Why leaders fail to reach their full potential?
Some leaders, though initially win, fail to reach their full potential and cross fail to look at the good of an organisa-
tion. Absence of self-reflection stops
the lines into destructive or even unethical actions. A Harvard research on their personal development. They at-
derailing behaviours of leadership is examined with Indian stories by tack their critics, destroying their
own feedback channels only to finally
M R Chandramowly. face forced exit for their inaction lead-
ing to poor results.
A
study of unsuccessful cases of top leaders who failed. The ended with no revenue and subse-
leaders revealed a pat- study concluded in identifying five be- quent quarterly results reflected the Rationaliser
tern: the failed leaders havioural perils of leadership jour- same. Projections just remained in Jitender, the MD of a multi-nation-
couldn’t lead themselves. ney, which are: being an impostor, ra- power point slides and the point of al expanded the Indian business using
On their leadership jour- tionalising, glory seeking, playing power started moving away. Finally, acquisition and joint venture strate-
ney these high potential managers lone and being a shooting star. his reactive style resulted in his exit gies. After seeing himself at the heart
adopted a set of personal behaviours and also kept him away from family of success, the company waited for
that worked temporarily but were un-
Imposter life. the harvest on their huge invest-
sustainable in the long run (Bill Vadanesh, the CEO stood out dif- An imposter leader believes in ments. Pay back periods expired.
George - a professor of management ferent in terms of his actions and style, stunts and faking. Such people There were problems and issues at
practice at Harvard Business School speed. On joining, he quickly postu- climb up corporate ladder using a many levels, which were blamed upon
and Andrew McLean - former re- lated departmental objectives as he combination of cunning and aggres- people. Managers were made scape-
search associate at Harvard Business thought it fit, brought some people of sion. They are ultimate political ani- goats and asked to leave, as Jitender
School). his choice and removed few who ques- mals and move on letting no one to tactfully trapped them. It all culmi-
tioned his way. He ‘empowered’ his di- stand in their way. Most of the time, nated in Jitender’s exit when the or-
The five perils rect reports and relocated their cab- they engage to figure out who their ganisation bled with all the damages
Bill and Andrew with their team ins opposite to his chambers to ensure competitors are and to eliminate caused by his wrong decisions and
interviewed 125 successful leaders of ‘good teamwork’. Also made projec- them one by one. Impostors lose confi- favouritism. Rationalisers don’t ad-
major organisations and studied the tions of great business plans. Year dence in using their power since they mit their mistakes for
fear of failure or of
losing their jobs.
Since they take no re-
sponsibility for their
setback, they ratio-
nalise their problems
away. When things
don’t go their way,
they tend to blame ex-
ternal forces or subor-
dinates or offer facile
answers to their prob-
lems. Worse yet, they
may attempt to cover
them up or deny
them. Ultimately, they
become the victims of
their own rationalisa-
tions, as do their de-
pleted organisations.
Glory seeker
Meghnath, the
erstwhile factory
manager rose to the
level of Country
Manger using his suc-
cess formula. He
spent most of his time
in meetings of associ-
ations and organisa-
tions ensuring that
his name is constant-
ly heard in corporate
circles. He would trav-
el abroad once a
month and create an
agenda to make the trip. He intro-
duced attractive executive facilities
and policies only to get a maximum
benefit to him. Employees at all levels
understood this self-interest focus
and provided feedback through in-
tegrity hotlines. Over a period, his
leadership melted away due to the
heat he generated around himself.
Such leaders who seek glory are
motivated by a need for acclaim.
Their perception of success stems
from money, fame, glory, and power.
For a leader stuck in the trap of glory
seeking, thirst for fame becomes un-
quenchable. They are prone to try to
divert more and more resources from
their organisation to their own use.
Loner
Amarendra had tons of knowledge
and displayed high degree of business
acumen. But his personal style of
snobbery and vanity kept him away
from people. He did not realise why
people opposed to his ideas though
they were good. Our effort in putting
him in an ISABS session also did not
yield any result. He became a loner
and had to leave the organisation.
When leaders adopt the loner role
they avoid forming close relation-
ships, fail to seek out mentors, and
don’t create support networks. As a
result they are cut off from appropri-
ate feedback.
When results elude them and criti-
cism of their leadership grows, they
retreat to the bunker. They become
rigid in pursuing their objectives, not
recognising it is their behaviour that
makes it impossible to reach their
goals. Meanwhile, their organisations
unravel or their personal lives crum-
ble.
Shooting star
Avesh, the candidate for CFO had
changed 12 jobs in a span of 18 years.
A commerce graduate, though suc-
cessful initially, went on changing
jobs for money and title. He was first
to enter the office and the last one to
clock out.
Leaving his family in a distant
place stayed alone and always pre-
ferred to be with CEOs he worked for.
He continued to jump jobs and spent
time in crisis management than
building a strong Finance organisa-
tion. Suffering from serious illness he
is now resting worrying about his un-
fulfilled dream to become a real CFO.
The lives of shooting star leaders cen-
tre entirely on their careers. They are
always on the go, travelling incessant-
ly to get ahead and rarely make time
for family, friendships, their commu-
nities, or even themselves. Much-
needed sleep and exercise are contin-
ually deferred.
Self-development
As they run ever faster, their stress
mounts. A year or two into any job,
they are ready to move on, before they
have to confront the results of their
decisions. If their employer doesn’t
promote them, they are off to another
organisation. One day they find them-
selves at the top, overwhelmed by an
intractable set of problems and even-
tually they flame out.
Successful leaders directly address
these peril behaviours and move be-
yond, gaining a sense of larger pur-
pose, fostering multiple support net-
works and develop mechanisms to
keep perspective and stay grounded.
Bill George and Andrew McLean, con-
clude their research findings by say-
ing “No one is immune to the seduc-
tions or pressures of leadership that
create these five types of destructive
behaviours. By undertaking a dedi-
cated process of self-development, au-
thentic leaders will be able to navigate
these hazards as they progress in
their careers and stay grounded in the
process.”
To do this, one need to view the
leadership journey as a human jour-
ney. To initiate this learning process,
one should first ask himself five fun-
damental questions:
n Who am I, and what are my
strengths and developmental needs?
n What motivates me to lead?
n What is the purpose of my leader-
ship?
n Who can I rely upon for real feed-
back and support?
n How can I sustain myself in this
leadership role?
Honest answers to these questions
enable an individual to avoid or over-
come the five hazards of leadership.
There is nothing wrong with desiring
the rewards of leadership as long as
they are combined with a deeper con-
cern to serve something greater than
oneself.
The author is HRD Expert and
Leadership Competency Architect.
E-mail: cmowly@hotmail.com