© Copyright khedmeh Wall
Five Pitfalls of
Leadership.
Organizational leadership is challenging, evolving and complex. In many organizations, especially small to mid-size concerns, it is also a poorly defined role hindered by intangibles, political intricacies and thus limited effectiveness. The challenge begins with the selection process. It is rare the organization that has a board of directors or selection committee that is truly up to the task. Articulating the job description is significantly easier compared to selecting the candidate that in reality fits the role. One of the hurdles relates to the difficulty in accurately quantifying the attributes, qualities and skills of the desired leader. A selection process based on a resume, personality appeal and academic qualification is not statistically better than a random choice among equally match candidates. Unfortunately this is how most hiring decisions are made. As a result organizations struggle needlessly, on account of leaders that are not necessarily prepared for the task; given the rigors and constant change of the market environment in which the enterprise operates. These are some of the most frequently observed pitfalls of leadership encountered in organizational surveys and systems analysis. They paint a clear picture of where the Achilles’ heel of an organization may lay.
Few leaders are actually taught how to lead.
In some organizations, leaders learn intuitively from experience, often guided by mentors. A few leaders have the good fortune of being coached informally by a particularly effective boss or mentor, but such opportunities are rare. Even fewer leaders are taught formally; academic institutions focus on the organizational work protocols more than on the application of leadership. Most MBA programs do not emphasize leadership; at best, they teach only a narrow portion of it. Many corporations offer in-house leadership training programs, but few combine strong teaching with the kind of in-depth coaching that guarantees its absorption and translation into real-world behaviors. Some of the most successful leaders in business and industry spent a number of years under the expert tutelage of formidable CEOs. There is no substitute for tried and true “on-the-job” leadership skill development.
Leaders tend to stop learning in midlife.
Most research points to the mid-forties as the time when managers and emerging leaders stop learning. Many come to rely on their previous knowledge and exhibit only a shallow commitment to ongoing knowledge acquisition, management and personal development. Personal growth and leadership development have to be a priority in order for the leader to be able to take on the challenges of the future. But unfortunately, the primary task and principal preoccupation become to keep the current position by keeping the organization afloat. A fatal approach to leadership is the tendency of some to force the organization to “do more of what has worked” in the past and that becomes the formula for perceived success. It is precisely this approach that evidences that the leader has “hit the ceiling”. He or she may be operating “by inertia” for the most part and without the capacity for strategic analysis, formulation and forward thinking to confront the market. The organization, meanwhile, may be heading into the proverbial quicksand. History is littered with the names of organizations that faltered and ultimately failed because of the inability of leadership to learn, grow and develop to face the challenges of the future.
Leaders become leaders because they are technically competent.
Excelling at something typically singles a person out for promotion. However, what makes people effective at one level can render them ineffective at another. Technical proficiency in a particular discipline, although commendable, is no evidence of management or leadership ability. Where technical or professional competencies are likely a “hard science”, management and specially leadership are a complete and diametrically opposed discipline, involving a diverse and complex skill set. These transitions into leadership roles occur, more frequently, within professional organizations where academic and professional credentials rule the day. The selection committee looks “inward” within the organization in the hope that one of the very competent professionals/technicians can fill the leadership void. Contrary to popular wisdom, a very competent trial lawyer does not necessarily make a very savvy CEO of a law firm. In fact, research points to the contrary. Leadership requires skills and competencies that go well beyond those required to be a solid attorney or CPA, in the case of a consulting firm, for example. Leadership involves team and operational management skills, financial competencies, forecasting, strategy formulation, industry insight, analytic capacity, and last but not least, credibility within the organization. Short of hiring a personnel selection firm to take on specialized search for a new leader for the enterprise, such decision often prove to be suboptimal; sooner or later.
Leaders operate with the skills that were most useful two levels below their current position.
Surveys across industries find, by self-assessment and the report of those at subsequent lower levels that, most leaders promoted from within because of technical expertise perform at a very low level. That is, in part, because of the way they were chosen for the leadership track. Most people commonly maintain the frame of reference of the level where they last felt real mastery. Only in rare occasions it is found a newly chosen leader that embarks on a quest to fill in the “knowledge gaps” and in a true self-assessment, to identify management and leadership competence deficits. Most people do not have the emotional fortitude to question their own level of competency and abilities when their own advancement opportunities are at stake. Relationship management in leadership positions requires a whole new level of awareness, personnel management skill and influence assertion. Tasks or activity based roles and position do not require this level of sophistication, even for highly trained or credentialed positions.|
Leaders are inclined to operate from intuition and experience.
While both can be useful tools for a leader, neither is infallible. Intuition cannot counterbalance for the blind spots every person has. Unquestionably, it has a place and specific use, especially when it comes to strategic planning. Intuition can come from previous encounters with people, business climate and or situations that may provide a “hint” although no concrete evidence is available. Experience is a tutor with a limited perspective, since no two experiences are entirely the same. Life (and business) events occur under very diverse social, political and environmental (industry) conditions. Although some similarity may emerge, they are usually surface-deep. Utilizing previous experience as a sure benchmark may equate to driving looking at the rearview mirror and expecting that such behavior will help anticipate what lay behind the curves ahead. The self-perception of possessing experience becomes the number one barrier to the acquisition and application of new knowledge. Frequently, managers and leaders reject and/or resist change alluding to “experience” which, is based solely on assumptions or merely superficial situational similarities with past events. The results can be catastrophic. Confidence in past experience can lead to failure to anticipate radical market changes allowing the opportunity to seize new markets and customers to escape, while the organization is mired in doubt and inactivity. In some cases, and the business literature has ample examples, it contributes to complete organizational collapse following a tectonic and radical shift in the industry or market.
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