The big mistake many leaders make
It is a part of our individualistic culture
Would you like to be a great business leader? Some people think that leadership is an innate talent. Others believe we can learn it. But regardless of how much of a gifted leader you are, you need to overcome a natural bias. Otherwise, it'll be hard for you to motivate your team to trust you and follow you on the road to success.
Egocentric creatures
Donella Meadows uses an interesting metaphor in her book Thinking In Systems. Imagine a lake. Many people who live around it fish every day, and it's their sole source of income. Then a researcher discovers that unchecked fishing will soon deplete this natural resource. People fish too much.
The researcher sends a letter to every fisher. In it, she calls them to reduce the amount of fish they catch voluntarily. Otherwise, she states, the lake will die soon, and they'll all lose their livelihoods. How many of them, do you think, will agree?
Nobody.
Each of them will think that the amount of fish they catch is too insignificant to influence the whole situation. But decreasing it will considerably hit their family budget.
Moreover, they will be afraid of being the only ones who decrease fishing. So, their neighbors who don't care about the lake can get an unfair advantage.
So, the lake will die if a state institution doesn't interfere. And those who benefit from it will kill it, whatever stupid it looks.
Many environmentalists would tell you that we could save our planet by making a voluntary individual effort. But it'll work only if we do it all together. Unfortunately, however, we are too self-centered.
The same things happen in the business world. For example, the authors of the recent MIT Sloan Management Review article noted that 80% of business leaders report that "the principal challenges to becoming a data-driven organization are human rather than technological." But at the same time, "only 21% of surveyed data executives say they have developed a data culture within their organizations."
Business leaders think about servers and databases but not about people.
The Verge published an article investigating the first Elon Musk's months as a Twitter CEO. They mentioned that Mr. Musk couldn't provide a clear vision of the company's future during the meeting with the employees. Staffers waited for crisp answers, but "the billionaire free-associated, answering their concerns with smug dismissals and grandiose promises."
Mr. Musk wants workers to sleep in the office but doesn't bother explaining for which great idea they should do it.
Are we good leaders by nature?
Let's look at some statistics (source):
79% of employees will quit due to a lack of appreciation
78% of business leaders actively and regularly focus on engaging with their employees, but:
Only 48% of employees view their company's leadership as "high quality"
Only 10% of people are natural leaders — another 20% show some qualities of basic managerial talent that can be cultivated into high-quality leadership
According to the same source, "US businesses spend $166 billion on leadership development each year — nearly half of the $366 billion that's spent globally." It is more than the US government spent on transportation in 2022.
But we are social creatures. Social interaction is an inborn skill. Human history is full of great leaders' names. Why are we so egocentric that we need to spend huge amounts of money on improving what seems innate? It is a part of our nature.
The researchers claim that many years ago when we lived in small groups, we were less individualistic. When a small group member cheated or broke the rules, other members could notice it and punish them. It brought the feeling that the rules worked, which made the group members feel safe.
But the more the groups we belonged to were, the more self-centered we became. It's much harder to control people's behavior in a large company, let alone in society. Rules don't seem to work always, and this inspires a sense of vulnerability. And our self-preservation instinct motivates us to concentrate on ourselves.
So, if you're a leader, you're a selfish person surrounded by self-centered people. Not the best conditions to become a great leader.
How to overcome this natural trait?
There are tons of books on how to manage people. And my task here is not to paraphrase them. But whatever leadership theory you prefer, you need to keep in mind that your nature prevents you from being a leader. And people are slow to trust you.
I used to be a corporate leader for more than twenty years. And I've worked with many great leaders. And here is my list of ten simple rules. You may follow them, and your leadership skills will improve:
Always remind yourself that you're unlikely the best leader by nature. It's a hard work
Devote as much time to your team as possible. It's more important than many other business routines
Talk to your subordinates
Ask them questions. People love to share their thoughts and opinions
Make them feel safe. Set clear rules and stick to them
Be predictable and consistent. Do what you promise
Reward people for what they've done, acknowledge their contribution
Set inspiring goals
Provide an engaging mission statement
Trust people, and they'll trust you back.
We often forget to do it, fully absorbed by our favorite toys, such as innovations, finance, intrigues, share price, etc. We are too concentrated on our individual goals, forgetting that people surround us without whom we can't reach them.