Who keeps you honest

August 27, 2012

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.

Who keeps you, the leader, honest? Yes, it’s very lonely at the top and all the other sob stories that leaders like to give, but the fact of the matter is that sitting in that carpeted corner office brings with it an inordinate amount of power combined with several flights of fancy real and imagined. Honesty here does not mean integrity. Honesty in this context is the habit of speaking the truth, keeping your word and most importantly keeping it grounded – where “it” means your ego. Honesty means being willing to say “I don’t know” when faced with a question or problem to which you have no answer.

The beauty of having a team around you is that when faced with a difficult question, you can encourage the team to brainstorm the issue until a solution is found. The team gets to feel involved and empowered and you as the leader get to save face as you arrived at a solution that involved everyone. [Please note that if you are so cowardly inclined, were the crap to hit the fan following execution of said solution you can also blame the team for coming up with a useless answer!] I recently observed a CEO of a global multinational bank in Portugal answer that very question: Who keeps you honest?

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. He has three honesty sources: His wife, his executive coach and his team of direct reports. Well, it goes without saying that a good man will have a good wife by his side that brings him down to earth (actually some might say hell) whenever he walks through the hallowed doors of his castle each evening. An executive coach, similarly, is an external confidante who doesn’t have an agenda to take over or fire you from your job. He or she is a great way of getting a professional sounding board that guides the leader through the pitfalls of the leadership obstacle course. The executive coach listens, asks and challenges her client on career choices, business decisions and personal development. The good executive coach keeps their client honest by telling them the truth; the cold, hard truth about biases they many have, weaknesses that they may wallow in or self-images that they may be belabouring under. Enough said: if you haven’t got an executive coach, you should think about getting one and letting your organization pay for it….after all a better leader is for the organization’s own good!

Finally the CEO talked about his direct reports, collectively called EXCO or executive committee. He said that a good EXCO is one that constantly gives you feedback. However they will only give good feedback if a) they are mature b) they have a good relationship with you and c) if you as the leader have created an open culture with no fear. Your EXCO is a reflection of you as a leader. Bad leaders hire bad people. Period. Bad leaders tend to recruit team members who are perceived as non-threatening, less clever than them and with great potential to lick the Bata boots where required. Yes, you will probably argue that they also tick the boxes since a) they will be mature – slightly over fifty years old b) they will have a good (read: boot-licking) relationship with you and c) you will have created the open culture (of boot licking).

You know you have a bad EXCO if they NEVER tell you anything negative about an action you have done or a decision you have made. You know you have a bad EXCO if they nod furiously every time you open your mouth at a meeting, even if it is to yawn. You know you have a bad EXCO when you invite them to watch your son receive his first Holy Communion on a Sunday at 7 a.m. and they all turn up at 6:45 a.m jostling for front row seats. An honest EXCO member would tell you “Boss, I would love to be there but honestly I have great difficulty getting out of bed anytime before noon on a Sunday. Even for you.”

Bad EXCO’s can destroy an organization. They hide bad situations from the leader in an attempt to “shield” her from being the bearer of negative news that would cast them in a bad light. They prevent the leader from making the difficult decisions that need to be made before a situation morphs into crisis proportions. Bad EXCO’s can drag a leader down by not giving him the reality check about the potential outcomes of a decision he is considering to make. All that head bobbing and pasty smiles at meetings are good for the short-term ego but bad for the long-term stability of the organization.

When was the last time your direct report told you that your decision was bad? When was the last time your direct report challenged a directive you made? What was your reaction? Did you curl your hand into a fist and punch his lights out – in your mind? Did you tighten his tie around his thick neck and throttle the very life of him – in your mind? If you have answered yes to any of the reactions, you need to get an executive coach and sign up to anger management classes in that order. We need that voice in the workplace that challenges us within our professional space and allows us to think more holistically about the decisions we make on the people who are impacted the most. That voice that keeps us honest. No, not your spouse’s potential nagging every evening, just that voice at work. If you haven’t strangled it by now, embrace it and get more people in your organization expressing that voice to their managers. It makes a for an honest organization.

[email protected]
Twitter: @carolmusyoka

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