Leading with "AND" (Part 7 - Leaders' Dichotomy)

Ninety or so years ago, “Sybil”, a pseudonym for the woman discovered to possess as many as 16 distinct personalities (the actual number is up for debate), was never put in a position of leadership. I have a theory that she may have been a very effective leader in many areas.

Many conflicting expectations have been thrust upon leaders of today, in terms of performance and in the behaviors they exhibit day-to-day and even hour-to-hour. We certainly have deified leaders and their roles in the past, and the aura of power and omnipotence still lingers in some industries and organizations, but that era is passing. As human beings, we are all fallible…Period. This fallibility plays out on so many occasions, and, more often than not, leaders’ mistakes are amplified and become more common knowledge than the mistakes made by those who are not in leadership roles.

Authentic leadership has been touted as the magical elixir by which CEOs can maximize the potential of their organization by seeming to be real, human, genuine, and a unique personality. Everyone possesses quirks and those who seemingly are not ashamed of them, who are self-aware enough to admit to them and even jest about them, seem to win over followers.

Every study on EQ has shown that the level of self-awareness equates to the level of effective leadership performance. The more self-aware someone is, the better they can control their reactions, their emotions, and even their biases to ensure decisions are made objectively and fairly. What has happened is that as we have moved along the self-awareness curve, all behavior seems relevant to effective leadership, even if it seems there is a dichotomous nature to them. This is problematic and confusing to leaders in today’s organizations. It does make the case for Leading with "AND" and the Power of "AND".

See if you recognize the following expectations of dichotomous behavior for those who are in leadership positions today…

A truly “effective” leader today needs to be the following all at the same time:

Confident and have a healthy ego…AND…Humble and self-effacing

Decisive…AND…Balanced, objective, and thoughtful (not rushing to judgment)

Experienced…AND…Demonstrate new and fresh thinking

Brilliant…AND…Empathetic and down to earth, understanding of “common folk” issues

A strategic thinker…AND…A master of details

Strong…AND…Show vulnerability and able to admit mistakes

Resolute and opinionated…AND…Flexible and an effective listener

Highly communicative and sociable…AND…Highly discrete

In possession of a great “gut” feel…AND…Highly analytical

An effective delegator…AND…Able to have a finger on the pulse across the entire organization

Perfect every day…AND…Openly flawed and human

In public companies, there has always been a somewhat unhealthy tension between the short-term, quarterly performance expectations and the long-term strategic goals of the corporation. Yes, the most seasoned of CEOs and their Boards can manage to satisfy both sets of metrics more often than not, but it usually comes at the cost of sacrificing one or the other, often in alternating fashion.

We do tend to heap way too many unrealistic expectations on leaders’ shoulders today. Understandably so especially in a Pandemic. Leaders, especially CEOs, are not given enough time to re-shape an organization, redefine the strategy and the culture, and then have all that work take hold. This takes some modicum of patience. Certain mistakes will be made and yet the most effective leaders will use "AND" to their advantage and know exactly when to deploy any of the traits listed above.

Lloyd A. Perlmutter is the Founder/President of Veritas Advisory, LLC and has been leading and advising organizations for over 35 years. Call 248-794-9673 to have a meaningful and powerful conversation.