The study of leadership is a pressing need for the 21st century. The current level of disappointment and criticism of traditional leaders drives people to bet on new people, often based on image, disregarding previous experience. They offer to transform the current complex situations profoundly. The assumption is that taking the risk of leaping into the unknown is better than maintaining a status quo that is failing for too many people.
The Paradox of Leadership
Defining the appropriate leadership profile for these demanding times confronts us with a mystifying paradox. On the one hand, there is a deep sense of mistrust and even contempt for leaders. Simultaneously, there is a pressing need for new leadership to instill a sense of hope about the future of organizations and humanity, and to provide guidance, and show new ways to advance in the challenging global VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment.
When life becomes routine and unchallenging, and inadequate or unfair situations appear acceptable, good leaders question prevailing values and attitudes and the appropriateness of conventional behaviors. They try to move people out of their comfort zone, defying the status quo, and challenging personal projects. Good leaders also bring novelty to followersā lives, making them feel part of a collective project that opens opportunities to enhance human development.
Leadersā achievements may be disappointing, but people feel relieved when someone is able to capture their attention and gain their confidence. Although they may have uncertainty about their performance as leaders, they are willing to bet on them and trust them. Followers feel grateful for leaders who propose challenging and creative projects with the potential to enhance their lives and open opportunities for personal and professional growth. A good leader responds to the deepest needs of followers, such as security and wellbeing, and gives meaning to life and work, which are crucial sources of their inner motivation.
An inner need for the figure of exceptional leaders, so ingrained in human nature, also leads to the trap of idealizing them beyond expectations. A common conception of great leaders often presents them as gifted with superior talents, intellectually brilliant with superb social skills and impeccable moral behavior. These kinds of leaders are prized as visionary individuals able to inspire and energize followers, leading them to achieve seemingly impossible goals.
There are many ideal leadership models, but the point to emphasize here is that people commonly fall into the snare of thinking about leaders as superior beings on whom to deposit their illusions and trust.
An example of ideal leadership, known in the literature as the Transformational Leader discussed in detail in Chapter 5, shows that followers and team members trust, respect and feel admiration for leaders and appreciate the considerate and polite ways of their relationships. Leaders who listen to them carefully can provide development opportunities and stimulate them intellectually. Furthermore, their vision of the future attracts followers, and their contagious optimism and enthusiasm inspire them. They idealize their attributes and behaviors and appreciate individualized consideration, the intellectual stimulation and motivation to participate in organizational projects.
From Idealization to Disappointment
Leaders are necessary to set the pace and progress of organizations and societies. We need the figure of leaders, and we idealize them and dream about all the good things they can do. We develop great expectations about how they can transform and improve our lives, alleviate our hardships and offer opportunities otherwise unavailable. So, it is not surprising that we end up disappointed with leaders when expectations are related to aspirations and not to leadersā real abilities to respond to peopleās multiple needs.
As human beings, leaders have limitations and are often removed from idealizations people build around them. In reality, the most relevant leaders are quite different from this grandiose image of superhumans. They are instead, as all of us, imperfect men and women, who have doubts, and make great efforts to overcome their shortcomings.
Perhaps the low esteem for leaders today is a reflection of an explosive increase in peopleās expectations, pressing for a greater demand for perfection and excellence in leadersā behavior, where minor blemishes become disturbing faults. Leaders can hardly meet these high expectations, considering the tremendous impact of social networks disseminating detrimental fake news and biased interpretations of facts. Fake news profoundly affects leadersā image, casts doubt on their skills and integrity, and damages their reputation.
Because of poor leadership, trust in relevant institutions has decreased over time. For instance, Gallup surveys show that between 1972 and 2018, people who have a great deal or a fair amount of trust and confidence in the United States Government and the US mass media (newspapers, TV, radio) fell from around 70 to 40 percent. The same is true of other institutions of great importance in the country for societyās wellbeing, such as the parliament and the judiciary.1
Leaderships are questionable around the world. In Latin America, confidence in government is around 20 percent. In Europe, perceptions differ, from the Netherlands at the top with 71 percent to Greece at the bottom with 13 percent (Pew Research Center, 2017). The distrust of leaders in business firms is also disturbing. Covey (2019) reports that only 49 percent of employees trust their senior management and 28 percent believe CEOs are credible sources of information.
These are demanding times that, as never before, discredit leaders in all fields, across the business sector and political environments. It is a highly challenging situation that negatively affects countries worldwide because effective governments and growing businesses are two critical pillars of national progress and development.
These challenging times for leaders uncover a bright side, stating loud and clear the imperative that the new leaders reach high standards of excellence in behavior, as a necessary condition to bring greater good to people and societies worldwide.
