The Mind of a Leader: Content or Cliche
A few days ago, I joined the popular hash chat on Twitter, #leadershipchat. As I dove in and attempted to participate in the conversation, I noticed a very unsettling trend. Rather than hearing ideas and experiences being exchanged as I’m accustomed to in several other chat groups in which I participate, I noticed an unruly level of quotes, clichés, and retweets being spewed across the chat.
I fear that far too often, folks believe that memorizing the slogan from the bottom of a motivational poster or sitting a leadership book on their desk is enough to motivate and rally the folks around them. Yet in my experiences both serving in the military and working an office job prior to the military, I find that there is quite often a drastic disconnect between the level of inspiration that followers take from that and the level of inspiration that the leader thinks is being transferred.
Followers don’t care if you have a witty response to their complaints. They don’t care if your cliché is the perfect response to their pain or heartbreak.
Normally I wouldn’t be so concerned about the level of quotes being shared in a chat, but in a chat focused on folks who are self-proclaimed leaders, I expected more. I expected the creativity necessary to build substantial conversations, to dissect the issues, and to share experiences.
When I expressed these thoughts in the chat, I was met with several weak responses:
- Denial: Some folks denied the issue completely and instead justified the use of these mindless quotes. In their eyes, a cliché was the fastest way to express a thought given the character limitations of Twitter.
- Defensiveness: Instead of welcoming the critical feedback, some assumed that my intentions were less than pure and began to attack the premise of my complaint. However, strong leaders accept criticisms regardless of the intent. Sometimes our most disgruntled customers and employees are the ones with the greatest clarity.
- Excuses: Some began to blame the medium stating that because the conversation was taking place on twitter, it was difficult to carry on real conversations.
As leaders, we should be exhibiting the creativity necessary to build real conversations, to discuss real issues, to share real experiences and to create real friendships with like-minded individuals. We should not find ourselves justifying the status quo with denial, defensiveness and excuses.
I’ll be joining in that same chat next Tuesday as I was privileged to meet some terrific people there, but I’ll be working hard to sift through the fluff and hone in on the stuff that matters: the real conversations.
Stop by the comments section below and let’s have a real conversation about it. Have you experienced leaders that we’re filled with all the right things to say but who lacked the character that truly inspires followers?
Steven Corbett
I’ve seen this far too often- in my setting, it’s church leaders falling into the trap of grabbing a few oft-quoted but unfounded catch phrases, and using/abusing them to connect and relate. I hate to say it, but I’ve caught myself doing the same thing.
We have turned Christianity into an embarrassing joke by two things: blatant hypocrisy; and reducing our “truth” (truth that actually IS effective when applied in context) to a set of clichés and misapplied quotes that are as thin as water and mean relatively nothing when boiled down to their essence.
It’s easy to say popular things in hopes of being accepted and receiving affirmation, but is this the mark of a leader? I think not!
Nicholas Cardot
I also think not, yet I see it more often than not. I think there’s a drastic disconnect between the influence that folks have and the influence that they think they have.
I remember in my experiences in the military that there were times when a private who had built solid relationships with the men around him could influence and inspire the men around him more than the sergeant could. Influence will always trump position, quotes, or any other meaningless, self-deluding form of so-called leadership.
Your points about Christianity are also very true and it’s good that you can recognize it. Most blindly defend it failing to realize that unless we do recognize and correct these shortcomings, we’re not going to make any impact on the anyone.
Mark Edward Brown
Hi Nicholas,
I found your statement: “a drastic disconnect between the level of inspiration that followers take from that and the level of inspiration that the leader thinks is being transferred” as truly brilliant in regards to confronting a core issue of effective implimentation of leadership and its assesment by both the leader and the led.
Thanks for the truly gourment brain food!
Mark Edward Brown
Nicholas Cardot
You’re welcome, Mark. I think that the first step to bridging the gap between our perception and our followers perception of our effectiveness is to recognize that gap. Far too often, leaders get filled with a sense of smugness. Perhaps it’s the positions, the power, or any number of other things. They grow complacent and continue to believe that they are motivating and inspiring when really morale is plummeting.
Anyways, I’m glad that you enjoyed the comment and I hope to see you around.
Gino Bondi
Great post and question, Nicholas
How often do leaders confuse compassionate compliance with professional engagement? How often do leaders plan the perfect meeting and yet fall flat in their “front end” day to day interactions and routines with those whom they lead?
A good leader, in my mind, engages through conversations that will help all around them move from knowledge to wisdom; in helping them “find” inspiration, the leader then watches them go off in their respective directions and hopefully, they too find the passion to move from “finding” to “discovering”. In so doing, they move through the status quo’s triad of denial, defensiveness and excuses and themselves being to engage in real conversations that surpass the trite the superficial and the out of context quote – fantastically cerebral but practically ineffectual.
Real conversations grounded in explicit/tacit knowledge and combined with practical wisdom: the primary medium for sustained success.
Thanks for sharing
Nicholas Cardot
Good thoughts, Gino. My observation and my question in all of this is that I often see leaders engaging with their followers in a way that feels forces as if they’re only doing it because the leadership textbooks tell them to do it.
When I was serving in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, our commanding General would periodically come walk our lines and make small talk with us. Although he was friendly enough, his facial expressions and the tone in his voice made it sound very much like his being there was almost painful for him. It was as if he was doing it for no other reason than that he was supposed to.
After some time, he was replaced and a new general took his place. This man was incredibly friendly to the point that he even gave me a nickname and after having not seen me for months, he called me by that same nickname, approached me, shook my hand and asked how my family and I were doing…all with a tremendous, heartfelt smile on his face.
There were two very different approaches to building these conversations exemplified in these two men. So here’s the question: How do you build comfortable, meaningful conversations like you mentioned if you’re uncomfortable building conversations?
Dean Carlton
Bang on observation, Nicholas.
All too often, leadership fails to deliver against it’s promise – people promoted above their level of competence, people without the right skills taking on responsibilities outside their core-competencies. Some people just cannot lead and inspire! (effectively)
How then, can we, as leaders, hold those in our charge accountable for under-performance or failure, when we are negligent in not providing the resources and support to achieve the desired outcomes in the first place?!
It takes a strong leadership to look at the effectiveness of leadership team – to identify weaknesses and then accept coaching / mentoring that will ‘raise the game’.
We need to ask – at every management level:
- Are we leading people or managing tasks?
- Do our challenges lie with opportunity, skill or ability?
Often up to 90% of activity doesn’t add leadership value!
So what’s so important about leadership?
Leadership focus can highlight areas for process and/or organisational development and change.
These changes have the potential for significant bottom-line cost savings through the streamlining of processes
– with the added bonus of driving top-line revenues if those changes are made in a totally customer-centric way.
So, we should all ask ourselves – honestly – How do my leadership skills stack up?
Nicholas Cardot
Leadership, true powerful influence, is so incredibly underrated by far too many people. It’s influence that allows people to rally communities, to build teams, and to accomplish great things.
I’ve always been taught that leadership isn’t a position or a title. It’s not what someone calls you or how much you get paid. It’s not being able to force someone to act. It’s leadership. Nothing more, nothing less. When you inspire someone to action, that’s leadership. When you can stand and charge forward and men and women rise up to run with you, that’s leadership.
And yes, of course, that level of influence will transform workforces, infuse creativity, and rally the best attributes out of employees. Leaderships is powerful.
Dean Carlton
Strong stuff Nick! I could picture you standing on a box, saying that to the troops, before leading the charge – whether into battle or inro the boardroom!
I’m coming with you!