Blunt on Leadership
Haaappy Friday,
Leadership has been an organizational challenge for more than 50 years. If leadership training and the thousands of leadership books, seminars, and courses actually solved the problem, why has it persisted for 5+ decades?
Leadership problems don't just spontaneously appear out of the air. They’re the predictable result of a flawed leadership system defined by three organizational decisions.
- Nutty leader selection process.
A candidate's ability to lead other humans (the job) is usually given less weight than other factors like retention (the fear of losing them), tenure, technical expertise, internal relationships, and fear of disappointment or conflict. As a result, a person with little or no leadership aptitude often gets the seat. - No explicit expectations.
Most organizations never define what good leadership looks like, never set even minimal leadership expectations, and never expect their leaders to develop any leadership skills. Management yes. Leadership no. - No incentive to improve.
Leaders are typically measured on operational results, not how well they develop people, build trust, or create high-performing teams. So they just wield the authority inherent in the position and manage. But people don't like to be managed, and that's when you realize you have a leadership problem.
In summary:
- Leadership aptitude isn't required to get a leadership job.
- Once given the job, leadership isn’t expected.
- And there's no incentive to be a good leader.
So the next time someone says, "We have a leadership problem," politely tell them to look in the mirror. Don't blame the good people already in the role. Instead, fix the system that perpetuates the problem.
Violated Business Truisms: 1) Get the right people in the right seat. 2) You get what you explicitly expect. 3) Incentives drive outcomes.
Punchline: Until the system is fixed, drive-by leadership training won't meaningfully or sustainably move the needle. People will appreciate the training, and they'll learn the vocabulary of leadership. But at the end of the day, the leadership you actually get will be the leadership you explicitly expect and incentivize. Keep up the training, but fix the system!
And have a great weekend,
Dave
Feedback and blowback are always welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com
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