The Hindu Business Line : Sifting fact from perception

The leader must focus on his vision and the organisation’s trajectory and well-being. Then he can tell if there is a contradiction between what his support group is telling him and the welfare of the organisation.

V. K. Madhav Mohan

Leaders are always being fed what they want to see and hear. The system and people around them conspire to sanitise, edit and filter out the truth so that only a very ersatz, watered down and flattering version of reality reaches them.

A very sophisticated form of groupthink swirls around them — personal egos, vested interests, political agendas and downright dishonesty combine to produce a deadly cocktail of half-truths, sycophancy and lies.

The leader who succumbs to the temptation of drinking from this poisoned chalice suffers from delusions of grandeur; he is just one step away from ruining his legacy, destroying his organisation and losing all his relationships. He then has virtually no chance of realising his vision or fulfilling the objectives for which he was appointed or elected.

Disabling phenomenon

Leaders are by definition internally strong and self-reliant. By practising self-discipline for many years they have mastered their own emotions even though their egos may still be running wild. They have built the capacity to think, reason and see connections where others cannot.

They have the ability and strength to absorb shocks and setbacks and convert calamity into advantage. For the most part they are able to assess people and situations in an objective manner and focus on moving towards their vision. They develop the capacity to keep their own counsel.

The exigencies of the leadership role are such that a vast quantity of data needs to be processed and managed before it can be used as information for decision-making. The management of data then becomes the source of power. The circle surrounding the leader then exercises the levers of information arbitrage.

On the one hand, it feeds the leader with what he wants to hear or what the circle or coterie wants him to hear. On the other hand, it conveys to the rest of the organisation what the circle or coterie wants it to hear. Either way, the leader is compromised. Neither is he obtaining the unalloyed facts nor is the rest of the organisation understanding his motives, style or vision. The intervening “middlemen” have completely hijacked the leadership role.

Prodding by coterie

The circle or coterie is in effect prodding the organisation to move in a direction that is convenient and beneficial to its own vested interests. The leader’s vision and the organisation’s welfare are then very remote considerations. The coterie insidiously, incrementally, pushes its own agenda. The moves are so subtle, well camouflaged and innocuous that the leader doesn’t notice.

Since, in most cases, the coterie is handpicked by the leader himself, he expects them to be completely loyal to himself. So he is not wary and alert enough to spot the games. He is lulled into a false sense of security until, at worst, the inevitable crisis or scandal hits him head-on. At best, his own vision is slowly but surely undermined and he demits office with the frustration of not having delivered on his promise.

As they become more successful and move up social and organisational hierarchies, leaders distance themselves from the grassroots. Partly because of the demands of the job and partly because of their growing sense of self-importance, they depend more and more on the system and people surrounding them. In fact, the higher the leader, the more is the dependence on people in the immediate circle. Therein lies the danger.

The bigger and more expansive the organisation, the more remote is the leader from ground reality. Any sales and marketing professional worth his salt knows that the longer the channel of distribution, the shorter is the margin available to the company. Similarly, the higher the hierarchy, the lower is the margin of error for the leader. That is because the higher he sits, the quicker and greater is the fall.

Understanding the needs, aspirations, problems and potential of people across the length and breadth of the organisation is a leadership imperative. No matter how senior or successful the boss, he has a duty to the organisation to keep his finger on the pulse of the organisation and his ear to the ground. He has to travel up and down the hierarchy as much as he travels across geographies. That is when he can break the web of the information monopoly that the coterie has woven around him. To do that of course is the ultimate test of leadership.

Web of perception

First, he must understand that truth is one thing but perception is what drives covert and overt behaviour. The latter is the actual action that is taken by people. Covert behaviour is the set of attitudes, beliefs and assumptions that people make; this is something no one can easily know since it remains embedded deep in the psyche of individuals.

The set of attitudes, beliefs and assumptions has to be ferreted out by thoughtful discussion, deep listening and non-threatening questions. This needs significant investment of time and effort by the leader. He must be prepared to go to great lengths to explain, clarify and communicate to ensure that the truth is understood and perceptions tally with the truth.

Second, the leader must always focus on his vision and the organisation’s trajectory and well-being. Then he can tell if there is a contradiction between what his support group is telling him and the welfare of the organisation.

He must realise that the group can nurture a conflict of interest and if he spots such a conflict he must nip it in the bud. The organisation always has to receive precedence over his personal friendships or interests of the coterie.

Third, he must always cultivate access to the organisation. His personal ego will have to be constantly monitored and diluted. Only then can he see and interact beyond the “chosen few”. He will then be able to easily separate fact from fiction and truth from assumption. If he is committed to test-check his own assumptions, sifting fact from perception and then communicating with effectiveness becomes second nature to him. In the final analysis that holds the key to his leadership legacy.

( TheLonelyCEO@gmail.com )

http://TheLonelyCEO.blogspot.com

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