The BS of Leadership

Jeffrey Pfeffer took me completely off guard this morning as I read his tome in McKinsey Quarterly. Getting Beyond the BS of Leadership. I’ve been working for 25 years on leadership and executive development, and most recently on “return on character” work of KRW. I believe that the 7-year study of return on character (ROC) by Duke Fuqua School and Fred Kiel’s work, which is supported by Harvard as being the first and only data of its kind, proves that character-led organizations achieve 5x greater ROA, 26% higher workforce engagement, lower levels of risk (as measured by audit fees and legal events) and 20% greater advantage in the strength of business/leadership skills.

We all know that few people trust their leaders (Edelman Trust Barometer), there are low levels of employee engagement worldwide (Gallup), job satisfaction is at a low ebb (Conference Board), and executive tenures are decreasing (CEO Succession Practices, Conference Board). The solution? Improve the character and consistency of our leader’s behavior.

Then Pfeffer comes along and simply states: “Leadership is not about winning popularity contests or being the most beloved person in a social organization.” Most of us would agree on this. But then he quotes Caesars CEO Gary Loveman who told Pfeffer’s class, “If you want to be liked, get a dog.” Where is the “character” in this?

We would all agree that great leaders “do what situational exigencies require.” We learn, we evolve, and we develop our leadership skills. (Pfeiffer, 2016). Pfeffer’s bottom line is that leadership is the capacity to get things done, it can be improved because it is a skill, and that we have to learn to weigh the trade-offs and size up the circumstances required to achieve bold objectives – and, to do that, Pfeffer explains that many famous men (there were no women mentioned in his article) including Steve Jobs, were hard on people around them, but “monomaniacal” in bringing ideas to life. Netting it out: Nice people do some bad things sometimes to make things happen.

So what do you actually believe produces career success? What leadership traits and behaviors are really making things happen at your company?