Leadership, Facebook, Cricket ... and Pooh!

... and of course for those of you thinking about all manner of nasty things related to Pooh - shame on you :-)

I spend a fair bit of time these days talking about leadership, either to individuals for whom I might be able to share helpful thoughts, or to cohorts of attendees at events such as those run by the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT).

Leadership comes in a variety of forms and in many cases is the result of a good number of years spent understanding a business and the people in it. Some people are natural leaders, and display such qualities at an early age. Others get "taught" leadership skills - and yes I do think that a natural yet rough talent can be smoothed into leadership qualities with training. And then there are some people who find it hard to make the distinction between bullying and leadership - and we all know a few of those I think.

Then you have other leaders - the new cohort of leaders of companies, young companies - some profitable others not ... yet, but leaders none the less who have little experience of understanding that leadership brings with it responsibility. A requirement of them that says when things go wrong in your company you have to face the music and not run away from it saying "it's not my fault!"

Or as that interesting philosopher, Winnie the Pooh might have said "When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.”  Let me be clear; in this case I am not saying that some of these new leaders have very little brain - quite the opposite in fact, but what they do and what they are responsible for, like it or not, becomes quite a different beast when things come out into the open and has other people looking at it!.

Facebook's leadership for example, has been found wanting. Seriously. Was it only last year ago or a little longer, I believe, when Mr.Zuckerberg said that he was getting out more and talking to people? That must have been a revelation to him, as long as he listened to what people were saying. But last month, in 2018, he was certainly NOT getting out and about more. In fact as the scandal over Facebook's potential role in the Cambridge Analytica debacle broke Mr. Zuckerberg was conspicuous only by his absence both physically and verbally - and by his lack of an apology at least initially. He didn't attend a meeting of the company - an internal meeting no less - to respond to questions about the breach. This though isn't a piece specifically about Mr. Zuckerberg's failures - of which this has not been the only one - (he previously had to close a site he founded due to data privacy issues!!) but it is more about leadership and responsibility generally. Pooh said “You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” A real leader comes out of the forest immediately and ... leads! It's not rocket science.

And as we are on leadership - news blew up this last week about young leaders of sporting teams. Australian cricket witnessed a pretty shocking display of cheating - look there's no other word for it - in South Africa and got caught. Any form of cheating is reprehensible but particularly in the sporting arenas. We have had the scandals engulfing cycling with the Tour de Farce for many years where participants were doing their best to beat the odds - illegally - and then we have the Olympics and other events where it has almost become a case of let the best chemical compound win. It just demeans the effort of those genuine talented athletes who train so hard to better their skills, but who cannot compete against drugged sportspeople.

In the case of the cricket, the Australian authorities stood up and acted quickly. They sent the identified ring-leaders home and made them face the music, which resulted in lots of tears and apologies. But was that even genuine? [A cartoon in a newspaper I read this morning shows two crocodiles together with one saying "are those cricketers tears?'] I have no expert knowledge on what to base the "genuineness' comment other than reading the reports that are available to all of us, and listening to a couple of psychologists who seem to think that there has been some media coaching going on to attract a more sympathetic attitude to these misdeeds. I cannot say, but a cheat is a cheat is a cheat and whatever the ultimate and necessary punishment faced by these particular leaders needs to be appropriate to the "crime".

Leadership is all about taking responsibility, and we are plagued on a daily basis by examples where leadership and responsibility is not being demonstrated by those on whom it falls. I know that my late Mother was a stickler at least for the responsibility bit, as you might expect from an ex-gunnery sergeant, who said ... if you do something wrong then admit it straight away, apologise for it immediately, and deal with it quickly. You will probably still get into trouble but the degree of trouble only grows with the length of time you delay.

And of course leaving the final word this time to Christopher Robin himself who said to Pooh "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think"

Comments

[David Eldon]

Thank you for the recent comments, plus those I have received via emails from people I never knew even read the Blog. Very much appreciated, and your support encourages me to persevere.
My biggest frustration remains one of time and there have been two or three issues - mixed with emails asking specific questions about various matters that I would really like to respond to in Blog format.
Will try harder!!

[John D]

Yet another thought provoking post.

Thank you, David

[Geoff Cook]

I haven’t dipped in for a while and regret it. These columns are full of life experience and wisdom. Leadership is ultimately in its character borne out of values, good or ill. Yours are good my friend and you were a great leader, and in terms of setting an example through thoughtful reflection you are still a good leader - Best wishes from Europe, Geoff

[David Eldon]

More a Thoughtful Berserker than inebriated viking, but hey ...who cares. You are what you want to be, which in my case leaves me somewhat puzzled!!
Good friends should tell you the truth and that brings you right down to the difference between acquaintances and true friends, the latter being a term used far too freely in my view and especially on things like Facebook, for example where to de-friend someone appears to be a heinous crime.
I agree you always need people to be honest with you - and even if they put a friendship at risk by doing so. I know a number of cases where this has happened but the deliverer of the bad news - in every instance - was actually correct.
Thank you for your thoughts.

[J]

Hi David,

Good 'friends' we all have had or still have, or most 'realistic' people, say what they think in a relatively truthful manner based on what they understand of life at that time.

This may be old fashioned of some of us or just maybe rational thinking practiced by in my opinion, fewer people nowadays? It invites comment.

Some friends that i have had over the years that agreed with what i said, were good pals, i still love them, but the ones that disagreed at times were wiser and truer friends. Same in business, do you agree? From this perspective, they can test and make ones leadership if one is in that position, a lot better.

Your sage comments on life above, which i overall like and concur with, invite commentary in return.

Socrates was put to death for allegedly inventing new gods and not believing in the gods mandated by the city of Athens.

Internet comments when we put ourselves out there, that are less than PC zombie or Pooh, depending on your point of view is the essence of interaction with others.

We can still take a few lessons from the classical Greeks in this day and age and of course Pooh Bear: 'the things that make me different, are the things that make me'.

I still have no time for cheaters, as they basically cheat what they could have been.

J