According to Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” This contradicts popular assumptions that “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The cynicism is further reinforced by popular assumption, reflected in Orwell’s Animal Farm, that any attempt to reform power is ultimately futile. We seem to live in a pessimistic age. The gravest realities of the twentieth century are where high ideals have degraded into the most obscene forms of totalitarianism. The theory of evolution has been bastardized into Social Darwinism, where human progress purportedly thrives on self-interest. In July 2017, Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene was listed as the “most inspiring science books of all time” in a poll to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Royal Society science book prize (Royal Society, 2017).
Throughout history philosophers have challenged the moral basis of leadership. In The Republic, Plato proposed the usefulness of the “Noble Lie” in order to lead the masses who do not have the mental capacity to, according to the famous line uttered by actor Jack Nicholson, “handle the truth.” Similarly, the height of cynicism is correctly called “Machiavellianism,” in honor of the Renaissance philosopher who dared to suggest that “the ends justify the means.” Meaning, that rulers should not feel restrained by popular moral sympathies, but rather that the preservation of their own “good” governance was the only standard.
The struggle to define good leadership is nothing new. In fact, it’s a debate that will likely never end. Rather, the relative sides will continue to compete, and which will dominate over time will alternate depending on the popular attitudes of the time. That does not preclude the need to continue to challenge the pessimists, and attempt to demonstrate the value of sound moral leadership. And what is it founded on? No need for extensive philosophizing or clinical experiments. We are all humans, subject to the same needs and basic aspirations. Therefore, we should treat others as we wish to be treated. The Golden Rule, as it were. What is “righteous” leadership? It is leadership that seeks justice and equity above all. In other words, fairness. Perfect justice can never be achieved, because humans are by nature imperfect. But humans perfect and ennoble themselves by pursuing perfect justice.
How does this translate into organization leadership? I have had the benefit of being placed into a leadership role as a Project Manager for the last several years. And, what follows is how I have attempted to apply my sense of justice in the workplace. Justice in the workplace, I believe, is achieved by demonstrating fundamental respect for every team member. That means not assuming that they are fundamentally selfish, but rather, that their sincerest desire is to make the best of their effort and contribution. “Interesting and challenging work,” explains Bragg (2002), “is a top motivator in the workplace.” A leader must first assume that every team member is looking for to maximize their creative input.
In their survey into the characteristics of admired leaders, Kouzes and Posner found that the three top attributes, in order, were honest, forward-looking and inspiring. In fourth place, before a number of other admirable “soft” attributes, such as intelligent, broad-minded, supportive, and even caring, was competence. However, as the Dunning/Kruger effect demonstrated, the least competent people often end up in positions of leadership because they are overconfident about their own abilities (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). And yet, researchers from Stanford and Erasmus University found that in groups where influence was aligned with competence, that is, where the leader was the person who knew the most about the task to be done, were those that performed best (Cliffe, 2015). Competence should not have been listed as an attribute for consideration in the survey. Rather, perhaps the question should be phrased, “in addition to competence, what are the attributes necessary for effective leaders.”
Daniel Goleman, who first introduced the term “emotional intelligence” into popular discourse with his 1995 book of the same name, points out in a subsequent article that we are all familiar stories of competent persons being failed leaders, and skilled leaders not necessarily being the most competent or knowledgeable in the task at hand. As Goleman (1998) reasserted, “I have found, however, that the most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence” (p. 1). Along similar lines, Castelli (2016) has highlighted the importance of “reflective leadership.” She notes, “By focusing on our own behaviours through candid self-evaluation, we can more accurately assess our strengths and weaknesses” (2016, p. 219).
From my experience, competence is of some, but limited importance. Rather, a team should be made up multiple skills, and of people who can contribute to planning and to ideas—who are not just labourers who can carry out tasks. If team-members’ maximum input is to be actualized, a project requires a leader who can coordinate efforts. A leader does not have to be the leading expert in the task at hand. Rather, the leader has to have the emotional intelligence to recognize the expertise and wisdom of others, and the tact to be able to coordinate their input at the appropriate time, to ensure that the end product is a result of everyone’s best effort.
References
Bragg, T. (2002, September 2). Motivate your employees by offering more interesting, challenging job experiences. Louisville Business First.
Castelli, P. (2016). Reflective leadership review: a framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217-236.
Cliffe, S. (2015, November 05). “Leadership Qualities” vs. Competence: Which Matters More? Harvard Business Review.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121-1134
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2011). Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from Books 24×7 e-book database.
Royal Society (2017, July 19). The Selfish Gene tops Royal Society poll to reveal the nation’s most inspiring science books.