So far this year, more than 1,000 CEOs have been terminated, according to a recent Yahoo Finance article. That’s up 15% year-over-year.
The reasons vary. “Concerns over the company’s marketing practices.” (Juul). “Pressured profit margins and stagnating sales.” (EBay). “A badly mangled IPO process.” (WeWork). And a variety of other performance and lack of leadership issues.
Of course, as we all know, this “leadership recession” as the article describes it, doesn’t confine itself to the corporate world. We see it in front of us every…single…day.
I think it’s time for a leadership makeover, and I think it begins with effectively developing new and advancing leaders – raising the bar for what we expect from them and lowering the bar for the behaviors we will tolerate. Yes, we want good performance (numbers!) but not at the expense of ethics, employees, the environment, lives.
All too often individuals are put into leadership positions based on their good performance as an individual contributor or their seniority with the company. They are then thrown into a “sink or swim” situation with minimal if any leadership training.
My surveys and conversations with leaders have consistently shown that formal leadership development often doesn’t kick in until middle management or executive level. In fact, research shows that the bulk of leadership development dollars are spent on senior leadership development. By that time any bad habits developed over the years (or modeled after another, not necessarily good leader) are ingrained.
Let’s start now developing the leaders we need to take our companies, large and small, into the future. Frame the development on a foundation of integrity, trust and accountability. Teach new leaders that achieving the numbers is important, but that it should not be at the expense of ethical behavior or of employees. Provide them with the resources, coaching and growth they need and make it clear that as leaders they need to do the same for their teams.
Inspire them to be bold, and to always do what they say they’re going to do. Develop leaders who can create a vision and motivate others to work toward that vision. Stress the importance of continuous learning (John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”), always saying “please and thank you” and making time for fun. And, of course, teach them to communicate – early, often, and honestly. And remember, communication includes listening!
Look around your organization. Do you have leaders that you look up to and want to learn from? Or do you also have a leadership recession? How does that impact you? Think about it.
Till next time,
Karen
