Dangerous Leader: Feeling fine about failure?

Ever worked with a leader who was more concerned with looking good than being good?

Roughly a hundred years ago when I was in the military, I had a leader who would walk around our motorpool inspecting row after row of vehicles to make sure they were lined up perfectly.

It did not matter if the vehicles were missing an engine or any other internal components. It mattered whether that motorpool was lined up and looking good.

Even those without military experience can see the tactical flaw here. Without an engine, trucks do not move. They cannot carry the loads needed to be carried on the battlefield. They cannot even get to the battlefield.

That wasn’t what my leader was looking for though. He genuinely believed that if things looked cared for, that meant he was driving the behavior that asked us to care for those things.

In promoting a “looks good, is good” guiding principle, the organization was being set up for failure.

As leaders, it is critical we interrogate our behavior for elements of this. As a leader, are you more focused on looking good and being perceived as good, or are you investing in being good?

A Forbes article from September 2022 called “Five Reasons Why Good Leaders Fail” reminded me of my “looks good, is good” leader when they said one of the reasons good leaders fail is they surround themselves with “yes” people.

Bad ideas

While the leader with the “looks good, is good” approach wasn’t being the most effective, those that fell in line with it and allowed the behavior were just as guilty.

It takes moral courage to stand up to bad ideas.

And when you have a leader who is so enamored with their own ideas (nod to the Forbes article again) that they cannot be objective, they need people who will be the objective voice.

As a dangerous leader, you get to be that voice.

Be the voice of difference, strength and willingness to challenge the status quo.

Dangerous leaders don’t stand by while their naked emperor-like leader drinks their own Kool-Aid proclaiming their own success. They point out the poison in the Kool-Aid and tell the emperor to get dressed.

Dangerous leaders don’t let their leader feel fine about failure. Instead, they challenge their leader to grow with the experience and make the organization a better place to thrive. They don’t settle for feeling fine, when being spectacular is an option.

The next time you find yourself embracing the “looks good, is good” mentality, falling in love with your ideas, or seeing yes people all around you, stop yourself and ask this question: Am I being fine with failure?

And the next time you see your leader or another leader in any or all of these situations, ask the same.

Dangerous Leaders ask the tough questions, refuse to settle for being fine with failure for ego’s sake and seek ways to make the environments we lead in places we can thrive.

Dangerous leaders lead with courage.

Lead Dangerously, Be You.

Jennifer Smith is a Cedar Rapids-based personal and executive coach, host of The Dangerous Leader Podcast, and unapologetic optimist; jennifer@dangerousleader.com; @drjennsmith