When Bad Leadership Happens to Good People

When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.

– Winston Churchill

A story is told about a man who went to the doctor to get the results of his test. The doctor sat him down and told him, “I have some very bad news for you. I’m afraid that you are afflicted with a fatal and incurable disease.”

In disbelief the man replies, “Well, isn’t there anything you can do?” “Well, maybe you could go to a spa and start taking daily mud baths,” the doctor tells him. “Mud baths, will that help me?” the man asks. “Probably not,” replies the doctor, “but at least you can get used to being covered in dirt.”

In recent weeks it would seem that a lot of good people have been covered in the dirt of bad leadership. Two examples quickly come to mind. Consider the horrifying events disclosed at Penn State and the subsequent terminations that followed. In Washington, a carefully chosen super-committee of elected officials failed to reach an agreement that would begin a process of getting our national debt under control.

In both examples, as is often the case, good people are the ones who suffer the most at the expense of bad leadership. Plato said, “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” And this holds true for leaders. Whether it is an abuse of power or the failure to carry out leadership responsibilities; bad leadership happens to good people. So here are three things to remember when it does and how to not lose faith.

Bad leaders are the exception not the rule. One does not have to look far to find examples of bad leadership. And that is part of the problem. We tend to find and focus on the bad and ignore the good. Mark Twain aptly said, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” And this is what we must reconcile.

So for every politician, coach, CEO, or Wall Street executive you read about that give their brand a bad name, there are far more who play by the rules and are just as disappointed by bad leadership as you are.

Showing faith is still a good idea. Good people are apt to trust. But good will can be betrayed and the fallout messy. So how do good people justify trust in this age of cynicism? The answer, in part, is found in the words of Emerson who said, “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.”

When good people hold leadership to a higher standard of behavior and service then it becomes the responsibility of leadership to step up and deliver. Even when bad leadership happens to good people, showing goodness is what gives others a reason to believe and do the right thing.

Good leaders will always be in demand. The criteria of talent searches are always the same. I’ve yet to find a job description that asks for applicants to apply who are unscrupulous, ruthless, self-serving, or corrupt. The standard is always a high one and rightfully so. So often in the discussion on leadership much is made about its demands, responsibilities, and obligations. While the demands of leadership are strong; so too, is the demand for good leaders.

Noted leadership author Phil Taylor writes, “One’s ability to interact in a positive and effective way with others is clearly the single most important skill one can possess.” I agree. Your demand as a leader rises as you follow the Golden Rule.

In a poem by Mother Teresa, she writes, “The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway.”  Though bad leadership happens to good people, good people overcome by being better. 

© 2011 Doug Dickerson