Which of the following two profiles do you think matches what a leader should be and which matches what leaders generally are in reality?
| Profile A |
Profile B |
- Is likely to be male.
- Has a “Can do” attitude, to the extent that he never challenges the status quo.
- Makes promises based on aspirations and expects those below him to fulfil them.
- Is driven and ambitious to the extent that he lives to work and is constantly stressed and sleep deprived.
- Believes quality of work does not suffer when someone regularly puts in sixty hours a week.
- Leads by edict.
- Treats people as “human resources”.
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- Is equally likely to be male or female.
- Has a “Can do” attitude that is tempered by realism and is not afraid to say “Just hang on a second…”
- Manages expectations based on reality and delivers on promises through her/his own effort.
- Is driven and ambitious, but works to live and enjoys a healthy, work-life balance.
- Believes quality of work is better when a person puts in a forty hour week.
- Leads by example.
- Treats people as people.
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Which of these profiles do you think fits the people who made the decisions which nearly put the world through financial Armageddon?
Which do you think is more likely to get a promotion?
Hi Declan,
You phormulated both questions the way that possible answers are too obvious: “A”s in both cases. But one thing to keep in mind… I was an executive for some while and the one thing I learned among the others is that treating people as people not necessarily gives you either results you want/need, nor good attitude of your employees towards you as a person. The rule clearly states – “my boss is my enemy”. Otherwise you may find a good bunch of people sitting on your neck comfortably.
BUT! Another rule I discovered is that the levels of one’s decency and one’s success are inversely proportional quantities… What you think about that?
Hello, George.
Many thanks for taking the time to comment.
I’m not sure I understand everything you say, though, so I will go through it bit by bit.
What do you mean by “A” in both cases? I simply used “A” and “B” as labels for the two profiles. They cannot both be “A”. I could have labelled them “Apple” and “Orange” but I could not have labelled them both “Apple”.
When I refer to treating people as people, I did not mean (and did not say) being nice to them all the time. A poor leader wants to be nice to people all the time, whereas a good leader is always respectful, even when it is not possible to be nice.
What rule states “my boss is my enemy”?
You may have discovered a rule that “the levels of one’s decency and one’s success are inversely proportional quantities”, but that does not mean it is a valid rule, or a universal rule or even a common rule. It is certainly not a rule I would want to live by and I would certainly not consider anyone who lived by it to be a “leader”. Of course, it also depends on what you mean by “success”. Many people would consider Donald Trump to be successful. Others would not.
Regards,
Declan
Hi Declan,
There are 2 questions you placed after profiles description: (1) Which of these profiles do you think fits the people who made the decisions which nearly put the world through financial Armageddon? (2) Which do you think is more likely to get a promotion? And the answer for both – Profile “A”.
The rule “my boss is my enemy” I observe now. It’s a commonplace opinion, at least within big retail companies.
About success I should have mentioned the word “financially”. I meant financially successful.
I do love how you giving more precise definitions – I can feel fellow BA… 🙂
Ah, I get you now, George! I must have been half asleep when I read your previous comment. 🙂