Leadership Pet Peeves
“Leadership” is a good way to think about who to vote for in this year’s presidential election, in addition to being a set of traits we should ourselves aspire to in our respective positions of influence (at home, at work, in our communities). One way I want to explore the topic is to describe a few leadership pet peeves, which may not be important to others but to me are borderline disqualifying for those who exhibit these patterns.
- Words and deeds don’t line up with rhetoric. Leadership requires integrity, and an easy way to test for that in a leader is to see if they are living their life in an internal consistent way. Claiming to be a champion of the people but using denigrating words in private, taking the moral high ground while your closet is full of skeletons, acting religious in some settings and being dismissive of the religious in others…these are all examples that make me lose confidence in a person as a leader. I realize that leaders are not applying for sainthood, but my point is less about righteousness and more about the integrity of your words, deeds, and character meaning something that people can go to the bank with.
- Unprepared for obvious questions. Leadership requires preparation, so when you’re unable to respond to the people you’re leading or want to lead when presented with something you should know they will want to know about, that is insulting to me and tells me you’re not ready to lead. It’s not your job to have all the answers. It is your job to anticipate the obvious questions and to have thought about what your response is to them in advance. For example, I remember watching a not-for-profit leader being approached by someone who wanted to make a significant contribution to their organization, and this not-for-profit leader was unable to articulate the mechanics of how the potential donor could make the gift and what it would be used for. I mean, it’s your job to raise money for your organization and to express what that money goes towards, so how can you get caught off guard without a concise response?
- Dismissive of ideas originated from elsewhere in the organization. Leadership doesn’t mean knowing it all, and in fact demands a humility that comes from knowing that you can’t possibly know it all. The best leaders don’t necessarily come up with the best ideas as much as they create an environment where great ideas can be formed, tested, and scaled. I really despise when leaders greet someone’s enthusiasm about a fresh approach with ambivalence, annoyance, or disdain. That’s a terrible way to create a culture of innovation.
Do you have any leadership pet peeves?
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