Real Leaders Wish Everyone Happy Valentines Day!
Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last, stated this in a recent post:
“Success always takes help. Failure stands alone.” Let that sink in.
Success.
ALWAYS.
Takes.
Help.
In one of John F. Kennedy’s campaign speeches in 1960, he says, “Give me your help, and your hand, and your voice…” President Kennedy explicitly asked for help. Cowardly leaders, on the other hand, are all knowing – that is why they were elected, or appointed to their position. They become omniscient by virtue of being where they are, as if that position brings instant expertise.
Success always takes help
There are some common themes I have discovered as I’ve researched and written these Cowardly Leadership blogs. One recurring theme is: Fear vs. confidence. The more confident a leader is, the more likely and comfortable he/she is in asking questions, asking for help, realizing there is a lot of knowledge out there he or she needs to know. The cowardly leader operates from a position of fear. Fear of the unknown, but more unsettling, fear that people might discover he/she doesn’t know everything and isn’t as smart as he/she implied during the election.
If they are in an authoritative position due to being a political appointee, they certainly can’t appear to be unknowing. Otherwise, they will just be replaced by someone who is, or pretends to be.
I Don’t Need Help
Contrast President Kennedy, or Simon Sinek, with a cowardly leader. There are hundreds of examples. If you’ve been a supervisory position for any length of time, you can recall dozens of examples when cowardly leaders have said, “I don’t need help.” The following example is pretty indicative. This example, sadly, is a true story- one of too many I’ve witnessed first-hand:
Four weeks after being elected to office for the first time ever, our newly elected official takes on a new project. Here is a guy who has never worked in government, never worked for government, never held elected office before. If anyone needs help, he does, and if anyone should be reaching out to those who have experience, he should.
Hubris and false confidence of anyone who pretends he “knows” is frustrating to the citizens he represents., regardless of level of government. But Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal is about local government officials- those that make decisions that affect all of us every day.
Know What You Don’t Know
Or at least have enough common sense and integrity to admit you don’t, and begin to find out.
Anyway, our newly elected official can respond in the following ways:
- “I’m sorry but I’ve only been in office four weeks. I just don’t know enough about it to lead that kind of project.”
- “I’m an elected official, I’m not part of the city/county/school board staff, I’m going to let staff do what they are supposed to do and then we as elected officials will hold them accountable for the process and procedure and recommendation.”
- “I would cross some lines and violate some ethics if I do that.”
- “OK, but I’m going to need some assistance from an expert or experts who have worked in government and know how the specific process of how it should work. Do we have someone on staff who can do this? If not, let’s find someone who might volunteer their expertise, or maybe contract with someone short-term to make sure we do this the right way.”
Or the fifth option- where cowardly leaders coalesce: “I don’t need help. I’ve been at this for four long weeks. What more could I possibly need to know?”
III-8
