The knowing leader
From time to time I come across a philosophy of leadership which celebrates being right in all judgments, particularly in relation to leadership. The leader who appears to be absolutely right, and certain about their rightness is revered and celebrated, seen as strong and resolute: like the ship’s commander on deck, barking orders, being unwavering – the apparent source of all knowing. This somewhat old-fashioned view concentrates the focus in a single person: it’s a simple concept, easy to understand – and it removes responsibility, space for initiative, and power from others in the team. In reality it’s brittle and very dangerous: what happens if that single leader no longer has the capacity to hold all the power? How would others – who have been necessarily disempowered – have learnt how to pick up the reins and lead? It leaves no room for vulnerability, humility or learning.
The leader – and in fact the team member – who ‘knows’ they’re right inhibits psychological safety because the suggestion is that only the leader holds the truth. As psychotherapist Barry Mason has written, people may feel certain about what the problem is and what the solution must be. In this zone people are unrealistic, blocking, controlling, potentially confident to the point of arrogant, intransigent and unwilling to listen to feedback. As he says, this is a dangerous place to stay in. From what I’ve observed it’s a place that seeks to contain and close things in. It closes things down, allowing little room for creativity or adaptability.
The delusion and illusion of thinking we’re right in our judgments closes down creative thinking and excludes others from the process. It’s diametrically opposed to a philosophy of curiosity, openness to possibilities and expansiveness of thinking.
Not only are ‘being right’ and ‘knowing the right answer’ in relation to judgments in fact an illusion, but, very importantly, they don’t engage with the complexity that is the reality of every leader’s life. They mask what is in fact the whole picture, encompassed by the acronyms BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, and Incomprehensible, coined by Jamais Cascio to characterise the turbulence of our world) and RUPT (an alternative acronym to VUCA, and referring to Rapid, Unpredictable, Paradoxical, and Tangled).
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