Take the Leadership Failure Test

I have… seen things you people wouldn’t believe… attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.

I have… seen things you people wouldn’t believe… attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those… moments… will be lost in time, like [small cough] tears… in… rain. Time… to die… I love this final speech in Blade Runner, when the dying replicant Roy Batty makes this speech to Harrison Ford’s character Deckard moments after saving him from falling off a tall building.

I have… seen things you people wouldn’t believe… in leadership, education, hospitality and management. Well maybe you would not be surprised but it never ceases to amaze me at the numbers of people in leadership positions that just shouldn’t be. Likewise, I’ve stopped being surprised when those charged with leadership development can’t seem to figure out what constitutes a leader. The classic myth still persists that great leaders are born, not made. So time for some myths and cognitive biases to die…

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born – that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born. Warren G. Bennis

So to re-phrase the classic question with a twist: can everyone be a leader? Well take the view of Tom Peters, Leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders.Now that is truly powerful. You see most people I meet think they are a leader but most are far from it (yet). The harsh reality is that we live in a world awash with leadership lightweights. The answer to the question is of course is that any one could be a leader, but most fail to be real leaders. It all depends on how you define the word leader. Truly amazing leaders empower others to become leaders. Their higher goal is to work themselves out of the job so that if they are not around, the organisation functions just as successfully as when they are around.

Anyone can excel at anything if they truly put their mind to it. All the evidence points to leadership being a skill, not a genetic disposition. How do you know who will make a great leader in a given circumstance? Try my Leadership Failure Checklist; someone (maybe you or someone you know) isn’t a leader if…

They don’t get results. Obvious? Well the acid test of leadership is Churchill’s classic, It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary. Real leaders perform and they get the job done. They consistently exceed expectations. No results will equate to no leadership. It’s just that simple.
They don’t make decisions. Real leaders must make decisions, and so if a person always seems to vacillate on choices big and small, from who should handle a certain client to where to go for lunch they will probably have difficulty in a leadership position. It indicates a lack of self-confidence.
They have all the answers. The best leaders have a clear understanding of their own limitations. They know that success is a team sport and there is no such thing as a self-made man. They realise that it takes a diverse team to truly innovate. I believe that truly great leaders listen more than they speak. They listen with the goal to understand, not the goal to answer. They admit their mistakes and empower their people.
They can’t lead because they don’t have a position of authority. I hear this excuse a lot: I need a tittle! No. This excuse stems from the traditional definition of leadership. It equates leadership with a position and with authority. If we define leadership in a different manner, it opens up an entirely new perspective for students. What if leadership was more about people pursuing a calling in life; a calling with which we will influence others in its fulfilment? What if it had more to do with finding an area of strength and in using that strength?
They fear change. A classic leadership excuse is found here. Change is scary for everyone, especially when it involves loads of money and/or people’s jobs. But leaders who cannot embrace change are destined to be left behind.
They want to be in the spotlight. It is true that if you are a leader of the company there is an expectation that you will also be a company’s spokesperson. But leadership comes in many forms. You don’t have to be on the organisation’s executive team to be a leader. True leaders are humble. They don’t much care about the spotlight. They care about the results and therefore they really focus. In his book Good to Great Jim Collins says that exceptional leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. Amazing leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.
They lack real empathy. The lack of empathy is a key indicator of a poor leader. If the person cannot seem to put him or herself in another person’s shoes and see things from a different perspective, they will never be a truly great leader.
They just don’t care. Indifference is a characteristic not well suited to leadership. You simply cannot be a leader if you don’t care about those you lead. The real test of any leader is whether or not those they lead are better off for being led by them. Also are they developing new leaders?
They lack humility. These are the people who act as though they can do it all and are the only one who can do it right. It is unlikely they will be a great leader, because they’ll be too busy doing everyone else’s job. Micro-managers need not apply.
They are far too bossy. It’s a common misconception that bossy people make good bosses. Actually, the opposite is true. Someone who simply orders others around is unlikely to engender any loyalty or make subordinates feel empowered. True leaders have followers who want to be led by them.
They care more about making promises than keeping them. Leadership isn’t about your rhetoric, it’s about your actions. Michael Jordan famously said,Earn your leadership every day. Leadership might begin with your vision, but it’s delivering that vision that will ultimately determine your success as a leader.
They follow the rules instead of breaking them. Boring, Dull and the great enemy of leadership. Leadership is nothing if not understanding the need for change and then possessing the ability to deliver it. Push yourself further and consign the rule book to the bin.
They take credit instead of giving it (see also mudita). True leadership isn’t found seeking the spotlight, but seeking to shine the spotlight on others. The best leaders only use I when accepting responsibility for failures. Likewise, they are quick to use we when referring to successes.

What was your / their score?

Well the take home is more important than the number: it is less about position and more about disposition.It is not so much about superiority but about service in the area of our strengths. Dwight Eisenhower once commented that, the supreme quality of leadership is integrity. It also seems then, it has less to do with a set of behaviours and more to do with a perspective with which we view life. Daniel Webster’s There is always room at the top should encourage you to be a great leader. One person’s success does not leave less for the rest of you. The leadership universe expands and the fact is there’s always room at the top because there’s always people getting there. It isn’t a zero sum game with a loser for every winner. There are plenty of winners coexisting at the top and you can be amazing every day and a true leader.

Leadership is a great calling for every one of us…at some level and to dome degree. It’s about becoming the person we were meant to be. Being that amazing person everyday. All those… leadership moments… will be lost in time, like tears… in… rain.

A leader is best when people barely know they exists, when their work is done, their aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Lao Tzu

Be Amazing Every Day.

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