Reality and Good Leadership

When reality is not reality...

I recently heard Dr. Sternberg speak at Tufts University in Boston, USA. He is a psychologist and also Dean of the College of Science and the Arts. He was also the President of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Sternberg spoke on "good leaders and bad leaders". His presentation was excellent, and it was both personally and professionally challenging for me.

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All of us in leadership struggle at times with areas of weakness and even areas of wrongness. Sometimes though, people in positions of responsibility can consistently "go down the wrong road" and negatively impact the well-being of others. Sternberg would refer to such people as being "bad" leaders. His comments were enlightening. Based on his research and experience, he emphasised that bad leaders ultimately deny/distort reality. This denial of reality, as we have noted in recent blog entries, is essentially what dysfunction is all about. He also made many other points. Some examples:
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**They see themselves as being above accountability—“ethics” are for other people.
**They do not avail themselves of needed input from others to complement, balance, and correct themselves.
**They lapse into an unrealistic and often disguised sense of omnipotence, inerrancy, mega-importance, unrealistic optimism, and invulnerability.
**They become entrenched in their ways, even when it is obvious to others that these leaders are digging a bigger pit of mistakes into which they and others will fall.

**They may have high intelligence, but ultimately all the above makes them “foolish.”

Ultimately, bad leaders distort and ignore reality.
They create their own reality.

Bad leaders display a significantly diminished moral competency.

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Reflection and Discussion

How do we respond to weakness and wrongness in ourselves and others?

For starters, consider the words of Ayn Rand, a noted philosopher from this century. She adamantly asserts that 'something always happens when we do nothing'. Read carefuly--it is well worth it. How would you relate Rand's words with those of Sternberg?

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“It is not justice or equal treatment that you grant to men when you abstain equally from praising men’s virtues and from condemning men’s vices. When your impartial attitude declares, in effect, that neither the good nor the evil may expect anything from you---whom do you betray and whom do you encourage?”