Leadership BS
Leadership BS
Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time By Jeffrey Pfeffer
What if most of what you’ve been taught about leadership in college, business school, seminars and management literature is either wrong or useless? What if you’re being taught someone’s idea of how they think things should be, rather than how they actually are? Every year, the “leadership industry,” as Jeffrey Pfeffer calls this part of the teaching and publishing establishment, sucks billions of dollars out of corporate coffers to tell us things about leadership that he says are misleading, far removed from the real world and, sometimes, patently untrue. Hence the blunt title of this, the 14th book that the Stanford Business School professor has either written or co-authored. Although he’s no stranger to controversy, this is his biggest challenge yet to orthodox thinking about management and leadership. “Much of the oft-repeated conventional wisdom about leadership is based more on hope than reality, on wishes rather than data, on beliefs instead of science,” he tells us. Teachers, speakers and authors tell us what the attributes of great leaders are, but in most cases they’re entirely inaccurate or they’re confined to just a tiny minority of bosses. In other cases, the virtues of great leadership that they promote just don’t work. This situation is compounded by the fact that there’s little or no empirical research or measurement of the impact of these teachings - on whether or not they actually influence behavior. Furthermore, Pfeffer points out:
1
•
Anyone can call themselves a business coach - there’s no professional qualification requirement or licensing system.
•
Many successful leaders who go on the speaking circuit don’t actually practice what they preach. Their behavior in the work environment is totally
To purchase a personal subscription or corporate license, please visit us at www.TheBusinessSource.com or fill out the simple request form at www.TheBusinessSource.com/contact-us. All Rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part without prior written permission of The Business Source is strictly prohibited.
Leadership BS different from the behaviors they expound at presentations and in books. •
Some leadership teachers leverage just one or two past business successes to create images and reputations that don’t accurately reflect their true performance and abilities.
The end result of all this, says Pfeffer, is “overwhelming evidence of workplaces filled with disengaged, dissatisfied employees who do not trust their leaders and whose oft-expressed number one desire is to leave their current employer.” In other words, the leadership teaching curriculum is disconnected with what happens in the real world. Aspiring leaders are either not being taught how to lead successfully in today’s business climate or, if they are, they’re ignoring what they’ve learned and doing something completely different. One big problem, says Pfeffer, is that much leadership training and development has become like lay-preaching sermons, “telling people inspiring stories about heroic leaders and exceptional organizations and, in the process, making those who hear the stories feel good and temporarily uplifted while not changing much of what happens in many workplaces.” People who attend these sessions may feel inspired and provide positive feedback on the event or the speaker, but they rarely actually change the way they work. “(M)uch of leadership education, even in academic classrooms, let alone inside companies and at those omnipresent conferences and conventions, is as much about delivering entertainment… as it is helping leaders or remediating workplace problems,” he adds. Although he has many more vitriolic comments about supposed leadership industry specialists, some of whom he regards as “quacks and sham artists,” his book mainly focuses on challenging five attributes widely regarded as essential to good leadership. Let’s take a look at them.
1. Modesty
Modesty is reportedly a key principle of successful leadership. It’s true that bosses who don’t grab the limelight and who share credit for success, generally enjoy greater respect and loyalty from employees. The trouble is that only a handful of successful leaders actually act that way. So, since modest leaders represent only a tiny fraction of the CEOs who run major companies, it seems more likely that demonstrating modesty is not a keystone for a would-be leader to get to the top. Consider Donald Trump, a leader for whom modesty is anathema. Self-promotion has made him one of the foremost business (and latterly, political) figures of our
2
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS time. And he isn’t the only high-profile leader to exhibit what Pfeffer labels narcissistic behavior. So did Bill Gates at Microsoft, Steve Jobs at Apple and Jack Welch at GE. Attention-seeking and a sense of entitlement almost defined them, he suggests. It’s not what they teach at school or in the literature but, Pfeffer says that: “Immodesty in all of its manifestations - narcissism, self-promotion, selfaggrandizement, unwarranted self-confidence - helps people attain leadership positions in the first place and then, once in them, positively affects their ability to hold on to those positions, extract more resources (salary), and even helps in some, although not all, aspects of their performance on the job.” This behavior becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Projecting competence and confidence prompts others to believe you know what you’re doing (whether you do or not), creating the right conditions for nurturing success. Not surprisingly then, research tells us that self-promoters are much more likely to be selected for leadership roles. Furthermore, despite the leadership (teaching) industry’s professed preference for modesty, narcissist leaders actually may perform better because they are more entrepreneurial and bold in their decision-making. They’re also great at selling their ideas and attracting outside support. The result is that, despite what you might be taught about the virtues of modesty, those who are responsible for selecting and appointing leaders actively seek candidates with the opposite traits. Personality tests are perfectly capable of identifying modesty in individuals but most companies don’t use them. Instead their selection process seems to favor immodest and narcissistic leaders. So if people really think modesty is a desirable characteristic of a leader, why do those who select leaders hire the opposite type?
2. Authenticity
An even more glaring disconnect between the virtues promoted in books, schools and seminars, and the real world of business leadership, revolves around the principle of authenticity - the “be who you are” factor. Unlike what we’re taught, successful leadership calls for acting skills. It requires the ability to be who other people expect you to be rather than who you are, to put on an act that reassures employees and others, and to conceal self-doubt. After all, if authenticity means being both in touch with and exhibiting your true feelings, what happens if those true feelings include, for instance, fear and uncertainty? Is this something you would want your colleagues and employees to see? Of course it isn’t and, despite the preachings of gurus and experts, it’s not the way
3
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS leaders actually behave. “The simple fact is,” states Pfeffer, “that as a prescription for leadership, being true to your role, fulfilling your obligations regardless of your wants and desires, doing what will make you successful in the environment in which you are working, are behaviors likely to be much more useful than being true to yourself and your feelings at the moment. After all, what if your real self is an asshole?” History is replete with characters whose public behaviors and personas weren’t always aligned with their authentic selves. For instance, John F. Kennedy, usually regarded as a charismatic leader, was really a complicated and enigmatic man who constantly reinvented himself and his image and, some would say, behaved like a very different person behind closed doors. Or there’s Nelson Mandela, the revered father of modern South Africa, who changed his attitude about violence depending on his needs at the time, and switched political and economic allegiances as he saw fit. Attitudes and behaviors are so radically affected by the situations in which leaders find themselves at particular times, that true authenticity might be almost impossible. “Being true to oneself is useful only to the extent that someone’s true self has the qualities that make people successful,” says Pfeffer. “Otherwise, people need to put on, to assume, the qualities required to present themselves in the most favorable light.”
3. Truthfulness
Surely, honesty is beyond challenge as an attribute of good leadership? Perhaps … perhaps not. Although there are a number of organizations where truthfulness is a central pillar of corporate values, generally speaking, Pfeffer regards lying as “rampant among leaders of all sorts of organizations, including some of the most venerated leaders and companies.” One reason that leaders tell lies when it suits them, is that they rarely face serious consequences for doing so. Consider the software industry, where dishonestly describing upcoming product features and availability is so widespread that a word has been coined to describe it: vaporware. Yet leaders usually don’t get fired for making unsubstantiated claims about upcoming products. Lying is a fact of everyday life for most of us. People do it all the time - on their résumés, during negotiations (when they don’t want to reveal their hand) or when, for the best possible reasons, they want to avoid tension or conflict.
4
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS People lie because they know that most of us can’t reliably tell when they’re doing it. It’s just that easy to get away with. In fact, over time, lies told often enough can paradoxically become the truth. It’s another classic illustration of the self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, a leader who talks up a company’s performance when it’s flagging may deceive the marketplace, thereby retaining confidence and thus help ensure future success. “In many instances,” says Pfeffer, “leaders convince customers to buy their products, investors to part with their money - a particularly important task for start-ups talented employees to join, and stay, and suppliers to work with their company by presenting the organization as more successful than it really is.”
4. Trustworthiness
Is employee trust in leaders essential to the success of their businesses? Probably not, says Pfeffer. While there’s evidence that companies with high levels of workplace trust enjoy higher stock market returns, it’s not essential to organizational functioning. In fact, the data shows trust of leadership is most notable by its absence. Trust is inextricably tied to truthfulness, but a 2013 global survey found that less than 20 percent of respondents believed that government or business leaders would actually tell the truth when facing a difficult issue. Most believed they would skirt the truth or downright lie. “So it cannot be true that trust is necessary for organizations to function, because numerous organizations are operating even though trust in leaders is in short supply,” he argues. One reason is that people seem willing to overlook violations of trust. Pfeffer cites examples of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart and others who have enjoyed stellar careers despite breaking the rules of trustworthy behavior. Martha Stewart’s breach of trust allegedly occurred when she reneged on an agreed (and paid for) exclusivity deal with department store group Macy’s. After agreeing to exclusivity with Macy’s, Stewart set up housewares stores-within-stores at J.C. Penney. As one commentator told CNN at the time: “She was married to Macy’s, but she went off and had an affair and got in bed with a direct competitor.” Pfeffer asks: “Has Stewart suffered from not honoring her agreement with Macy’s? Not that anyone can see.” Because breaking commitments results in few sanctions, trust-violating behavior becomes more frequent. It becomes the accepted norm. In the end, it provokes less moral outrage and comes to be seen as how business is done.
5
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS What’s more, Pfeffer writes, “leaders go back on their word not because they are necessarily venal or evil, but because keeping commitments, a fundamental basis of trust, constrains their behavior. When circumstances change, so do people’s behaviors, objectives, and needs.”
5. Concern For Others’ Well-Being
There are shelf-loads of books and countless numbers of inspirational presentations that promote the concept of servant leadership - the principle neatly summed up in the title of Simon Sinek’s book Leaders Eat Last. This idea was adopted from the military practice in which officers are served and eat after their enlisted men. In simple terms, the action is meant to symbolize respect for subordinates and thereby increase their loyalty and motivation. But, says Pfeffer, in the real world, leaders usually “eat” first, that is they look after their own needs, interests and careers before those of others. Putting employees first may seem to make ethical sense and even business sense, and it’s certainly part of conventional leadership teaching, but, for the most part, it’s just not what happens. Leaders don’t sacrifice themselves for their employees. For example, when business pressures threaten resources, job or pay cuts are more likely to be directed at employees than at leaders. And when leaders mess up - unlike employees who might get fired with no compensation - leaders usually leave with outstandingly generous severance packages. “Robert Nardelli, after coming from GE to Home Depot, which under his tenure lost market share to Lowe’s and saw its stock price decline almost 20 percent, left with about $210 million when he was forced out by his board,” Pfeffer recalls. Furthermore, the gap between CEO pay and average employee wages has increased from around 20 times 50 years ago, to more than 200 times today - surely true evidence that leaders are well and truly “feeding” themselves first! Leaders who look after their own interests first do so because their own career is their first priority. Also, they have little in common with those they lead, often being physically segregated from employees in the work environment, so they’re not attuned to their needs and concerns. Of course, Pfeffer isn’t arguing in favor of selfish leadership. He simply notes that it’s the default behavior. If the situation’s ever going to change, mechanisms need to be put in place to make leaders more accountable to their employees. There are companies that have done this.
6
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS For example, at Hewlett-Packard some years ago, manager pay reviews were based in part on survey results of employees in their units. Thus, it was in their interest to take account of subordinates’ needs and concerns. Leaders might also have to show concern for worker interests if employees actually elected them. This happens now at worker cooperatives such as Mondragon in Spain and retailer John Lewis in the UK.
Looking Out For Ourselves
There’s an important lesson here. If leaders are behaving less than honorably and looking out for themselves, then it’s up to you to protect and pursue your own selfinterest. Even if you do have a caring boss right now, they likely won’t be there forever and there’s no guarantee their successor will behave the same way. And, you might think that because you’ve performed well so far, your leaders will look after you. But, their interest is focused on what you can do for them in the future, not what you did in the past. Says Pfeffer: “The logical conclusion from systematic data and countless cases in multiple environments, ranging from college and professional athletics to corporations to universities: relying on the good behavior and positive sentiments of work organizations for your career well-being is singularly foolish.” Join the self-interest club, he urges. For example, before you even join a company you should thoroughly research its culture and leadership so you will understand the leader and the culture and know how you can manage your career within it. Be skeptical of mission and value statements because they’re rarely reflected in practice. And no matter how settled you feel right now, make it a regular practice to set aside time to monitor and seek out other career opportunities. Even if you’re not ready to jump ship, it’s in your best interest to stay in touch with the employment marketplace.
Facing Up To Reality
Right now, the behavior of many leaders bears little resemblance to the leadership model we read and hear about. People like Carly Fiorina (when she was at HP), Rebekah Brooks (News International), President Lyndon Johnson, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, Apple founder Steve Jobs, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, just don’t fit the mold of the benevolent, straight-shooting, employee-focused principals reported by the leadership industry. So, what’s to be done?
7
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS We need to identify how leaders actually perform in the real world - both the good and the bad - and understand the mechanisms that drive these behaviors. We must look beyond the hype they and others spout about themselves and their achievements. Only when we do that, can we begin to think about inducing change. That may involve developing business structures that are less leader-dependent, finding ways of encouraging selflessness in place of selfishness, and developing universal management standards against which the performance of leaders can be measured and rewarded. In the meantime, because we tend to accept the behavior of our leaders and turn a blind eye to their misdemeanors, failing to impose sanctions for failures and misbehavior, leaders are effectively encouraged to continue to act as they do and even to believe in their own infallibility. Even so, Pfeffer doesn’t want us to lose sight of the rather unpalatable truth that sometimes you have to behave badly to do good. “Making change, improving situations, getting things done, winning in very competitive environments, often requires being willing and able to engage in behaviors and exhibit qualities that some people might find repugnant,” he says. But that’s something you won’t be taught at business school.
Conclusion
In this intriguing and controversial book, Jeffrey Pfeffer highlights five disconnects between contemporary leadership teaching and real world practice. 1. We’re told modesty is an admirable value in a leader, yet self-promotion and immodesty seem to be the surest route to the top. 2. We’re encouraged to be true to ourselves in our leadership roles even though behaving authentically might actually work against us. 3. Although honesty is a commendable personal quality, skirting the truth can have positive business benefits. 4. Trustworthiness is not essential for organizational functioning. Most firms operate in a climate where many just employees don’t trust their leaders. 5. Demonstrating concern for employees can produce more successful companies with loyal workforces, but most leaders actually put their own interests first. You may not agree with everything Pfeffer says - and plenty don’t - but at the very least his ideas invite us to revisit our beliefs about what makes a good leader.
8
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS Furthermore, they clearly point to a need for more consideration of the disconnect between what we’re taught and what’s happening in the real world of business. Only when we understand that, says Pfeffer, can we start to establish true standards and benchmarks against which individual leaders’ performance can be measured. We are being taught to adopt certain behaviors to be a successful leader. However, these behaviors aren’t being used by leaders in the real world. In some cases, the behaviors we’re being taught could actually put us at a competitive disadvantage. Maybe the teachings reflect ideals that could eventually produce better, more successful organizations, but they don’t reflect contemporary leadership practice.
9
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time By Jeffrey Pfeffer
What if most of what you’ve been taught about leadership in college, business school, seminars and management literature is either wrong or useless? What if you’re being taught someone’s idea of how they think things should be, rather than how they actually are? Every year, the “leadership industry,” as Jeffrey Pfeffer calls this part of the teaching and publishing establishment, sucks billions of dollars out of corporate coffers to tell us things about leadership that he says are misleading, far removed from the real world and, sometimes, patently untrue. Hence the blunt title of this, the 14th book that the Stanford Business School professor has either written or co-authored. Although he’s no stranger to controversy, this is his biggest challenge yet to orthodox thinking about management and leadership. “Much of the oft-repeated conventional wisdom about leadership is based more on hope than reality, on wishes rather than data, on beliefs instead of science,” he tells us. Teachers, speakers and authors tell us what the attributes of great leaders are, but in most cases they’re entirely inaccurate or they’re confined to just a tiny minority of bosses. In other cases, the virtues of great leadership that they promote just don’t work. This situation is compounded by the fact that there’s little or no empirical research or measurement of the impact of these teachings - on whether or not they actually influence behavior. Furthermore, Pfeffer points out:
1
•
Anyone can call themselves a business coach - there’s no professional qualification requirement or licensing system.
•
Many successful leaders who go on the speaking circuit don’t actually practice what they preach. Their behavior in the work environment is totally
To purchase a personal subscription or corporate license, please visit us at www.TheBusinessSource.com or fill out the simple request form at www.TheBusinessSource.com/contact-us. All Rights reserved. Reproduction or redistribution in whole or in part without prior written permission of The Business Source is strictly prohibited.
Leadership BS different from the behaviors they expound at presentations and in books. •
Some leadership teachers leverage just one or two past business successes to create images and reputations that don’t accurately reflect their true performance and abilities.
The end result of all this, says Pfeffer, is “overwhelming evidence of workplaces filled with disengaged, dissatisfied employees who do not trust their leaders and whose oft-expressed number one desire is to leave their current employer.” In other words, the leadership teaching curriculum is disconnected with what happens in the real world. Aspiring leaders are either not being taught how to lead successfully in today’s business climate or, if they are, they’re ignoring what they’ve learned and doing something completely different. One big problem, says Pfeffer, is that much leadership training and development has become like lay-preaching sermons, “telling people inspiring stories about heroic leaders and exceptional organizations and, in the process, making those who hear the stories feel good and temporarily uplifted while not changing much of what happens in many workplaces.” People who attend these sessions may feel inspired and provide positive feedback on the event or the speaker, but they rarely actually change the way they work. “(M)uch of leadership education, even in academic classrooms, let alone inside companies and at those omnipresent conferences and conventions, is as much about delivering entertainment… as it is helping leaders or remediating workplace problems,” he adds. Although he has many more vitriolic comments about supposed leadership industry specialists, some of whom he regards as “quacks and sham artists,” his book mainly focuses on challenging five attributes widely regarded as essential to good leadership. Let’s take a look at them.
1. Modesty
Modesty is reportedly a key principle of successful leadership. It’s true that bosses who don’t grab the limelight and who share credit for success, generally enjoy greater respect and loyalty from employees. The trouble is that only a handful of successful leaders actually act that way. So, since modest leaders represent only a tiny fraction of the CEOs who run major companies, it seems more likely that demonstrating modesty is not a keystone for a would-be leader to get to the top. Consider Donald Trump, a leader for whom modesty is anathema. Self-promotion has made him one of the foremost business (and latterly, political) figures of our
2
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS time. And he isn’t the only high-profile leader to exhibit what Pfeffer labels narcissistic behavior. So did Bill Gates at Microsoft, Steve Jobs at Apple and Jack Welch at GE. Attention-seeking and a sense of entitlement almost defined them, he suggests. It’s not what they teach at school or in the literature but, Pfeffer says that: “Immodesty in all of its manifestations - narcissism, self-promotion, selfaggrandizement, unwarranted self-confidence - helps people attain leadership positions in the first place and then, once in them, positively affects their ability to hold on to those positions, extract more resources (salary), and even helps in some, although not all, aspects of their performance on the job.” This behavior becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Projecting competence and confidence prompts others to believe you know what you’re doing (whether you do or not), creating the right conditions for nurturing success. Not surprisingly then, research tells us that self-promoters are much more likely to be selected for leadership roles. Furthermore, despite the leadership (teaching) industry’s professed preference for modesty, narcissist leaders actually may perform better because they are more entrepreneurial and bold in their decision-making. They’re also great at selling their ideas and attracting outside support. The result is that, despite what you might be taught about the virtues of modesty, those who are responsible for selecting and appointing leaders actively seek candidates with the opposite traits. Personality tests are perfectly capable of identifying modesty in individuals but most companies don’t use them. Instead their selection process seems to favor immodest and narcissistic leaders. So if people really think modesty is a desirable characteristic of a leader, why do those who select leaders hire the opposite type?
2. Authenticity
An even more glaring disconnect between the virtues promoted in books, schools and seminars, and the real world of business leadership, revolves around the principle of authenticity - the “be who you are” factor. Unlike what we’re taught, successful leadership calls for acting skills. It requires the ability to be who other people expect you to be rather than who you are, to put on an act that reassures employees and others, and to conceal self-doubt. After all, if authenticity means being both in touch with and exhibiting your true feelings, what happens if those true feelings include, for instance, fear and uncertainty? Is this something you would want your colleagues and employees to see? Of course it isn’t and, despite the preachings of gurus and experts, it’s not the way
3
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS leaders actually behave. “The simple fact is,” states Pfeffer, “that as a prescription for leadership, being true to your role, fulfilling your obligations regardless of your wants and desires, doing what will make you successful in the environment in which you are working, are behaviors likely to be much more useful than being true to yourself and your feelings at the moment. After all, what if your real self is an asshole?” History is replete with characters whose public behaviors and personas weren’t always aligned with their authentic selves. For instance, John F. Kennedy, usually regarded as a charismatic leader, was really a complicated and enigmatic man who constantly reinvented himself and his image and, some would say, behaved like a very different person behind closed doors. Or there’s Nelson Mandela, the revered father of modern South Africa, who changed his attitude about violence depending on his needs at the time, and switched political and economic allegiances as he saw fit. Attitudes and behaviors are so radically affected by the situations in which leaders find themselves at particular times, that true authenticity might be almost impossible. “Being true to oneself is useful only to the extent that someone’s true self has the qualities that make people successful,” says Pfeffer. “Otherwise, people need to put on, to assume, the qualities required to present themselves in the most favorable light.”
3. Truthfulness
Surely, honesty is beyond challenge as an attribute of good leadership? Perhaps … perhaps not. Although there are a number of organizations where truthfulness is a central pillar of corporate values, generally speaking, Pfeffer regards lying as “rampant among leaders of all sorts of organizations, including some of the most venerated leaders and companies.” One reason that leaders tell lies when it suits them, is that they rarely face serious consequences for doing so. Consider the software industry, where dishonestly describing upcoming product features and availability is so widespread that a word has been coined to describe it: vaporware. Yet leaders usually don’t get fired for making unsubstantiated claims about upcoming products. Lying is a fact of everyday life for most of us. People do it all the time - on their résumés, during negotiations (when they don’t want to reveal their hand) or when, for the best possible reasons, they want to avoid tension or conflict.
4
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS People lie because they know that most of us can’t reliably tell when they’re doing it. It’s just that easy to get away with. In fact, over time, lies told often enough can paradoxically become the truth. It’s another classic illustration of the self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, a leader who talks up a company’s performance when it’s flagging may deceive the marketplace, thereby retaining confidence and thus help ensure future success. “In many instances,” says Pfeffer, “leaders convince customers to buy their products, investors to part with their money - a particularly important task for start-ups talented employees to join, and stay, and suppliers to work with their company by presenting the organization as more successful than it really is.”
4. Trustworthiness
Is employee trust in leaders essential to the success of their businesses? Probably not, says Pfeffer. While there’s evidence that companies with high levels of workplace trust enjoy higher stock market returns, it’s not essential to organizational functioning. In fact, the data shows trust of leadership is most notable by its absence. Trust is inextricably tied to truthfulness, but a 2013 global survey found that less than 20 percent of respondents believed that government or business leaders would actually tell the truth when facing a difficult issue. Most believed they would skirt the truth or downright lie. “So it cannot be true that trust is necessary for organizations to function, because numerous organizations are operating even though trust in leaders is in short supply,” he argues. One reason is that people seem willing to overlook violations of trust. Pfeffer cites examples of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart and others who have enjoyed stellar careers despite breaking the rules of trustworthy behavior. Martha Stewart’s breach of trust allegedly occurred when she reneged on an agreed (and paid for) exclusivity deal with department store group Macy’s. After agreeing to exclusivity with Macy’s, Stewart set up housewares stores-within-stores at J.C. Penney. As one commentator told CNN at the time: “She was married to Macy’s, but she went off and had an affair and got in bed with a direct competitor.” Pfeffer asks: “Has Stewart suffered from not honoring her agreement with Macy’s? Not that anyone can see.” Because breaking commitments results in few sanctions, trust-violating behavior becomes more frequent. It becomes the accepted norm. In the end, it provokes less moral outrage and comes to be seen as how business is done.
5
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS What’s more, Pfeffer writes, “leaders go back on their word not because they are necessarily venal or evil, but because keeping commitments, a fundamental basis of trust, constrains their behavior. When circumstances change, so do people’s behaviors, objectives, and needs.”
5. Concern For Others’ Well-Being
There are shelf-loads of books and countless numbers of inspirational presentations that promote the concept of servant leadership - the principle neatly summed up in the title of Simon Sinek’s book Leaders Eat Last. This idea was adopted from the military practice in which officers are served and eat after their enlisted men. In simple terms, the action is meant to symbolize respect for subordinates and thereby increase their loyalty and motivation. But, says Pfeffer, in the real world, leaders usually “eat” first, that is they look after their own needs, interests and careers before those of others. Putting employees first may seem to make ethical sense and even business sense, and it’s certainly part of conventional leadership teaching, but, for the most part, it’s just not what happens. Leaders don’t sacrifice themselves for their employees. For example, when business pressures threaten resources, job or pay cuts are more likely to be directed at employees than at leaders. And when leaders mess up - unlike employees who might get fired with no compensation - leaders usually leave with outstandingly generous severance packages. “Robert Nardelli, after coming from GE to Home Depot, which under his tenure lost market share to Lowe’s and saw its stock price decline almost 20 percent, left with about $210 million when he was forced out by his board,” Pfeffer recalls. Furthermore, the gap between CEO pay and average employee wages has increased from around 20 times 50 years ago, to more than 200 times today - surely true evidence that leaders are well and truly “feeding” themselves first! Leaders who look after their own interests first do so because their own career is their first priority. Also, they have little in common with those they lead, often being physically segregated from employees in the work environment, so they’re not attuned to their needs and concerns. Of course, Pfeffer isn’t arguing in favor of selfish leadership. He simply notes that it’s the default behavior. If the situation’s ever going to change, mechanisms need to be put in place to make leaders more accountable to their employees. There are companies that have done this.
6
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS For example, at Hewlett-Packard some years ago, manager pay reviews were based in part on survey results of employees in their units. Thus, it was in their interest to take account of subordinates’ needs and concerns. Leaders might also have to show concern for worker interests if employees actually elected them. This happens now at worker cooperatives such as Mondragon in Spain and retailer John Lewis in the UK.
Looking Out For Ourselves
There’s an important lesson here. If leaders are behaving less than honorably and looking out for themselves, then it’s up to you to protect and pursue your own selfinterest. Even if you do have a caring boss right now, they likely won’t be there forever and there’s no guarantee their successor will behave the same way. And, you might think that because you’ve performed well so far, your leaders will look after you. But, their interest is focused on what you can do for them in the future, not what you did in the past. Says Pfeffer: “The logical conclusion from systematic data and countless cases in multiple environments, ranging from college and professional athletics to corporations to universities: relying on the good behavior and positive sentiments of work organizations for your career well-being is singularly foolish.” Join the self-interest club, he urges. For example, before you even join a company you should thoroughly research its culture and leadership so you will understand the leader and the culture and know how you can manage your career within it. Be skeptical of mission and value statements because they’re rarely reflected in practice. And no matter how settled you feel right now, make it a regular practice to set aside time to monitor and seek out other career opportunities. Even if you’re not ready to jump ship, it’s in your best interest to stay in touch with the employment marketplace.
Facing Up To Reality
Right now, the behavior of many leaders bears little resemblance to the leadership model we read and hear about. People like Carly Fiorina (when she was at HP), Rebekah Brooks (News International), President Lyndon Johnson, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, Apple founder Steve Jobs, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, just don’t fit the mold of the benevolent, straight-shooting, employee-focused principals reported by the leadership industry. So, what’s to be done?
7
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS We need to identify how leaders actually perform in the real world - both the good and the bad - and understand the mechanisms that drive these behaviors. We must look beyond the hype they and others spout about themselves and their achievements. Only when we do that, can we begin to think about inducing change. That may involve developing business structures that are less leader-dependent, finding ways of encouraging selflessness in place of selfishness, and developing universal management standards against which the performance of leaders can be measured and rewarded. In the meantime, because we tend to accept the behavior of our leaders and turn a blind eye to their misdemeanors, failing to impose sanctions for failures and misbehavior, leaders are effectively encouraged to continue to act as they do and even to believe in their own infallibility. Even so, Pfeffer doesn’t want us to lose sight of the rather unpalatable truth that sometimes you have to behave badly to do good. “Making change, improving situations, getting things done, winning in very competitive environments, often requires being willing and able to engage in behaviors and exhibit qualities that some people might find repugnant,” he says. But that’s something you won’t be taught at business school.
Conclusion
In this intriguing and controversial book, Jeffrey Pfeffer highlights five disconnects between contemporary leadership teaching and real world practice. 1. We’re told modesty is an admirable value in a leader, yet self-promotion and immodesty seem to be the surest route to the top. 2. We’re encouraged to be true to ourselves in our leadership roles even though behaving authentically might actually work against us. 3. Although honesty is a commendable personal quality, skirting the truth can have positive business benefits. 4. Trustworthiness is not essential for organizational functioning. Most firms operate in a climate where many just employees don’t trust their leaders. 5. Demonstrating concern for employees can produce more successful companies with loyal workforces, but most leaders actually put their own interests first. You may not agree with everything Pfeffer says - and plenty don’t - but at the very least his ideas invite us to revisit our beliefs about what makes a good leader.
8
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
Leadership BS Furthermore, they clearly point to a need for more consideration of the disconnect between what we’re taught and what’s happening in the real world of business. Only when we understand that, says Pfeffer, can we start to establish true standards and benchmarks against which individual leaders’ performance can be measured. We are being taught to adopt certain behaviors to be a successful leader. However, these behaviors aren’t being used by leaders in the real world. In some cases, the behaviors we’re being taught could actually put us at a competitive disadvantage. Maybe the teachings reflect ideals that could eventually produce better, more successful organizations, but they don’t reflect contemporary leadership practice.
9
TheBusinessSource.com
All Rights Reserved ©
