THE LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE

For over thirty years I have observed, examined and learned from a variety of leaders in politics, government, business, education and ministry. At times these leaders were observed up close, in the heat of a hotly contested political campaign, or the stress involved in running a large organization. Other leaders I have watched and learned from afar. Many of these leaders remained faithful to their values and those they led and served. Some did not, having been seduced by the temptation of celebrity. During my own leadership practice, watching and working with leaders I’ve discovered five leadership models that apply to leaders in this age of celebrity. To describe these leaders in the age of celebrity I’ve employed TV talk show hosts as my model.

The first leader on today’s leadership landscape are ‘Dr. Phil’ leaders. These leaders are powerful, articulate, confidant and charismatic. They can be blunt and often bombastic. They will tell you ‘like it is’ or rather how they believe it to be.  They can be popular, helpful and effective. You can find these leaders in Congress, sports, businesses, and churches. They have all the answers. Many people respond positively to these charismatic leaders. They hang on every word or live by their teachings and/or philosophy. The greatest temptation these leaders face is the toxin of celebrity. They succumb to their own ‘my way or the highway’ practices. Because they’re human, cracks eventually begin to appear in their larger than life personas. Over time these leaders lose their ability to lead because having the answers to everything eventually dilutes their leadership. When you have an opinion on everything you can lose the ability to influence when people get tired of listening. With no one holding them accountable they begin to believe their own press clippings. Far too often we’ve seen the train wreck that happens when a leader disappoints, stumbles or falls.  Their capacity to leadership is wounded, often permanently. Whether the leader is in politics, business, education or ministry the end result is people are devastated, disappointed and cynicism abounds.

Next on today’s leadership landscape are ‘Oprah leaders.’ These leaders promote cooperation, community and consensus. Their motto is ‘can’t we all just get along?’ Their greatest strength is their ability to nurture, care and create a sense of community. These are tremendous gifts and many people respond. The temptation many of these leaders face is compromise. They will compromise their convictions for consensus, political correctness or popularity. At some point nearly every leader, in any field will encounter the moment of truth: ‘Will I compromise my basic beliefs or stand firm?’ Oprah leaders often take the easy way out. Expediency often triumphs with ‘Oprah leaders.’

Our next stop on today’s leadership landscape is ‘the Jerry Springer leader.’ These are leaders who are battlers. They are always fighting for a cause, be it about a war, Roe vs. Wade, secularism, liberalism or a ‘vast right wing conspiracy.’  These leaders rouse people to their cause. Their motto is ‘we’ve a fight to be fought!’ We see this kind of leader in the business world who comes in to rescue a business or industry. In politics, single-issue candidates can solicit support from millions of people. In recent history, many ministry leaders have taken up the flag of battle either within their own denomination (J. Gresham Machen, fighting over perceived liberalism at Princeton) or social issues (the late Jerry Falwell, and the formation of the Moral Majority). The problem confronting ‘Jerry Springer’ leaders is that battles are won and lost. To be forever battling is exhausting. This leadership style can wear out both leaders and followers. Issues come and go. Battles are won and lost. ‘Jerry Springer’ leaders must continually recalibrate to keep their followers and the cash coming.

The fourth stop on today’s leadership journey are ‘Johnny Carson’ leaders. Johnny was great in his day. He had a long run. People loved Johnny. He was effective and popular….in the sixties and seventies. But Johnny Carson is dead. He is gone. Johnny Carson leaders are outdated and irrelevant. They haven’t kept up. They have refused to be lifelong learners. They don’t understand their organization, marketplace or communities. These leaders remind me of the leaders of the American railroad industry a century ago. They made the mistake of remaining comfortable with what they knew: they decided to remain in the railroad business instead of transitioning into the transportation business. They didn’t stay current, and lost their huge market advantage. Rick Warren is right: when leaders stop learning they stop leading.

But all is not lost. Noble leaders are all around us. A leading business executive headhunter told business writer Robert McGarvey, “You are seeing fewer ‘celebrity’ CEOs….the 21^st century CEO may be best characterized by ‘invisibility.’ You could be sitting next to one right now and never know it.”  This shift in the business culture has been documented elsewhere. Jim Collins’ best-selling book, Good to Great, describes those leaders whose companies went from good to great as leaders possessed with personal humility and professional will. They were strong, effective leaders who demonstrated discipline, focus and a willingness to face reality. They personally modeled humility, inclusiveness, empathy and integrity.

On Friday, I’ll post the five qualities of noble leaders. Let me know what you think!