Take-aways:
Why We’re Missing the Point (and Opportunity) on Leadership
A New Definition of Prosperity is Emerging, Requiring A New Kind of Social Leader in All Sectors and Institutions
Great Leaders Understand that they are Entrusted to Serve
Why We’re Missing the Point (and Opportunity) on Leadership
We are smack in the middle of a Presidential election cycle. That’s not new news, and this post will not be about picking favorites. The rising temperature and unease of this Presidential election cycle is, however, illustrative of the unrelenting and unforgiving times business, government, and civic leaders are now navigating through.
Fear and frustration over rising inflation, job security, and quality of life measures including accessible and affordable healthcare, housing, education, energy, transportation, and food have millions of Americans yearning for new leadership. Further, as partisan politics has ratcheted up a culture of divisiveness, discontent, and distrust among many Americans, we’ve found ourselves in a lose-lose battle of who’s right and who’s wrong. Meanwhile our society remains starved for authentic and principled leadership across all levels of major institutions including government, corporate, media, academic, research, medical, and non-governmental organizations.
Look no further than the ongoing Boeing and airline industry safety debacle; or the slate of dizzying daily headlines that reveal the lack of leadership that plagues our world. Wildfires, shootings and assassination attempts, escalating global conflicts, contaminated water and foods, homelessness and housing crisis’, mental health crisis, the barrage of Breaking (and bad) news goes on and on.
I’ll stop there. Reciting our challenges with no solution is futile and a waste of your and my time. We all know, or at least have a strong sense, that something is dreadfully wrong, our systems are failing us. We must also consider that we are failing our systems, and subsequently ourselves. We’re created and are now caught up in our own paradox of limitation, constructed upon our false notions of who leaders are and what good leadership looks like.
Great leaders and leadership do not operate in a vacuum. This is self-evident, however, it seems that many people associate leaders as if they are mythical beasts, like Charizard, one of my son’s Pokémon playing cards. The beast has unique powers and can miraculously manifest those powers whenever it needs to. American culture likes to put leaders on a pedestal, celebrating those that fight, those that win, and those that personify strength and might. Deep down, most people understand that leaders are not mythical beings. Societies caricature of leaders and leadership is an over glorification of simplistic traits that paint a picture of masculinity, dominance, and power.
Well, I’m sorry to burst this bubble, but those traits are not what most leaders are, and certainly not what leadership is all about. Further, the challenges and opportunities we have before us across all facets of society requires a much different type of leader, one that challenges our conventional views on leadership, and one that is much more caring, accessible, inclusive, humanistic, accountable, principled, and trustworthy.
Our shaped cultural perception and misconceptions of leadership have misguided many Americans on what leaders should look and behave like. Some people have accepted the brute and simplistic noise makers as images of power. But you cannot trust those that pontificate the desire for power as a “trust me” platform. Trust is a relationship; it requires all parties to put in the necessary time and effort to pursue and achieve something together. Trust is not one-directional, therefore leadership based on trust must be multidimensional.
Leaders must be supported. When things are not working at your job, in your community, within your home, it’s easy and convenient to point your finger at someone or something else as the problem. High inflation? Chastise the President. High Crime? Oust the Mayor and Chief of Police. Frustrated about your job performance? It must be because your manager doesn’t “get you” or coach you enough.
Inherently, most people have been conditioned to place blame and frustration on someone or something with higher title and authority when things aren’t going their way. Many people don’t understand, or at least don’t want to put in the time and effort to understand, that leaders and leadership are not (exclusively) about title. Rather, leadership is about creating and nurturing a trust-bond where all people have a role to serve in the maintenance and longevity of that bond. If all parties are not actively engaged, something always falls by the wayside and is lost. For some, it is far easier to attach themselves to conspiracies that serve their narrative, than it is to serve their role in manifesting trust.
Our economy and society may or may not be “rigged.” What is certain however is that if we don’t solve the leadership dilemma, we are destined to find ourselves in an increasingly polarized, unproductive, and manipulated economy and future. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that all people that carry a title of significance are poor leaders. I’m also not claiming that leaders don’t exist outside of formal titles, like President and CEO. They do.
Leaders exist and leadership is exercised across all organizations and institutions, and in a myriad of ways. In recent years, however, anyone with a leadership title has become a more visible target, particularly for those that epitomize leaders as the mythical creatures lurking atop the pedestal. We’ve witnessed an increased assault on people that hold title, particularly as more and more people have become empowered to speak out against anyone and everyone that does not align with their point-of-view, their politics, or their values.
Exercising First Amendment Rights has always been an American virtue. But the demeanor by which some individuals have chosen to exercise those rights in recent years has become noisier, pugnacious, and outright disgusting. If we view leadership as a trust-bond, then when it comes down to it, we are all culpable for poor leadership. It may be true that some ‘leaders’ warrant harsh criticism. And some ‘leaders’ simply do not have the skillset or experience to build trust and lead. Leaders must be willing to self-identify their weaknesses or gaps, or at least be willing to listen and hear what those limitations may be from those they serve, and then learn and grow, adapt and evolve, or accept and move on.
Leadership is not about placing all responsibility and accountability with one singular leader. To be effective, leadership must engage, empower, and envelop commitments from all whom it serves. In this way, we all have a role to serve as active participants in the institutions that we place value with such as, family, religion, democracy, capitalism, education, and more. No singular institution or singular leader is responsible for all our prosperity. Prosperity, like democracy, is valued and earned through our active participation, that is, by being a leader among many leaders.
A New Definition of Prosperity is Emerging, Requiring A New Kind of Social Leader in All Sectors and Institutions
Once a beacon of prestige and freedom, the classic metaphor for pursuing and attaining the American dream has eroded. Decades in the making, the demise of the American dream represents a confluence of economic, environmental, and social forces that have been eating away at people’s quality of life and their pursuit of prosperity. Although the romanticized American dream has faded, a new generation of American’s and global citizens are seeking to define their fate and freedom toward a new prosperity. Fed up with big business, big brother, and big tech, citizens and consumers feel as if they are trapped living within a world of deception, delusion, and distrust – some might even associate the dissolution of the American dream to the advance of the dystopian state captured within George Orwell’s “1984.”
The American society, and democracy at-large, has long had to fight for survival. We’ve been shaken by a steady state of social change and civil unrest that some historians and pundits’ postulate as the growing pains America and Americans have had to go through – as democracy and freedom is never simply afforded, they must be intentionally pursued and protected.
The origins of a new prosperity are underway. Guided by redefining prosperity (the underlying “why”) and through principles of pragmatism (the “what and how” of the new prosperity roadmap), people have shed notions of enslaving themselves to institutions and systems that permeate false beliefs and narratives around freedom and prosperity. People are reclaiming their virtue and assuming control of their future. While a rebellion of ideology may ensue, if not a more pronounced rebellion that could arise, my sense is that individuals and our broader society are yearning for a greater sense of certainty, belonging, identity, hope, and love. This is not to say that we will not continue to see social uprisings or heated debate in the coming months and years. Given the climate we’re living in, we are literally and figuratively, as Thomas Friedman’s book title connotated, living in a “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” world.
Truly, the divisive and heated political temperament seems to rise like that of the planet’s temperature. Our resources are limited, yet we continue to be wasteful. Although the corporate sustainability movement is visible and billions of dollars flow toward “sustainable growth,” billions of people around the world live in dire conditions, fighting for their survival. The movement toward a new prosperity has mobilized. In the next decade this movement will rethink and redefine our notion of wealth, ownership, status, and power. In doing so, this movement will become a new hope toward a more peaceful, just, equitable, dignified, and sustainable society.
Great Leaders Understand that they are Entrusted to Serve
Great leaders are human, entrusted to serve at the will of their constituents (employees, shareholders and investors, citizens and voters, trustees, family members, etc.). President, CEO, Chairman, Executive Director, Principal, Superintendent, Head of XYZ, whatever the title, these individuals were elected or selected to be the bearers of a mutual trust. When those they serve no longer entrust, the leader’s power is relegated to a functional title. Unfortunately, this is when many ego-based leaders double down on poor judgement and behavior. When their leadership is challenged, they dismiss the trust-bond and sanctity of the relationships of which they were chosen to nurture, resulting in their continued demise. The underlying erosion of trust leads to a breakdown of relationships that upheld the institution, at least until a new leader can emerge to provide the necessary trust-bond.
People only have as much power as they are allowed to have, bestowed by the trust-bond provided by others. Leaders recognize and respect that the [perceived] power they have is not to be wielded with arrogance or greed. Leaders understand that their influence and impact is gifted by those that choose to be a part of something greater, and founded on evergreen principles of honesty, integrity, trust, accountability, humility, dignity, and more. When it comes to our leaders, business, political, religious, civic, and so on, let’s stop setting them up for failure, and us for disappointment and frustration.
As we pursue a refined vision for what American prosperity should be, let’s take a hard look at the type of leaders we need, and what leadership should be all about. We must shed our past impression of leaders shaped by mythical qualities and cultural icons. We must also embrace and lean into the fact that leadership is everyone's responsibility. For America's business and political leadership to grow and actually lead, we must all pitch in. Leadership is about providing an opportunity for all to learn, grow, and lead while being active trust brokers-and-bearers in achieving a more prosperous future together.
Comentários