What a Leader is Not

I have decided to change direction this week.

Over the last month or so, I have been sharing my views on leaders and leadership, highlighting the positive icons who have blessed my life—teaching me, challenging me, chastising me, inspiring me.

Yet I am concerned.

Every day as I peruse the news, read analyst reports, listen to the talking heads pontificate, I am confronted with what I consider to be a crisis in leadership. It’s a crisis that is affecting us in the industry, government, and even in our personal lives. A crisis that is manifesting itself in failed IPO’s, in dysfunctional politics, and maybe worst of all, in skewing the thinking of younger generations about what a leader should be…could be…must be…

My filter today will not be through the lens of my icons, but rather the flip side—my view of what leaders are not.

LEADERS ARE NOT:

• Appointed – full stop. No one can point to you, and say you are the one. Leaders are not anointed…no matter what you think. The fallout is often ugly. Tantrums—when people don’t follow. Demands of CC, and worse, the dreaded BCC for any and all communications as paranoia takes hold in the absence of true leadership. Bad decisions. Lack of inclusiveness, collaboration and diversity of thought. Bottom line…one needs to earn leader status.
• Hierarchically Defaulted – org charts can be helpful for many reasons, not the least of which is to show too many people doing the same thing (a topic for another time). But one purpose they don’t serve….at all…is to define leaders. It amazes me that even in so-called “modern” or “agile” organizations (BTW…usually self-defined) too many of us rely on an org chart to define leadership. Frankly, I prefer organi-graphs, which visualize process and hand-offs and are not linear to hierarchy. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the Org Chart gives you status. Define your own leadership within what you are charged to do, and the outcomes you are accountable for…those won’t show up on a hierarchy chart.
• The Biggest Salary – ok…I know you are thinking, “socialist,” and full confession, I am not Bernie Sanders, but more of what’s called a “champagne socialist—semi hypocritical but with good intent. That being said, leadership is not defined by the biggest anything: salary, office, car…whatever. Not that a leader might not have one, but leaders can be found at every level and at every pay grade. And in my experience the best leaders narrow the pay delta to make sure that all who contribute get paid equitably and fairly. And I have seen the best leaders pay certain people more than they receive because that person contributed something particular that helped drive the whole. Lesson: leaders get that it takes the team, and they share it all.
• The Fanciest Title – from this moment on you are the Emperor. Sounds good, but don’t fall for it. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people leave good jobs and interesting future potential because they were seduced by a title only to find it hollow and unfulfilling. Sometimes they are lucky and can come back, sometimes not. Title is not a sign of leadership, just another tick on the org chart box. They can be helpful for sure when they are functionally orientated and can be useful for benchmarking and such. But a sign or symbol of leadership? Don’t get caught in the trap. Again, think about what you need to accomplish…how you achieve success in your tasked outcomes…how do you lead that kind of team…how do you help make it all happen. And then do what you need to do…at any given time in the process, and if it’s making sure that lunch comes? Do it! Don’t worry that it's beneath the “Emperor’s” title because you see, sometimes the Emperor is naked…you know the story.
• The Loudest – we have all been in that meeting, we have all cringed through that scenario, and we have all felt the offensiveness of, “I’m the leader because I’m the loudest.” Sadly, in our out-of-control social media environment, there is skewed validation to this notion. We have seen fraud and maybe fraud committed because the perpetrator was loud and drowned out the critics, swayed the masses, or at least the analysts, and silenced the skeptical and questioning. Being loud doesn’t make you the leader, it only makes you loud. See my writing on silence—and DaVinci’s view of the same.
• The Meanest – of all the nots, this is the one that troubles me the most. For some reason there are those who see sheer meanness as a sign of strength, bullying as a symbol of power and ridiculing as validation of status. Frankly, I find it sad. Yes, it's offensive. Yes, it's abusive. And, yes, it's odious and hateful. But I think it's a sign and warning of weakness and incompetence. True leaders don’t have to be mean, nor are they cloying or fawning. True leaders respect all, regardless of rank, title, salary level, voice or place on the org chart. True leaders are never mean.

How do I summarize? Listen:

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. The true leader does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of actions and the integrity of intent”- Douglas MacArthur

 And there you have it…equality of actions and integrity of intent. Has there ever been a more precise and concise filter? What do you think?