The enigma of ‘Obsessive’ leadership

“We are here to make a dent in the universe, otherwise why even be here?”

-?????? Steve Jobs

During organisational Culture engagements, we discuss with top leaders about ‘obsessive’ leadership. Cultivating a strong passion which wakes up the organisation, shakes up each employee and compels the desired cultural change.

A few days back, the legendary hotelier Prithviraj Singh Oberoi (Biki) passed away. In his lifetime, he positioned the Oberoi (and Trident) brands as world class hotel chains. ?A dear friend of mine who had worked with him narrates stories of how Biki used to obsess over a ‘delightful and unique’? experience for each and every guest.

When asked if he demanded 99% perfection from his people, he responded ‘No, it’s 99.5%!’

Obsessed leaders can be a pain in the neck. They set crazy benchmarks and hound people to surpass them. Many of them shout, get emotional, lose their temper, dismiss anything less than the standard they are striving to achieve.

They shake up the organisation and push it towards a compelling (and seemingly impossible) vision

Bill Gates was obsessed about putting a ‘computer on every desk’, … Steve Jobs was crazy about delivering stunning innovative products. Elon Musk wants to put ‘mankind on Mars’ in his lifetime, Mahatma Gandhi single mindedly applied himself towards freeing the nation. Dr. Kurien (of AMUL fame) relentlessly worked towards providing milk (and milk products) to every corner of the country.

Can you think of any leader who truly built something worthwhile without being obsessed about it, pushing people to the brink and being unreasonable?

It's not easy to be an obsessed leader. You walk this path alone. Most leaders avoid it. As Robert Bruce Shaw writes in his book ‘ALL IN’….”Obsession is often feared, not only for the price it extracts from individuals and their families but because of the toll it can take on coworkers”

Also for such leaders, pushing the limits of the organisation and employees, there is a higher probability of moving to the ‘dark side’ and becoming dysfunctional, damaging the organisation.

Every book (and expert) on Leadership talks about ‘psychological safety’, ‘servant leadership’, ‘inspiring people’ , ‘compassion’ and so on…. Yes, such socially compliant qualites produce great leaders, who manage businesses to deliver organic growth.. they usually build on the foundations of ‘steel’ forged in the fire of an obsessive leader…. But these amiable Leadership qualities? usually do not produce something truly different and great.

Obsessive leaders care for their people… but they care more about their dream…they are not bothered about ‘what people think about them’… they are focussed on the North Star of their goal.

Such leaders are not just at the top of the heap… I have seen them in the middle ranks and even on the grimy shopfloors of organisations… and even there, the obsessive leader creates something different and remarkable.

The obsessive leader is a nice person… just that she is sharply focussed on a dream or objective (or value), and not willing to compromise on it in any way. She would be a loving mother, caring wife and enjoy vacations with friends, but when it comes to her objective, she becomes a different person.

Of course, the obsession also needs to be supported by knowledge, experience, strategic thinking, people skills and other such traits. It is the ‘steel’ underneath the silk. The leader learns to harness his obsession and leverage it purposefully to build something truly remarkable.

There are three clear signs of an obsessive leader:

1.???? Clarity about the Vision (or Value): The Leader is crystal clear about what he wants and why it is critical for success. He is not dilly dallying or discussing or cutting corners or getting swayed by conflicting perspectives. He is convinced that sticking to his ‘benchmark’ is the best way to success. He goes for the jugular.. no middle path for him. Steve Jobs gave impossible targets and refused to step back. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel did not compromise on a single square inch of land when integrating princely states into the Indian Federation. Dr. Kurien fought the bureaucracy to ensure top quality products and market domination for AMUL.

2.???? The leader truly demonstrates the Value: When Jeff Bezos talked about cost saving, he got cheap doors to be used as desks. Mahatma Gandhi wore a single loincloth to identify with the ‘poorest of the poor’. Biki Oberoi used to dress up elegantly all the time, right down to the ‘pocket square’ on his breast pocket. Elon Musk worked relentlessly on the Tesla shopfloor, sleeping under his desk. The leader guts herself out for her vision.. and inspires everyone else to do it.

3.???? People may be dispensable.. the Value is not: The leader will listen to everything except any compromise on his Value ( or Vision)…. Anyone who is not complying can leave. The leader will excoriate, place insane demands, push people to their limits to get to the desired benchmark. Those who live through it will recollect ?tough experiences of a leader demanding the ‘impossible’ and also share the joys of actually achieving it.

The moot question is do we necessarily need to be obsessive to be transformative leaders?. The counter question is that to create something truly different and remarkable, is there any other option?

To build a strong organisational culture, we need leadership commitment which nudges the boundaries of obsession.

The Organisational values? need to be inspirational for every emplyee and for that the leader needs to demonstrate them, walk the talk, and obsess about them. He needs to be emotional about them. Just ‘lip service’ does not work. Just highlighting as a ‘discussion point’ in meetings is not enough.

Many organisations struggle because the top leaders are unable to demonstrate the ‘obsession’ which takes the company from good to great. The leaders are themselves unaware of what they are missing. They talk about the key values/objectives, proclaim their commitment but do not really put their ‘skin in the game’…they don’t push boundaries and the critical values or goals languish in mediocrity. Most of them do this in the guise of ‘delegating’ the work to people down below. It’s a psychological trap, and unfortunately there are very few people who can show them the mirror.

Every leader should ask oneself… "am I obsessed enough about the Values that will transform my organisation?"

Comments are welcome!

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