On Leading with Greatness

In the workplace and elsewhere, we can witness a different but similar sort of corruption in which an outside influence eats away at integrity until it’s compromised out of existence. That influence could be money or power, but often it’s overwork and stress leading to exhaustion, shoddy work, cover-ups, and increasing dishonesty. Much corruption stems from mental and moral fatigue and the action or inaction of those at the top of the organization.

The power structures and politics of the average workplace provide a perfect arena for cruelty. I have written about the necessity of human decency in leadership and the workplace, and decency forms the thematic backbone of my upcoming book, Greater than Great. I’ve also addressed the causes and types of bad behavior in the workplace, but what about plain mean-spiritedness in our workaday lives?

The current fashion is for business leaders to excitedly prattle on about “moving fast and breaking things,” but that’s most often heedless and even childish advice. “Breaking things” only works if you don’t care much what comes next. One of the fundamental challenges of leadership is deciding if, when, and how to disrupt the status quo—to break things.

There they are. The terminal words. “Common sense.” The phrase is just another way of declaring, “You shut up now. We’re done here.” It’s is a vestige of a supposedly bygone era when bosses simply made up rules as they went along, often after the fact.

It makes an excellent conversation ender because who can argue with common sense? It’s the answer to every tough “why?” or “how?” question that you want to evade. You can even wield common sense in response to quantifiable or demonstrable matters.

Why does the autocratic workplace—that gulag of ineptitude—still hold such appeal? Why are workers willing to overlook their broken cultures and the fecklessness that accompany them? I’ve addressed the mythology of autocratic bosses before, but why do we allow or even want our entire workplaces structured in their image?

Have you ever noticed on social media that people who include others in their selfies are usually the most prominent person in every photo? It’s as though they’re the protagonist in some unwritten narrative. If every picture tells a story, these selfies shout out that one person matters more than the rest. Such photos are visual symbols of main character syndrome (MCS) at work.

When we hear the word “severance” we usually think of a severance package, the money and benefits granted to some terminated workers. But severance refers specifically to the act of severing employees from their employment by “cutting” positions or directly “axing” workers. Like “termination,” these are violent words, indicating a chopping off, an amputation, decapitation, or death. Workplace lingo can be so cruel!

It’s time I come clean. I’m always writing about integrity in some form or other, and I’m sincere in my desire to encourage the understanding and practice of integrity among leaders. Candidly, though, I rarely write about the downside of integrity: it can hurt.

We humans have a love-hate relationship with efficiency. On the one hand, we keenly want our systems to be efficient, to not waste time, energy, or physical resources. On the other hand, most efficiency stratagems are indistinguishable from austerity schemes handed down from on-high. The truth is that sustainable efficiency rarely comes from above or from outside.

When was the last time you reviewed your past, present, and yet to be?

It was a dark and stormy afternoon. Eb was in the middle of chewing out stupid Bob, who was on the verge of tears.

Eb was furious at Bob for his constant nattering about Eb’s alleged neglect of the corporate mission. “What a lot of hooey!” Eb yelled. “The mission’s just a sap to sell more stock to do-gooder shareholders, or haven’t you figured that out yet!”

With that he summarily fired Bob. “I want you out of here by five, sharp!”

Bob gasped, “But, sir, it’s Christmas Eve!”

Eb relished for a moment the tears welling up in the poor man’s eyes. What a crybaby! Eb then snapped at him, “If I could, I’d fire you on Christmas! Now pack up your belongings and get out!”

As pathetic Bob shuffled out the door, Eb enjoyed the man’s departing sniffles and thought how satisfying it was to fire Bob Cratchit on Christmas Eve. He might just have to make the Christmas Eve firing a tradition.