In what condition will you leave your team?

The era that placed managers as the paragons of leadership commandeering business to success is dead. This inflated sense of importance has led to rampant egotism felling once great companies to ruins. Think Enron. Think Lehman Brothers. Think Standard Chartered. Think Bernie Madoff’s company.

Certainly it takes a strong personality to lead, no matter the business’s size, omnipresence, or purpose. And as long as humans are involved in the details of business, we will continually fall for the temptations of greed, fame, and seek the need to feel special.

This tired, all-ready ran storyline has reached a fever pitch that screams for a change in course. At some point you have or should wonder about the story lines of those impacted by the hackneyed scandals orchestrated by executives.

Think about the messes created by those executives from Enron or Standard Chartered.

These ruins are the heaping piles of crap left behind for others to clean up.

This rant of mine, however, isn’t intended to leave you pissed off. Instead, I want to ask you a serious question. I need you to seriously think about your answer and your role.

In what condition do you want to leave your team when you leave? If you’re in the c-suite, in what condition do you want to leave your organization when you leave?

I want you to think on this question. Meditate on it. Write down your thoughts. Invite your peers to discuss it with you.

The easy thing to do is dismiss my request. The bold thing to do is thoughtfully answer it. I hope your answer is informed, in part, by the mistakes of the aforementioned era.

We are in an era of doing good for people, for communities, for society. My question is a selfless ask of you. It deserves an answer in kind.

 

Graphic by Shawn Murphy