John P. Schreitmueller | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
If you believe what you see and hear in the media, you are no doubt convinced 2006 was a lousy year for leaders. Ken Lay is no longer with us, victim of a heart attack that must have been at least in part related to the stress he felt as a result of his shenanigans at Enron. And his buddy Mr. Skilling received a 24-year sentence for helping bring Enron to its knees.
It seems almost every week during the past year, The Wall Street Journal has treated us to tales of yet another CEO or senior business executive who either got caught with her hands in the cookie jar, or got off with a multi-million dollar package despite performances more worthy of reform school inmates. Even when the law is not broken, it is obvious from what we read the moral fiber of business leadership is. Politically, the oven is warming up for what will prove to be a hot 2008 presidential election, with a few potentially sincere and others who are mostly insincere contenders already jockeying for position. In Washington, the administration took a colossal hit in the mid-term polls, and is under constant attack for shortcomings in foreign policy, energy policy, security policy, immigration policy, any policy. And we have the usual spate of Congressmen who, well, got into hot water when their hijinks became public. One of them was forced to quit in utter disgrace.
Shifting from Lousy Leadership to Resolute Leadership
At least from where I sit, however, all is not wrong with leadership. Believe it or not, there is good news. Every day, I see CEOs, Partners and other senior leaders who struggle to balance the equation between unrealistic expectations and what they know to be authentically possible. This is noteworthy, especially when pressure is so great to perform (translated: achieve dramatic results, no matter what). Nevertheless, I think that were I to award a grade to leadership for its performance in 2006, I would give it a D-. A pretty poor performance. Why so low a grade? As leaders, it is part of our job to make the media aware of not only what is wrong with our craft, but what is right. This means doing things so well, so outside the box, it becomes “newsworthy.” This means dramatic performances as resolute leaders. Boards and investors would cease hero-worshiping those who fashion themselves as tough, cost-cutting corporate rape artists. Lord knows clients and the top talent organizations must retain gave up on these leader-terrorists a long time ago.
Shifting from lousy leadership to resolute leadership requires huge, personal investments. Many don’t like the idea of huge personal investments, especially when time, money and self-confrontation are all lumped into the equation. Better to beat people up more, fire a few more thousand, and let the damage control spin masters handle the negative press. In 2006, how many top executives invested serious time and money on qualified consultants to help them identify and achieve their authentic goals? How many of them took that difficult look into the mirror? Not enough. How many top leaders flew in the face of board expectations, corporate-speak and analysts? More than we know, I am certain. And that is the news we didn’t hear. How many leaders “streamlined” layers of bureaucracy instead of employees and resources? How many top executives said “no” to foolish team-building exercises and simply told the truth instead? And how many CFOs will reject 2007 budgets they know are predicated on “fluff” that originates from field organizations too scared to provide the real numbers? Get my drift? On the political scene, think of the coronary cases that would flood emergency rooms if, one evening, a brave, resolute contender appeared on the TV screen and declared something along these lines: “I don’t have all the answers, and I will not insult you by claiming that I do. But I will do something new: I will tell you the truth. I will not lie to you. I do not care if I get re-elected, and so the focus of my energies upon entering office will not be to hold on to power. I already have enough power as a free man (or woman). What I want is a chance to demonstrate authentic leadership to our nation. I will place our security, our economy and our well-being above political action groups, campaign money and my own ego. If, after 4 years, you feel you are significantly better off, then I will feel justified to ask again for your vote. If not, I don’t deserve another term. I will go find other work. Lord knows, plenty of other Americans have had to do precisely that, as a result of lousy leadership. So, whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent, please consider voting for me. Because a vote for me is a vote for the truth. And the truth is something you deserve. Thank you.” Now, I am not naïve enough to hold my breath in anticipation of such a speech. But it’s nice to think about. What if we began to hold our leaders, in government and in business, to similar standards? What if we made 2007 The Year of the Resolute Leader? 2007: A New Beginning
2006 will not go down in history as the year all the counterfeit leaders were summarily ousted. But it certainly gave us grounds for divorce. Take that look into the mirror now. What legacies do you intend to leave? That you fired thousands to manage the bottom line instead of talking to clients? That you got elected on a bunch of promises Superman couldn’t keep? That you bought even more stuff to impress a bunch of jerks not worth impressing? Or…because of your efforts in 2007, you made 3 key decisions that led to your legacy as a fair, competent leader with the extraordinary ability to place yourself in the other guy’s shoes? That your greatest strengths as a leader are your abilities to inspire out of humility and gratitude? The next twelve months will be the only chances we get to do something useful with 2007. We’ll never have that chance again. What will we do with the time? More of the same? I think we’re better than that. Go out and tell the truth. Your truth. Go out and lead. Oh. By the way. My very best for a safe, peaceful, and, dare I say, resolute holiday season.
For more information contact: Resolute Consulting Group LLC |
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| Copyright 2006 by Resolute Consulting Group LLC. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Year of Lackluster Leadership
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