Success and leadership — do we over-estimate the value of a good leader

There are a whole host of examples why good leadership results in the success of a group. Sport is particularly littered with heroes of franchises and teams throughout history, but critically, the question should be asked: is the measure of success a product of good leadership or is the leader the product of success?

Just to give some context to my interest in this question, I have extensive experience in competitive sport and over a decade in white collar work. My time in both has, quite frankly, polarised my views of leadership, causing a huge internal shift in how I am motivated.

Sport first formed my opinion of how important leadership is so I will start with that, but don’t feel alienated if sport’s not your bag; think of a leader you recall growing up with — a teacher, a coach, etc. — one that first triggered inspiration to be drawn from them as the principle is hopefully the same.

I grew up watching rugby and football (soccer) and it seems almost impossible to imagine any of the dominance without a leader who figure-headed that group. Leaders provide motivation, belief and direction in an otherwise unpredictable and chaotic atmosphere; they have to bind a group of diverse personalities to believe that their role is critical to the performance of the group as a whole. They therefore need to have an excellent communication skill-set and they surely must be able to empathise with individuals and also sympathise with circumstance. It stands to reason that these are all characteristics of a good leader.

Working in an office completely changed my view of leadership as being an essential component of success. The main driver behind this shift has been witnessing the expendable nature of people as an asset and the mismanagement of expectations. People who lead in sport are invariably emergent as experts in their field — consistently good or great performers that learn the value of effective communication, i.e. saying the right thing at the right time. The team environment tends to foster honesty and criticism in order to improve and succeed. With ability and effectiveness being tested for a couple of hours every week against similarly competitive individuals, management of collective goals and mindsets is not something that can be dealt with loosely. Conversely in the office environment individuals are promoted, often based on experience and the opinion of a person or a group removed from the actual work itself. The office tends to merge experience and leadership and treat one to be linked to the other. There is often little or no training before or after a promotion and CPD often stops as the position is determined to be entitled by the individual.

So how can this be leadership management in what should be a more strategic environment?

Put simply, short-term output is measured against business objectives, and effective leadership is intangible and therefore is not as simply measured. Perhaps that is why businesses do not engage with staff on the effectiveness of the appointed leaders. Should the effectiveness be rated poorly from a staff perspective, then what does that say about the judgement of the people who promoted them. Is it then better to have poor leadership at a higher level and sacrifice a multitude of often diligent individuals who achieve what is asked of them in the short term and are a scapegoat when they leave; thus preserving the integrity of the appointed leader by virtue of being able to shift blame onto those around them.

Priorities of businesses are often finance driven and there should be no apology for that, as the goal of any business is to profit and succeed. The difficulty we face is that there is often a juxtaposition between a company’s endorsement of promoting good leadership and the achievement of short term business objectives. Ultimately if the sacrifice of the workforce compensates for the lack in leadership quality, is there an argument to say that is an effective model, and provides certainty to a business?

Thanks for following my journey through this — it’s something I’ve wanted to write on for a while.

It would be great to hear any examples you have or any experiences you have, particularly if they differ and why.