Is Your Leadership Stunting the Growth of Your Organization
It happens time and time again - companies recognize how good they are and the next thing you know they no longer exist and the hundreds or thousands of people depending upon them for their livelihood have had their lives turned upside down. Or, even more common, a once great leader is ushered out the door of the company to which they have committed a great part of their life.
What is behind these occurrences?
According to insights in Dr. John Maxwell's article "In Pursuit of Potential", the causes may include arrogance at being a good company or a good leader. Maxwell states "The enemy of great is good. The primary reason so few leaders or organizations ever become great is because they get good and then stop. They stop growing, learning, risking, and changing. They use their track record or prior successes as evidence that they've arrived. Believing their own headlines, the leaders in these successful organizations are ready to write it down, build the manual, and document the formula. This mentality shifts their business from a growth to a maintenance mindset."
These comments are consistent with observations of companies large and small as well as leaders young and old. Statements like:
"That has never worked here."
"I've never done it that way and I've always been successful."
"We don't need any of those silly new ideas messing things up around here."
"I know what will and won't work."
are all indicative of leaders who have their heads buried deeply in the sand (or elsewhere). To use an old cliche, they are confusing having 1 year of experience 25 times over with having 25 years of good solid experience.
It is also not uncommon for these leaders to disparage new ideas presented by the authors of successful business books as nothing more than "book of the month management". And while sadly it is true that there are leaders who do operate their company around whatever the latest best selling book is, it is also sadly true that there are leaders who have not opened a book to broaden their exposure to new ideas since they left school. Somewhere in between those two extremes probably lies a healthy balance of growth and innovation.
In his article Maxwell further states "Leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop working on themselves. They continue to work hard on their job, but they have a tendency to neglect personal growth. They use their experience and track record as a license never to read another book and an excuse never to attend another developmental course in their field. They point to their acclaim and accomplishments and decide to rely on the skills they have learned in the past to run the rest of their career. They develop an arrogance of intelligence that creates a disabling ignorance. This ignorance disables them, their people, and, as a result, their business."
Has our company stagnated? Have you wondered why? Have you looked in the boardroom or looked in the mirror?
To read Maxwell's entire article click here: In Pursuit of Potential
"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.MaximumImpact.com."
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
What is behind these occurrences?
According to insights in Dr. John Maxwell's article "In Pursuit of Potential", the causes may include arrogance at being a good company or a good leader. Maxwell states "The enemy of great is good. The primary reason so few leaders or organizations ever become great is because they get good and then stop. They stop growing, learning, risking, and changing. They use their track record or prior successes as evidence that they've arrived. Believing their own headlines, the leaders in these successful organizations are ready to write it down, build the manual, and document the formula. This mentality shifts their business from a growth to a maintenance mindset."
These comments are consistent with observations of companies large and small as well as leaders young and old. Statements like:
"That has never worked here."
"I've never done it that way and I've always been successful."
"We don't need any of those silly new ideas messing things up around here."
"I know what will and won't work."
are all indicative of leaders who have their heads buried deeply in the sand (or elsewhere). To use an old cliche, they are confusing having 1 year of experience 25 times over with having 25 years of good solid experience.
It is also not uncommon for these leaders to disparage new ideas presented by the authors of successful business books as nothing more than "book of the month management". And while sadly it is true that there are leaders who do operate their company around whatever the latest best selling book is, it is also sadly true that there are leaders who have not opened a book to broaden their exposure to new ideas since they left school. Somewhere in between those two extremes probably lies a healthy balance of growth and innovation.
In his article Maxwell further states "Leaders of successful organizations are tempted to stop working on themselves. They continue to work hard on their job, but they have a tendency to neglect personal growth. They use their experience and track record as a license never to read another book and an excuse never to attend another developmental course in their field. They point to their acclaim and accomplishments and decide to rely on the skills they have learned in the past to run the rest of their career. They develop an arrogance of intelligence that creates a disabling ignorance. This ignorance disables them, their people, and, as a result, their business."
Has our company stagnated? Have you wondered why? Have you looked in the boardroom or looked in the mirror?
To read Maxwell's entire article click here: In Pursuit of Potential
"This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.MaximumImpact.com."
Posted by Denise Knutson, Senior Consultant, The H.S. Group
posted by The H.S. Group at
7:20 AM
1 Comments:
They point to their acclaim and accomplishments and decide to rely on the skills they have learned in the past to run the rest of their career. They develop an arrogance of intelligence that creates a disabling ignorance.
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So well stated,
of course top management will never admit to this, for fear of devulging their weaknesses
How often do you hear "I've been doing this for XXX years and I know how this business operates"
Or leaders call on their teams for ideas adn suggestions which get passed over
And how many leaders need to open their eyes to technology. Just because they don't know how it works doesn't mean that it WON"T work
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Anonymous, at 12:09 PM
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