What kind of Leaders are we REALLY looking for?

Scan the job adverts in any major newspaper or postings being supported through an executive search firm and you are liable to find one or more President, Chief Executive Officer or senior level roles up for grabs.  Most of the postings describe desirable characteristics of the leaders being sought and the values, culture, and/or history of the firm seeking its next leader.

The posting might look something like:

The Opportunity:  The successful candidate must be able to inspire others to achieve their personal goals, establish an organizational vision that ultimately ensures personal success above all else, and establishes an environment in which the team complies with direction out of fear of their jobs and careers.

  Our next leader will:

• Primarily focus on self and not waste valuable time focused on sustaining others and/or building organizational capacity;
• Not spend time coaching, mentoring or encouraging others when executive time is better spent getting business-related results that directly relate to ability to generate a personal bonus;
• Focus on relationships that will enhance their personal network thus facilitating personal advantage both in the short and long-term;
• Understands that glitzy public relations campaigns, slogans and emotional appeals can often outweigh the effort and cost of more fundamental business efforts;
• Engage with stakeholders primarily to foster an image of inclusion but otherwise manage expectations to the benefit of self;
• Have a proven track record of negotiating best possible salary, benefits, and bonuses package for self while effectively communicating need for fiscal restraint for the rest of the organization; and
• Discourages a culture of openness, inquiry, and debate. 

At this point I'm hoping you are saying "What the heck is this guy talking about?  I've never seen an executive posting like that!!"  And of course you are absolutely correct.  What I have given you is pretty much the mirror opposite of this fictitious posting.  Most of us - and the organizations we work for - would state a desire to have inspiring, visionary, inclusionary, collaborative, selfless leaders.  Yet, to my mind, many organizations, boards, and other executives have a horrible track record of not hiring the kind of leaders they say they are looking for.  I was reminded of this reality when viewing a recent Simon Sinek TED Talk entitled "Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe", the link to which is noted here:


http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_why_good_leaders_make_you_feel_safe

If you have not yet seen this talk I suggest that it is 12 minutes of your time well spent.  There we so many aspects of this presentation that hit home for me.  His first point of reference was a military scenario that led him to wonder whether the leaders he had observed had just been born better people.  He rapidly corrects himself though and suggests that it's the environment that permits these leaders to be created - if you get the environment right he suggests that every one of us had the capacity to do remarkable things.  He goes on to state that the basis for this leadership incubator is an environment built on trust and cooperation.  And you can't tell somebody to trust you or to cooperate with you.  There are no valid "directions" or "speech" by which you can enforce or establish that kind of environment in an instant.  Yet over and over again in my experience I have encountered leaders who believe that by position and authority alone that they should expect the trust and cooperation of others.  Do as I say (not as I do) without question.

Sinek contrasts this command and control environment - and the fear that it engenders - with some remarkable examples of what I consider to be extraordinary leaders.  One such company that he talks about is Next Jump who's CEO, Charlie Kim, instituted a policy of LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT.  This is not in the traditional or historical sense that you and I might understand - or perhaps as our parents and grandparents might have experienced it.  Rather, Next Jump makes the commitment to each employee that they will not be fired - even if you are having performance issues!  Further, they will invest in you, with coaching, training and any other support that helps you stay a part of the Next Jump family.  How many leaders and organizations have you experienced that would go to those lengths versus terminating for cause or not and hiring the next employee?

To what lengths as employees or followers would we go - would you go - if you had a LEADER and organization that treated you as such a precious commodity that they stuck with you regardless of circumstances?  Sinek suggests, and provides other examples of, people making significant sacrifices on behalf of the organization's continued good health and the well-being of their colleagues if a trusting and collaborative environment has been built up over time - and where the leaders have walked the talk, shared the sacrifices, and gone first.  In contrast, he also recounts the visceral hatred, anger and lack of commitment to those CEOs who demonstrate their lack of commitment to the health and success of all of their people as they pursue their disproportionate salaries and bonuses, who seem more intent on establishing and maintaining their summer homes in Phoenix, being seen at their private members clubs, or acquiring this year's latest model of sports car.  Those employees know that they have been sacrificed for the leader's gain.  The sacrifices have not been shared.

So the burning question that I am left with - and I leave with you - is if we all desire to be led by people like Next Jump's Charlie Kim why do leaders like him seem to be so exceptionally rare?  To paraphrase a common saying, how do we achieve like eagles when we are led by so many turkeys?  How are we allowing less than stellar leaders to continue to rise to the top?  What are we missing?

Today I provide no clear or definitive answer - I'm asking you for your opinion and answers.

______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.