The leaders of my childhood were different. Gandhi. Mandela. Lincoln. Terry Fox. And many others.
They typically did something brave. They showed up and did the hard work of battling their own selves to choose a higher path.
It was not easy. It was difficult. They challenged society, governments, and other apathetic people to sit up and take notice.
They earned the title of leaders.
Something strange happened however as I got older. This especially took shape when I was in business school.
We started calling heads of businesses as “leaders”.
It seems to me that the only requisite however to become a “leader” in this category is the ability to acquire power. And make lots of money. Or have big budgets to spend a lot of money.
We emulate those whom we see as our leaders. Is it any wonder that so many of us feel like we are off kilter?
Old-fashioned ideals of character, morality, humility, empathy need not apply.
I think that’s why so many “leaders” across the corporate world score high on narcissism, psychopathy and sociopathy. The layoffs, displacement, micromanagement, workplace bullying, etc are all indicators that this is not an isolated thing.
I observed this first hand across many organizations.
Maybe it’s time we stop calling anyone with a title as “business leader” and find some other word instead.
I’m not sure what that word is, but maybe others do?
I think it’s high time we explore what a new story of business, success, and growth can look like. Let me know if this resonates.
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