Leader - the flawed individual with thick skin

A call prompted me to write this posting this week.  My friend talked to me of a situation in his organization where one of his peers got pulled up by their manager's manager (boss's boss) in front of every one.  He told me something that hit me quite hard, "Ravi, after witnessing this incident, I lost faith in the leadership of the organization.  That person fell in my eyes."  I realised that it takes just one incident and one slip by a leader to fall in the eyes of the organization.  Years of hard and probably very good work get blotted out by one slip in behaviour.

While talking to my friend I told him that all of us are flawed individuals.  More importantly, we need to know and appreciate that our boss is also a human being and is, therefore, both vulnerable and flawed.  If we put the person on a pedestal, it becomes dangerous.  The first mistake will result in a fall that will damage his/her image permanently.

We tend to think that our leaders are super human beings. Incapable of making mistakes.  We need to appreciate that they are human beings like us and, therefore, will make the same mistakes that all of us end up making.  Only difference is that their mistakes could be more costly than those below as the impact will be higher.  For that, they pay a dearer price.

It is also important for leaders to understand that they are flawed individuals and are vulnerable.  Only if they show and accept these vulnerabilities and the fact that they are flawed, will they be successful leaders.  Leaders who believe that they are these fortified beings who cannot be penetrated easily, cannot be farther from the truth.  The only fortification that I have seen as we move up the ladder is a thicker skin.

So, what is this thick skin?  Our egos get pricked when we are pulled up in front of our colleagues or even if it is one to one with our manager. However, as we grow older, we tend to manage these incidents better - both internally within ourselves, and, externally.  We swallow our pride.  This is what, I believe, we call thick skin.  However, to grow this thick skin, we need a huge amount of maturity and life experience.  If we begin to understand that whatever be the comment from our manager or colleague is only a feedback from a different point of view, such comments hurt us less. Over a period of time, each of us decides as to how to accept these comments.  Many tend not to react.  To not react needs maturity and I see this as the life experiences.  This is necessary for senior leaders.

It is also essential for senior leaders to ponder their actions.  To show your might to someone well below you in an organization may satisfy your ego immediately but then will get you nothing in the long run.  It will only destroy your credibility and all your hard work.

As we move further up the ladder, we need to definitely understand how to align better, execute better and have trust/faith in our managers. We need to appreciate that leaders are flawed individuals and that their skins are probably thicker than ours!!!