Leadership in Crisis?
Look, leading of any organization can be hard and often times decision-makers make decisions based on earned intuition or information they believe to be true or ideas they don’t fully understand in the moment. I simply believe we should stop and think before we leap to the judgment about the quality of those decisions – let alone the intention of the leader.
There are times when rushing to judgment without fully understanding the context or the impact of those judgments is more than counterproductive – it’s hurtful to both the leader and to the organization entrusted to them. Maybe it’s time we pause – consider the leader’s full body of work, extend a little grace, and get back to the real work needing to be done.
One might suggest that I am the wrong person to point any of this out, as my own perspective has been colored by recent events in my life. So, let me acknowledge that I come at this as one who was questioned about decisions I made, about my style of leadership and about my view and treatment of those who I worked for and with.
I am not wholly innocent, and I have paid a heavy cost for my real and perceived missteps – perhaps disproportionately so but that is a topic for another day and a much longer post. I write this because I am worried that we are in a leadership crisis. And while there are surely “bad” leaders – my concern today is more concerned with the toxic lens others now use in hindsight to second guess, impugn and undermine good people who simply have made a mistake or are perceived to have done something which didn’t pass their understanding of what needed to be done or was actually done..
Today, it seems everyone believes they could have done it better – it feels like we are living in a time when second-guessing, cynicism and snark are valued over any honest effort that falls short. It’s clear to me that there are some who will use a momentary lapse in judgment or understanding to tear down a person who might otherwise have an otherwise unblemished record. Critics weigh in on every decision after the fact - never mind they have never done it before or that they have no experience which provides worthy honest-insight or credibility. They simply have a voice, an opinion, and a platform – and the time to offer their “truth.”
And their “truth” perhaps well-intentioned can simply be wrong. It can be uninformed or misinformed. Yet it often competes for airspace and credibility in an unfiltered and unbridled environment. Today, there are more and more instances of comments offered simply to make others look small or do damage through misinformation and innuendo. Where people connect dots to create a narrative that serves them rather than the truth or organization. Sadly; this is all too frequently coupled with a growing trend in society, the need to appear to be in the know, to be more relevant than their current situation allows them to be. This troubling new ethos empowers some users of traditional and non-traditional media –to publicly humiliate others – to make leaders look bad, small or otherwise ill-intended in order for the author to grow in their own social status measured by clicks and likes.
Over the next few months, I will offer thoughts and comments about my journey – the fall from grace and the road to recovery. Each post will have practical tips for leaders in the public or private eye to deftly move through the Crisis of Leadership.
