Surface Ripples

The Damage They Can Do

 Bad leaders can do incalculable damage to a business.  On the financial side, profits can fall as demoralised workers resign or cease to take an interest and pride in what they do.  Customers, perceiving that all is “not well” will desert as quality standards fall and complaints rise.  

When appointing leaders, we need to assess their suitability and acceptability to all stakeholders.  Time and again, we have seen someone who, “over-promoted”, has wrought serious and almost irrecoverable damage.  Events in the USA show that this applies not only to business, but in politics as well.

The whole business of “leadership” has seen countless writings, lectures, courses and books that deal with its conundrums and challenges.  “Leadership Training” is sought by innumerable organisations, large and small, to ensure that those at the head are as prepared and qualified as time and money permit.

In the end, however, it all boils down to a leader’s “acceptability” amongst those whom they lead.  By this, I mean whether people believe and trust in them.  All-too often one hears about how certain leaders got where they were by “stabbing others in the back” in the vicious worlds of business and politics.   It is only when one sees them “in actin” that one realises that perhaps, they weren’t the right choice…

Even once removed, the legacy that a bad leader leaves behind can take months, if not years, to clear up.  Again, looking at events in the USA, this is certainly going to be the case.  Similarly, once a business loses customer trust and belief, it will be some time before staff morale, quality standards and profitability return to the levels seen before their arrival.

Every leader’s job is to leave the organisation in a better place than they found it, whether this be an incremental change or a quantum leap.  The key elements of customer, worker and community trust are key to this.  Our actions reverberate not just into the business whilst we’re there, but also well into the future. 

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 16:49