Years ago one of the annual lists of best excuses given by drivers to police officers included this gem:
Officer, I swerved to the left, then I swerved to the right, and finally I hit him.”
Since then, I’ve noticed how the inadvertence in that statement fits so many other explanations we offer for our behavior, conclusions or decisions. In our context here at this site, it certainly shouldn’t be too difficult to see how it applies to the dialogue about leadership over the years.
Initially the gurus told us that leadership was a superlative individual characteristic reserved to the elite, then a democratically distributed attribute accessible by all. They weren’t as lucky as the driver, though, because they had to keep on desperately swerving – first to vision, then decisiveness, then courage, then team-building skills, then forcefulness, then empathy. It’s about looking inward to one’s core self. No, it’s about communication and connecting with others.
And on they go, careening down the highway, scattering innocent passersby in their wake, but still managing to plow down a genuine victim here and there. The main difference between the gurus struggling over the many wheels of this bizarre rig and our errant driver is that the gurus keep telling us they have finally hit the answer, but then it turns out to be only another swerve.
Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to drive. Or, at least, you shouldn’t allow them to drive you. You’ll just perpetually be yet another swerve away from the next implausible excuse.
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Today’s tip: Speaking of excuses, they’re really all you can ever expect if you don’t set the stage for true accountability with intelligent discipline – and self-discipline. See Michelle Malay Carter for how.
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Technorati Tags: police, explanation, behavior, conclusion, decision, leadership, guru, individual, characteristic, elite, vision, decisiveness, courage, team-building, empathy, communication, accountability, discipline, self-discipline, Michelle Malay Carter
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2 Comments
This is my first visit to your site, but definitely not my last. Very well written and honest. I find myself scoffing at the gurus who hold all the answers, but then have to ask myself: “Why are you reading this?” I guess I want them to be right, but deep down know that there is no silver bullet to leadership. The plates keep spinning. Great site!
Hello Zac,
Thanks very much indeed for your kind comments and your visit – which, by the way, I have returned. You have a fascinating, informative, and elegant site which now has a happy new subscriber. I hope other viewers here will click through to it from your comment – they’ll be glad they did!
Thanks again!
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