The Realm of Stupid Leadership

Leadership knowledge does not make a person into a great leader. However, we live in an age where information is available in heaps and everyone has become an expert. There is a myth, a lie that everyone can be a leader. This is what I call, “The Realm of Stupid Leadership” and it is pervasive in our culture.

In fairness, everyone can exhibit some leadership traits or qualities, but that doesn’t make you a leader. You can occupy a leadership role or position and not be a leader. In my research, experience and observation true leaders are born–always have been always will be. The rest are just followers dressed up like leaders believing their own press, social media clippings, and heaping up mountains of knowledge–wanna-be’s!

There are Three Types of People in the Realm of Leadership:

#1 – Those who know they are followers. These are people who definitively know they are not leadership material. In fact, these people will cast off any mantle of leadership; unless, it is absolutely thrust upon them. Even, then, when a true leader appears, they will quickly and gladly pass the mantle. The leadership mantle makes these people very uncomfortable, it is a burden and weight they can’t wait to pass on or get rid of. These people want to be led. They want responsibility, but not the leadership responsibility. These people tend to be great in an organization. They are ready, willing and able to be led. They are the most valuable commodity any organization has! They make their leaders’ lives pleasant and productive. They are the silent master-cog in any organization.

#2 – Those who know they are leaders. These are people who definitively know that they are born-leaders. They always have been. Since, childhood or their earliest opportunity they have been expressing their style of leadership on their peers for as long as they can remember. These people naturally have others gravitate towards them, towards their opinions, and their counsel. Very simply, they influence others, normally from a very early age or an early opportunity. These people not only get results, but get others to get results. They wear the mantle of leadership with great comfort. These people didn’t wake up one day and say “oh, I’m a leader, people should follow me!” Rather, along their journey as they’ve encountered groups, teams, classrooms, really people in general, they grow more comfortable with leading other people.

Natural-born Leaders handle authority easily. They make it look easy. And to some extent it is easier for them. All leadership has a burden associated with it, because ultimately, a natural-born leader is willing to listen to counsel, but accept sole-responsibility for the decision. Natural-born leaders recognize this ability in other natural-born leaders and will easily subjugate themselves into a follower role, as long as the other leader demonstrates a high level of competency and consistency.

#3 – Those who think they are leaders but are really followers. This is the Realm of Stupid Leadership. This group is growing by leaps and bounds in our culture today. Because, somewhere some clever publishing groups, public speakers or authors looking to sell you their books have sown this myth among our corporate culture that “everyone can be a leader.” The absurdity in this is really laughable. What Fortune 500 company or even a mom-and-pop bakery hires each new employee and says “welcome, you are now a leader, but so am I and so will be each new person we hire?” No one says this, well, no one that still has an organization or business that is remotely successful. Ever been in a room, on a committee, a team, a class or a gathering where everyone tried to lead? It’s impossible! Nothing gets accomplished, the simplest tasks become ridiculously complex, and harmony denigrates into hostility.

I call these people “wanna-be” leaders. They don’t start out with bad intentions, normally. But often, because they have misperceived their ability or have been led to believe in a false-ability, something happens to them and the seeds of tyranny are sown. Consequently, these people normally look at the natural-born leaders with contempt, because the natural-born leaders make influencing others seem so easy and for the wanna-bee leaders it is nearly impossible. If you can’t get people to follow you, you probably aren’t a natural leader. The mantle of leadership is all about authority. Most people can’t handle it with prudence, judiciousness and wisdom. Authority to the wanna-be leader becomes an obsession. Accepting responsibility is nearly impossible for the wanna-be leader, because, they are actors and actresses, and failure is impossible to ingest because in their minds it might expose themselves to their perceived followers. This type of leadership will ultimately turn into tyranny and a dictatorship. This wanna-be will remove any and all challengers of his perceived-authority.

The Realm of Stupid Leadership will ultimately destroy a business, organization, team, family or church. Knowing your ultimate ability brings a level of liberty to your life. You don’t have to pursue the wrong opportunities or take on the wrong responsibilities.

If we all worked on becoming better followers, the natural-leaders will arise. Harmony, unity and peace will be the by-products. However, in the Realm of Stupid Leadership hostility, factions, and open-conflict become the norm.

Simply, in the realm of leadership, everyone must remember that everyone is a follower. We are all following someone, even for some if that is just themselves. So, the best leaders are the best followers, but the best followers are not the best leaders. If we focused more on serving than leading, the leaders would lead and we could all follow.

Back Burner Leadership: How to Become a Leadership Failure with Five Simple Ingredients

The back burner on the stove is typically used to allow something to cool off or simmer. Literally, the back burner is where something becomes lukewarm. A lukewarm leader looks like a leader from position and posture, but in reality, his influencing presence is felt through absence or dominance. Too many leaders have pushed the very qualities that brought them to a position of influence to the back burners of their leadership lives. Their influence has cooled off and priorities have become confused by simmering too long. The back-burner leader is proud, lukewarm and non-engaged…

…Welcome to the Back Burner.

When a leader’s influence diminishes the leader is usually the last one to know. This is a terrible place to be in as a leader. Without trusted-advisers that truly act as truth-tellers, the leader wallows in self-exile and isolation on the back-burner. Positionally, the leader is still in the same place, but influentially, ground has been lost. The leader begins to feel out of touch and will exert leadership influence wrongly to make himself feel valued or “in touch” in his organization. The leader begins to experience a heightening level towards others of annoyance, that moves to frustration, that turns to resistance and ultimately ends with failure and even destruction.

Ingredients that Make the Back Burner Leader:

#1- Not My Problem

This attitude believes that every problem is someone else’s fault, not the leaders.In reality,  not every problem is the leader’s fault, but a leader must take responsibility for organizational problems. Leaders that refuse to accept personal responsibility for the issues, concerns and results of their organization are piloting a sinking ship. No one can bail water fast enough when the leader has set a course that hits an iceberg and then, subsequently, blames everyone else on board for the crisis.

#2 – Entitlement

When the Leader feels entitled he takes perks and privileges that no one else is allowed to. Entitlement is an isolated elevator to the penthouse of arrogance and aloofness. The entitled leader will disparage those in the organization and treat them as underlings, because, the rules apply to everyone else but the leader. The leader is entitled, and should be looking from the highest vantage point in the organization, but it doesn’t mean he should live at the highest point! When a leader divorces himself from the foundation of the organization, he is placing the organization in imminent danger. A leader must always remember how the organization has been built, who has been building it, and

Leaders must be on-guard against an arrival mindset. An arrival mindset is a prideful, complacent attitude that says that the journey is over and the victory has been won. Entitlement and an arrival mindset are deeply intertwined. They reinforce one another. To combat this, a leader must view himself as a servant and a sojourner who is always in the state of preparation for departure. Arriving hastens a lukewarm attitude.

#3 – Unbridled Thought & Speech

After a leader feels entitled, his thoughts and his tongue often become unbridled. Unbridled means unrestrained, wild, cavalier, and often reckless.  Why? Because of two reasons: (a) In his mind he has “arrived” and (b) he IS THE accountability of the organization. Just about everyone who is in the organization is trying to climb or maintain their present position. They feel the accountability of both peers and superiors, thus feeling restraint.  The leader, who in his mind has arrived, can very easily cast aside this critical restraint. This lack of restraint plugs up his ears and loosens his tongue. He quickly becomes master-of-all and servant-of-none.  This is a great danger to the organization as well as the individual. This is why so many leaders fall from grace.

#4 – Priority Mash-Up

Very often, the poorer you are the simpler your priorities are or the greater clarity you have with which to view them. The wealthier you are the more complicated your priorities become. Wealth does not give greater insight or clarity. Rather, wealth has a devious way of clouding priorities.

The leader must therefore, always consider himself poor: poor in knowledge, poor in resources, poor in thought, poor in station & poor in spirit.  This self-viewed poverty is not a delusion of reality, but rather, a careful consideration of self-induced servility. In short, this view is humility. Humility can produce great clarity. Confused, clouded priorities create a chaotic organization with ever-decreasing effectiveness and diminishing influence.

#5 – Pride

This is the most detrimental ingredient of all. It is very easy for a leader to mask his pride. In fact, many leaders and their followers mistakenly discount this pride/arrogance as something more trivial and it’s referred to “impatience,” “stubbornness” or “individuality.” Often, with wealth or station this arrogant behavior is excused by those in the organization as “creativity,” “passion,” or “oddities.” The leader, enabled by sycophant followers will believe this kind of arrogant behavior, actually, helps the organization. But the bottom line of pride is that it always is a blinding agent. Because pride blinds a back burner leader, the production of the leader will lead to destruction.

Leaders and followers alike would do well to heed the words of the wealthiest human to ever live, King Solomon of Israel, “when pride comes, then comes disgrace” and “pride comes before destruction”  (Proverbs 11:6 & 16:18).

The result of arrogance is destruction. The product of pride is disgrace.

The sad state of leadership is such that we have more books, seminars, and instruction on the very topic, but seemingly, more frustration among followers and organizations that are being led by back-burner leaders. For the leader and follower alike, the solution to moving from the back-burner to the fore-burner is simple: humility. Humility re-establishes and clarifies organizational priorities. Humility gives wise counsel a platform for influence. Humility distinguishes between what’s pressing and what’s important.

A lukewarm leader is not a joy to follow, produces little by way of lasting influence, and ultimately is leading the organization to greater frustration and avoidable adversity.

Stop! Stop trying so hard to lead when you first must follow.

He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander. —Aristotle

Jesus selects 12 men out of the multitudes that would come to follow him for three years. He didn’t lure them with the “leadership carrot,” a position or power to entice or goad them into following. He simply said, “Come, follow me.”

Notice, He didn’t say, “come, lead me” or “come, lead with me.” You know what? They followed!

What kind of follower are you?

Ever tried to motivate, guide, or lead a group, your family, maybe even your spouse unsuccessfully? Of course! People are by nature  rebellious, stubborn and self-willed. The notion that everyone can be a leader is misleading. Continue reading →

Not everyone has a vision. Not every leader is truly inspired.  However, there are three things that can be key indicators or key determinants that will bring your vision to a roaring success or a cold, lifeless failure.

The 3 Indicators of the Success or Failure of Your Vision:

1. Passion – a spark that kindles your desire toward success. The kind of vision that inspires you must come not from your head but from your heart. I’m not saying to follow your heart. John C. Maxwell says, “every vision starts with an emotional spark” (2011). The spark must be formed at the very center of who you are. It is foolishness to blindly follow your heart (the Bible warns against this). This spark is not something you imagine, but something you experience. For this passion is what will set you apart from everyone else.

Horst Schultze former COO of Ritz-Carlton says,

“You are nothing unless it comes from your heart. Passion, caring, really looking to create excellence. If you perform functions only and go to work only to do processes, then you are effectively retired. And it scares me – most people I see, by age 28, are retired… If you go to work only to fulfill the processes and functions then you are a machine. You have to bring passion, commitment and caring – then you are a human being.”

It is a passion that drives you day after day. It is not wishful thinking or “pencil magic” on paper. It is not a “pie in the sky” goal designed to make you feel good for a moment, but tossed aside later. No, it is a fire that is lit inside of you, deep inside of you. It is a fire that is contagious. It is a fire that can be fanned by others, but not put out by others. It is ever-present. It is visible to others in your eyes, in your tone, and in the way you communicate. The fire will refine your dreams, your ideas, your thoughts, and your expectations. Without it your calculations will be cold and lifeless. You will retire and your vision will die.

2. Candor – a true version of reality. You will not succeed, you will fail if your passion isn’t combined with candor. Candor is the quality of being open, frank; speaking and facing reality and challenging those you lead to face it as well. Too many people are either duplicitous or guarded in their communication style with others. They live and communicate in a masked world—which is unhealthy, un-compelling, and false. Masked worlds don’t draw people, but rather repell them and isolate. You need the people you lead to get better–to grow. Vision does require your personal candor towards others or your ability to surround yourself with people that will speak frankly with you who will reveal the truth. The problem is many leaders don’t want to listen they only want to be heard or have those that follow aquiesce to their version of the truth.

Vision doesn’t mean you see everything. In fact, a vision can be blinding because you focus on the end result so much you fail to see what’s right in front of you. The vision was clear, the passion was present, but you stumbled and now you can’t understand why you are off track!

Jack Welch said at in the midst of his culture change at GE, he had too many business leaders that refused to change. They wanted to be left alone and refused to face reality (Tichy & Charan, 1998). Candor faces reality. Stop ignoring reality. Surround yourself with candorous truth-tellers.

A dreamer who becomes a fantasizer will never see vision fulfilled. Fantasies are not reality. A dream can become a reality through opportunity, circumstance, hard work, perseverance, and divine intervention. Leaders pursing vision must face reality. Get out of the bubble and get in the trenches. Talk to people lots of people, especially, your people.

3. Perseverance – the ability to press through when changes and challenges inevitably occur. Without it, your car runs out of gas and you sit and wait for a tow truck to just happen by. With it, your car runs out of gas and you start walking, waving folks down, walking, waving, praying, hoping, moving, you press on when no one else will.

The words of the Apostle Paul echo through my ears, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12, NIV).
Success is not easy. Maintaining success is not easy. Failure is often the easy way out. Quitting is easy. Fantasizing is easy. Perseverance is hard. Times will get tough. Your vision, your pursuit will encounter difficulties, unforeseen challenges, and setbacks. What defines you is not what happens, but how you respond to what happens.

Dave Ramsey says, “Being in business isn’t easy…When you find yourself running out of spiritual and emotional energy, whenever you find yourself getting tired of doing what you do, don’t quit. If God gave it to you to do, don’t stop. Keep moving forward. You can do it.”

Simply put, for the Christian leader, if your vision is not ordained from God, you are merely flattering yourself and you have believed in the wrong vision that will lead towards frustration and disappointment. However, when your vision is ordained from above, these three things will most likely be compelling factors that drive you towards fulfillment.

Three things that will help to determine if your vision will succeed or fail: passion, candor and perseverance.

This post could also be called “Three Wise Decisions a Foolish Leader Can-and-Need-to-but-Probably-Will-Never Make.”

The Bible makes a very sharp distinction between wisdom and foolishness. It is a joy to others when you lead wisely. Growth, unity and productivity are fostered. However, the leader that leads foolishly will bring all sorts of trouble, misery and division to the organization and to those who follow.

“People do not wish to appear foolish; to avoid the appearance of foolishness, they are willing to remain actually fools. ”

Alice Walker

Here are three mistakes wise leaders must avoid that are made by foolish leaders:

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. A foolish person is a very bad listener. They only appear to be listening so they can deliver what they really want to say in return. They don’t enjoy understanding. They don’t seek understanding, because foolish leaders are self-centered and ultimately, self-concerned.

#1 – Wise leaders decide to put their followers concerns over their personal interests. These can be challenging because every follower inevitably is not working from the same information or experience as the leader. However, wise leaders listen! Wise leaders decide to ingratiate themselves not isolate themselves. Bottom line, a foolish leader doesn’t listen for understanding, because his mind is already made up, thus the interaction with followers is always impersonal and inattentive.

Wise leaders decide to diligently know the condition of their followers and give them careful attention.

A fool’s leadership brings strife, and his conversations invite conflict. Foolish leaders tend to spout off arbitrarily, with partially, and without careful thought of future outcomes. A foolish leader doesn’t listen well, and to make it worse will follow up the poor listening with diatribes that inflame and inject venom that stir things up. If you are a leader and you are wondering why you encounter so much conflict? Then, it may very well be your mouth is a source of fuel to your follower’s fire.

#2 – A wise leader decides that his speech will always show impartiality, with tenderness that invokes peace and harmony among his followers. A wise leader understands that the very words, the tone, and the nonverbal gestures all greatly affect those that follow. Words can heal and harmonize or divide and destroy. The wise leader decides for unity, the foolish leader decides for himself!

Wise leaders decide to speak with affirmation and harmony to their followers, because wise leaders are concerned with bringing everyone along, not just a small group.

A fool rejects any instruction or correction not his own. Moreover, a foolish leader rejects instruction that either isn’t in line with his desire or doesn’t fit with his plan. Leadership doesn’t demand that the leader be right 100% of the time, since there are no perfect leaders on earth. However, followers will demand that leaders “get it right” and when they don’t followers will always judge the response of the leader’s personal accountability. A foolish leader shirks acceptance for failure and blames others or insists all the facts were not available for them to make the right judgment.

#3 – Wise leaders decide to subject themselves to accountability. In essence, they are touchable and accessible. Wise leaders come out of the cloisters and ivory towers to be in and among their followers. Foolish leaders hide behind walls to protect their personal insecurities from being exposed. Wise leaders live a disciplined life. Because of this disciplined life, they are willing to receive correction, discipline, and counsel.

Wise leaders decide to make themselves accountable to those they lead by taking responsibility and leading disciplined lives.

Leaders, which will you be: a foolish leader or a wise leader? The decision is yours.

(Further reading: Proverbs 15:5, 18:2, 6-7)

What are you chasing? Why are you chasing it? 

Remember being chased or chasing someone on the playground? Maybe you had a secret crush that developed into “boys chase the girls” at recess?  There was a physiologic thrill involved in the chase. However, the more time passed, the thrill on both parties eventually grew into exhaustion or boredom. It wasn’t about the catching, it was about the being chased. When the chase was over, the thrill was over. This explains why so many relationships, goals, and objectives get unceremoniously dumped and die. Chasing is the impulsive, immediate response to achieving a goal or an objective. 

1. The Thrill of the Chase

Chasing is like the untrained dog that lies dormant until a squirrel, a shadow or even his tail catches its attention. Squirrel……he’s gone! The dog springs into action–the thrill of the chase! That is until he catches what he was chasing or like his tail he can never fully grasp–the thrill is over. When you find yourself exhausted or bored, it’s often because you’ve been un-strategically chasing something.

2. The Will of the Pursuit

Pursuit is different. Pursuit is the strategic and enduring approach to apprehending your goal. Pursuit is more about measurement than movement. Restless, impatient leaders chase, because they need movement. But movement doesn’t always mean growth or apprehension. It often merely means activity. And many leaders are “action addicts.”

Pursuit is more a matter of the will, than a physiological need for stimulation. When a leader’s will is set, pursuit is not a question of time, but of outcome. Pursuit is steadfast, chasing is fickle.

Consider your organization, are you chasing or pursuing?

3. Don’t Become an “Action Addict” 

Leaders that are “action addicts” require constant activity in their organization. Their personal impatience impedes the systemic growth of the organization. A leader that requires stimulation by the  activity of the organization will unknowingly produce an unstable environment. Followers like thrills, but demand stability.

Parents who are action addicts will subject their children to any number of activities to keep them “involved” or “engaged.” Bosses who are action addicts will subject their employees to any number of new initiatives, but will never see the prior initiative through. Action addicts are impatient and demanding.

You chase fantasies, but pursue goals. You chase ghosts, but pursue people.

Decisions. Pure and simple. One of the hardest things in life to execute is to make a perfect decision. It’s almost impossible. Stop trying. Make good decisions. Make right decisions. Do this and people will follow you.

Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

1. Don’t  be Waffler or Wind-Checker

Too many of our leaders waffle on the really important decisions. Too many leaders are checking to determine which way the wind is blowing, then make their decisions. Their decisions are often bad decisions. Great leaders make their decisions despite the wind blowing. Winds will always blow, but people will not always follow.

2. Get the Direction Right

Great leaders distinguish themselves from all comers and all others because they have the singular ability, among other qualities, to make good decisions. I’m not even saying they have to make a great decision every time. Great leaders make decisions in the right direction. Getting the direction right allows for better implementation and, as needed, adjustments.

3. Communicate Clearly to those Following 

Followers want stability and clear direction. Leaders must provide these. Followers will only tolerate an arbitrary leader for so long. A leader who makes arbitrary decisions is viewed as selfish, fickle, insecure, and untrustworthy. A leader who makes good and right decisions is seen as selfless, stable, secure, but most importantly, trustworthy.

Great leaders understand how their followers will respond and react to decisions. King Solomon said, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds.”* The leader must be in and among his followers, not cloistered from them.

Decisions bathed in counsel that accurately paint the full picture, inspire followers and create a harmony in the organization. Leaders who isolate themselves from their flocks will make poor decisions and the flock will wander or disperse. The careless leader will look up to see a diminishing flock.

4. Make Your Decisions Good 

Jimmy Collins, former CEO of the multi-billion dollar chicken giant Chick-fil-A, says “make your decisions good.” Good decisions point in the right direction, consider well who will be affected, and yield good results.

How well are you leading?

*Proverbs 27:23, ESV

 Do you really want to be great at something? If crickets filled that space in your mind, then chances are you may live dangerously close to the camp of complacency. If not, get excited and read on…

We were born to greatness, however, most people never discover greatness because they are working off (a) their own wrong definition, (b) someone else’s definition, or (c) they simply lack the critical characteristics that facilitate it.

Understanding the Pursuit of Greatness

1. Get a good definition. To achieve greatness merely means you have mastery over something—in essence, you’ve become “great” at something. When you examine your opportunity and your talents, don’t measure them against someone else’s ability, but rather, against your potential. Simply, be the best “you” that you can be. You can never be someone else. Understand the difference between being viewed as great (recognition) and grasping a great skill or aptitude at something (achievement).
2. Don’t worry about who you know or how you got there. Rather, be concerned with what you are doing now with where you find yourself. Too many leaders end up using past circumstances to justify present poor performance or failure. Stagnation and regret can keep a leader from growing.
3. Learn how to serve others. The path to greatness comes not because of how you are recognized publicly. We have been wrongly taught that “the greatest deserve the most recognition.” Greatness really is in your ability to influence the most people or serve one person greater than anyone else. Serving is hard because true serving is selfless. It is not motivated by “what I will get because of what I am doing.” It is also not motivated by appearance. Too many people serve to get recognition. A great leader learns to master the temptation to pursue recognition. Rather, true greatness is found in the motivation that considers others before considering yourself. True greatness never comes through demanding respect, but rather earned respect that is freely given.
4. Become a master of what you do and what you know. Becoming a master means being a life-long student. The best “masters” constantly learn and engage their mind in the development process of whatever skill, talent or ability they have mastery in. Too often, leaders reach a point in their development process where someone else validates their ability or they hit a level they perceive to be mastery and they simply—turn off. Don’t turn off, check out, or tune out. Stay engaged, fresh, and rested in the learning and developing process.
5. Don’t purse greatness, purse excellence. Don’t pursue perfection, rather purse excellence. There are always variances, accidents, and good intentions gone wrong. In short, mistakes are always going to be made. Focusing on the details and the disciplined approach to a fully committed work ethic are keys to pursing excellence. Leading with excellence while serving others can yield some incredible results.
6. Temper your unseen expectations. Be careful how far ahead you allow your mind to roam. Your mind can lead you where your body, opportunity or ability will never allow you. I am not saying to shelve your dreams, but don’t become a slave to a dream that in turn warps reality. Tempering is best done through trusted counsel and true personal assessment.

Jesus was asked once who would be the greatest in his kingdom. He responded by directing his followers attention to a little child stating that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Matthew 18). Greatness is best achieved by humbling ourselves, serving others, and seeking mastery over things, not recognition from people.