Talk about irony. On the same day, December 18, two world leaders died. One was revered and truly beloved by his people. The other feared and mourned only through intimidation. Václav Havel, an unlikely political leader, a playwright, poet and dissident, published a famous essay in 1978, “The Power of the Powerless.” His words and commitment to the ideals of truth and beauty were a powerful force in Czechoslovakia’s (now the Czech Republic) “Velvet Revolution.” Co-author of the human rights charter called “Charter 77,” he was persecuted and imprisoned by the Communist police state in power at the time. He emerged as the president of a free Czechoslovakia and the recipient of numerous awards around the world for his courage. Havel wrote about his own country when still under a repressive Communist regime, that they are required to “live within a lie.” They lived with tons of slogans but few real beliefs.
On the same day as Havel’s death, the ruler of North Korea, Kim Jong Il also died. By all accounts, North Korea was one of the most repressive regimes in the modern world. As stated in this article about his obituary in the Los Angeles Times “North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il hired a personal sushi chef from Tokyo and a personal pizza chef from Italy even as his country suffered through a famine that killed as many as 2 million of his people. He kept a library of 20,000 movies for his own entertainment although ordinary citizens could be sent to prison camps for watching South Korean or American movies. He beat back economic reforms and led North Korea’s economy to the brink of collapse while building a nuclear weapons program opposed by the rest of the world. On a trip through Russia, he reportedly had lobster and red wine flown in to meet his train at stops on the way; meanwhile, he banished to prison those deemed disloyal and kept a tight rein on expression and information.”
So, what does this have to do with leadership training? I have been reflecting on these events in the midst of this holiday season and wondering how these men will be remembered. Both had their critics and both had their admirers. Every leader must, at some point, wonder about his or her legacy. “How will I be remembered? Do the decisions I have made produce the result that I hoped for? Am I respected? Feared? Beloved? Mocked? Just how will history remember me? Or, will I be completely forgotten? Nothing but a note in a financial report?” While it is probably unwise for an organizational leader to dwell on these questions too much or too long, reflection is inevitable and desirable. Just as facilitators encourage participants in leadership training workshops to work on a vision for the organization, it might be useful to consider their own long-term impact as well. It is not always easy to assess one’s impact on an organization.
The higher the level of leadership within the hierarchy, the more complex that becomes. CEO’s are compensated, in theory, on their overall impact on the company’s well being. Some have argued that such an assessment cannot be properly made for many years. The impact of a new CEO in a large company may not be felt for five years or more. It is easy to be blinded by immediate reactions to a leader’s decisions. Often, an “iron hand” can produce an apparently positive result. People work harder. There is less complaining (at least publicly). People put in more hours (notice that I didn’t say work more hours).
There is, in general, a higher level of activity. Such reactions are, however, often misleading. In the long run such leadership often results in many troublesome organizational problems. In fact such behavior can fool the board as well.
One study on executive compensation notes “We find evidence that industry and size-adjusted CEO pay is negatively [italics mine] related to future shareholder wealth changes for periods up to five years …. For example, firms that pay their CEOs in the top ten percent of pay earn negative abnormal returns over the next five years of approximately -13%. The effect is stronger for CEOs who receive higher incentive pay relative to their peers. Our results are consistent with high-pay induced CEO overconfidence and investor overreaction towards firms with high paid CEOs.”
Actions that produce immediate, visible results lead to increased compensation. So called “tough” leaders get paid more regardless of the damage their decisions may have on the organization in the future. Actions that take longer to accrue may result in better sustained organizational performance but do not have the short-term impact of the more aggressive leaders. This is, of course, exactly the opposite of what should happen.
Being “too soft” can also produce a similar long list of problems. Passive indifference is no substitute for tyranny. So what is a leader to do? How can a leader behave today so that the organization will be successful in five years and so that his or her legacy will be one to be proud of? There are many activities in life that do not show immediate results but we know pay off in the longer term. Eating healthy foods and exercising result in longer, healthier lives. Education results in better careers and more interesting, useful lives. Weeding and fertilizing produce better gardens. Learning to play scales will help you become a better musician. All of these activities require some short-term sacrifice for which the result is not immediately apparent. The same is true for leadership. There are activities that we know produce good results in the long run but require a bit of patience. Here are some of those activities:
- Create a collaborative culture. Educate, reward, facilitate the idea and practice of collaboration. Working together requires skill and commitment. You must set the example by seeking out the ideas and opinions of others within the organization and exploring new ways that they may be connected.
- Develop your people. Make this a priority. The more time, money, and energy you put into helping your people develop new knowledge and skill, the more powerful and resilient your organization will become.
- Tell the truth. Let your people in on what’s going on with the business, good and bad. Don’t treat your team members like children. They are adults and deserve to be treated as such. Don’t keep secrets unless you have a legal or moral obligation to do so.
- Make a commitment to learning. Create an environment in which people learn from their mistakes, team members are expected to seek out new challenges and ideas, and teams of people spend real time figuring out how to do things better. Learn new skills. Even if they do not seem to be the kind of thing that will help you right this minute, good listening skills, more constructive confrontation, and conflict resolution skills almost always pay off in the long run.
- Take some risks. Try some new things. Stay away from, “We’ve always done it this way.” So, even if an idea seems strange, give it a try if there are a few people in the organization who think it might work.
- Make status symbols less important. Cut down on or eliminate special parking places, fancy dinners, and elegant offices for yourself and other senior executives.
None of these are new ideas. You have probably heard all of them in leadership training many times. That does not mean that they are not true or that they are not important. It is very easy, however, to get caught up in the moment. It is hard to forego the instant pleasure of seeing people jump when you say jump. It is hard to let go when you can see an instant rise in productivity by threatening a lay-off. Some leaders get so hooked on the perks of their position that they forget what leadership is really all about.
I listened to one of my clients describe what happened at the funeral of the CEO of his company. He was talking about the service with a colleague afterward who said, “I thought I would feel something but all I could feel was relief. I am not proud of this but I am glad he’s dead.” What a legacy!
So, as we consider the lives of these two famous world leaders, think about your own legacy and how, even on a much smaller scale, your actions today will make a difference in the years to come, good or bad.