The Travesty of Leadership
Simon Sinek has famously said that just because someone is in a position of leadership does not necessarily make them a leader.
Sinek, the author of world-wide acclaimed, Start with Why, is getting at the idea that leaders and leadership are not synonymous. McKinsey leads off one of their many leadership articles with a simple, straight-forward, and vision-focused definition of what leadership in the 21st Century should be:
Leadership is a set of behaviors used to help people align their collective direction, to execute strategic plans, and to continually renew an organization.
But as a generation of leaders gets set to retire and the next generation step forward, I'm reminded of the risks of leadership. The pitfalls. The flashing red lights. And the ever-present shiny objects reflecting the headlights back on the way to the real problems in dire need of attention.
LOOKING BACK
Throughout my career, I have worked with bad leaders and good leaders. In my time in positions of leadership, I constantly ask -- not only of myself -- but of my team: How am I doing? Am I getting in your way? What do you need? What are we missing?
I see my role as a person hired to lead. I need to help set the strategy and then, spend my days aligning the chess-pieces to make it more likely that we will, the individuals on your team and the company, find success. It can be a win-win.
To be sure, there are times when I have to get into the weeds, push things on a tactical level, and immerse myself in the day-to-day operations in service of the mission.
But in reflecting on the traits of some of my best leaders, I believe the best are ones who set the vision, provide the resources, and get out of the way.
I was recently discussing this with my spouse and I asked a direct question: Who would you say was your best boss? I needn't give you a run-down of how long he had to think to answer that particular question.
For me, my best two are polar opposites in their personalities, but their approaches were very similar.
They both set the stage for success. They both provided valuable in-the-moment feedback. And they both sat back and let me do the job I was hired to do; only jumping in when the strategy shifted or my work was straying too far from the tracks. The latter is something I always tell my teams in a line stolen from The Newsroom: "I will always be standing beside you and in front."
THE WAY FORWARD
I have been reading a lot this year about behavior economics and modern business strategies and I have been struck by the simplicity of it all. I have worked for an organization that tried to be lead by the EOS approach; the Entrepreneurial Operating System. The problem was that the EOS was a system for management but not a culture of the company. Culture and management are different. You can change all the management strategies you want but if the culture remains the same, very little will actually change.
My generation, the dreaded Millennials, are often tagged as being entitled, lazy, and the sandwich generation. What I see more and more from my seat as a Millennial leader is that there is very little we have not encountered in our careers. In my marketing role, I've managed mergers and acquisitions, I've handled crisis communications, I have managed digital media for major world sporting events, I have overseen product launches, and I've been let go and let go of others.
Most days, I love leading. There are the dreaded reports and paperwork, but leading is all about setting a vision and creating the paths for success. That's it. And it's fun. There is magic in this work.
So, I am struck what I see as the Travesty of Leadership.
When I think back to that organization that utilized the EOS management system, in the beginning, I was in favor of the shift. EOS provides a guided framework for alignment, visions, goals, and awareness. But what also needs to change is leadership style. And style is hard to change.
Whether it is a dictatorial leader or the SOS leader (better known as Shiny Object Syndrome leader), many leaders of today are simply broken. We have all worked for the former, but the latter is a relatively new phenomenon.
The thing is, leaders are supposed to pay attention to what's next. Love him or hate him, former CEO of Amazon, Founder Jeff Bezos said that leaders need to be focused on a few key decisions and on the future, on TikTok. His take is that leaders need to be quarters if not years ahead. When you have an SOS leader, you're constantly chasing fires that don't exist instead of leaning into the headwinds in your industry or organization.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY
Leadership, or the right of leadership, should be fun. Of course, there are always Boards or employees to worry about which keep you up at night, but the honor of leading, of setting a vision and watching it come together is a beautiful sight. But not all leaders are created equal. Some fail, some walk away, and all that is left is people.
And that's the point. Good leaders get and understand people. They understand their customers and are focused on taking the company forward to meet them where they will end up. They understand their vision is what motivates people to get up everyday and come into work. (And their paycheck, of course.) If there is passion behind the work, belief in the vision, it is because the leader puts it there and stays the course.