Why Leaders Fail – A Leadership Lesson

I would like to thank all of you for reading my blogs; I have been run under the sun a quiet lot hence could not make time to write an article for almost a week. I was recently traveling to a different city and on my way I met couple of leaders (they presume that they are leaders) although I wouldn’t consider them as anywhere near to leaders or leadership.

While I was talking to these leaders, a question arose in my heart and I felt for a while it’s the most interesting topic to discuss because these leaders have lost the shine and glow. They are like an old lady, once admired as the most prettiest and sexiest in the town.  These leaders are called for odd programmes like we have these old actresses called for some odd shows. They are in the verge of loosing thier ground for some of their own fault; they have committed mistakes time and again. But these leaders never agree for the fact rather they would like to blame people for not supporting for their greater cause. A recent article published in American Psychologist beautifully explains why so many people experience their managers/ leader as piping hot geysers of stress (Vugt, Hogan & Kaiser, 2008). What emerges is that bosses aren't inherently bad people (mostly), but that the modern culture of work sets them up to fail (PsyBlog). I wouldn’t want to limit leadership to managers or leaders who lead a company instead I want to look at leaders who lead people.

After talking to these leaders here are some of mistakes some of our leaders commit and they become extinct. A 5 year study released in 2003 by William Joyce, Nitric Nohria and Bruce Robertson, “What Really Works” Following factors:

They identified strategy (vision, direction), execution (processes, attitudes) and communication as fundamental to a leader’s success. Below i have listed down three major mistakes of a leader to fail.

Mistake Number # 1 –  Communicate well

I m baffled to see the way some of our leaders speak, if they don’t know how to speak. How can they communicate what they feel for people? How can they communicate their vision and dream for the people?

The importance of communicating well in leading is paradox and nothing can replace. A leader who communicates well can understand the people, their vision; he can feel them and be there for them when they really need, he can understand what people want and how to get them for the people.

Mistake Number # 2 - Change

Being a leader is a virtue in itself, however I feel a leader is also a social animal. I m sure as any social animal is not very receptive to change, we can talk about this hours and hours however change is very uncomfortable to all of us..  I feel most of out times leaders fail because of the change, let me expound on change a little more so get good understanding.

In my previous organization, in a blink of an eye things went hodgepodge, that people started feeling out of place. The project which I use to work had couple of major changes, like upgrading the software to changing the procedure itself. Every one were asked to attend the training for ten days, I can guarantee you no one was happy including the leader, the reason why I say this…  The leader who was leading the people had his close confidants and some how every one got to know that he did not like the change himself and it all spread over the organization… It was a complete disaster and the leader was thrown out of the organization, believe me it was such a mess… “Having no Leader is better than having a leader who is receptive to change”

As Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Mistake Number # 3 - Learn
As many psychologist and research say time and again as we grow, we tend to stop learning. We think as if we know everything, recently a Gentleman told me that he is got 38 years of experience and traveled all over the places. He says that I must learn from him, I truly and honestly agree with him. I m open to learn good things but not the bad things, we think if we grow old we are more experienced and we know more.. The fact is totally different, more you grow, more you loose your patience and learning ability. “The day you stop learning you start dying” said by All time great Einstein.

“What is used last year as the success Mantra should never be used again, nothing works twice”…….