I remember from my younger days going to church that one of the lessons was that no one is immune from sin, and everyone who goes to church is a sinner. You don’t go to church to prove that you aren’t, you go to church to be a better person and to try and sin less.
So it is with Cowardly Leaders. I am a Cowardly Leader. You are a Cowardly Leader.
Everyone is a Cowardly Leader
The point of writing a blog on Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal isn’t to say that I have never been a coward in a leadership role. I have. I have wondered what to do and have been timid in making a decision, afraid that it wouldn’t be the right one.
There have been times when I have failed to Speak Truth to Power. There have been times when my credibility was probably questioned by those who worked for me. I think that’s part of being human- making mistakes, learning from them, and getting better. The takeaway here is that I’m not a perfect leader and don’t want to imply that I am. I learn from writing and researching these blogs. I make notes on what I can do better, and you can do better.
There are Absolutes
Just as some sins are worse than others, some actions of Cowardly Leaders are worse than others. At the top of the list is lying. Lying to staff, to the boss and to the news media will NEVER work out well. Lying to a colleague or and advisor or consultant is just as dangerous and stupid.
Abdicating authority that you have as an elected official or a senior appointed official is a fundamental definition of cowardly. Do the job, or resign. But don’t give it to someone else to do because you don’t want to, or it’s too hard. There are too many Lt. Dykes in the world- don’t be one.
The flip side of that coin is the leader- usually a local elected official- who comes into office with both guns blazing, declaring his “expertise” in some area after just a few weeks in office. No newly elected official knows 1% of what he needs to know the first month in office. Proclaiming he is an expert proves to the great majority of citizens that he is full of….hubris. Hubris and false bravado. People see through that.
Get Better
The difference is that those who recognize the times we have been cowardly in a difficult leadership situation learn from it and work to get better. To not do it again.
Cowardly Leaders, on the other hand, don’t get better and in many cases have no desire or interest in getting better. The hubris doesn’t go away, the timidity and inclination to cower continues.
II-29
