‘Leaders are at their most vulnerable to messing up when working in their area of greatest ability’, said former MD of Gallup UK, Jill Garrett.

This comment was made to me yesterday over a coffee and appears quite apposite in a week when British politician Clare Short, former minister of International Development, allegedly broke the official Secrets’ Act. This she did when she accused the government of bugging Kofi Annan’s office. As I write, allegations are flying back and forth so there still seems to be a lot more heat than light on the subject.

In truth, it is too early to comment on the appropriateness of the action nor the truthfulness of the allegation. I accept that some will see her as a hero and others as a traitor, however, it did raise an interesting question for me around Jill Garrett’s comment. Could it be that the fantastic job that Clare Short did in International Development, working in her area of greatest ability by regularly raging against injustice and oppression has, in a more politically sensitive and complicated area, become very much an area of vulnerability?

As we consider the careers of some of the charismatic and powerful leaders wrapped up in the corporate scandals of the last 2 years, there would appear to be some validity to Garrett’s assertion. Numbers of those involved in those corporate debacles were extremely talented individuals whose charisma, power and personality had created so much of the success that the organisation had enjoyed. It would appear, however, that the mix of success, employee adulation and subsequently a lack of in-depth accountability allowed things to go awry. Leadership guru J A Conger comments on this trend “Narcissistic leaders can lose touch with reality, promote self-serving and grandiose aims, and use the company as a vehicle for personal gain. A strong sense of self-importance may blind them to diverging points of view or to whistle blowers, leading to poor strategic and organisational decision-making”.*

This is not only true of the top end, but for many of us as well. Some of the leaders I have observed over the years built their reputations on being creators and fixers. It transpired that a great deal of their own sense of self-worth and value was wrapped up in the fulfilment of this role. It reached a point whereby sometimes these individuals made inappropriate strategic decisions due to their inability to control their creative gene, and at other times seemed to actually create crises so that they could be seen to fix them.

Conger comments further ‘Some of the most dramatic and tragic outcomes of highly narcissistic leaders are found in their strategies and corporate visions. Following a series of successes, these leaders typically become convinced of the invincibility of their ideas and intuition. The successes reinforce the belief that they have found ‘the formula’ – that they have special insights into the marketplace that others do not possess. Subordinates, bankers and the media may reinforce these perceptions.’ *

So it appears common that at the dizzy heights of our prowess a potential ‘altitude blindness’ sets in. It is caused by a heady cocktail of success, affirmation and a strong sense of purpose, which took us toward the goal in the first place. Each of these work as a self-authenticating factor on the other. Many sporting teams find themselves most vulnerable just after they have scored or after a significant win. Hence it could be that Clare Short’s successes in previous roles has blinded her to the potentially devastating impact of using that significant talent in an inappropriate context. Such an incident can only help to remind each of us that our most vulnerable moment would appear to be our points of greatest success.

Phil Wall
CEO

* Quotes taken from 'Danger of Delusion', by Jay A Conger in 'Mastering Leadership'