Leaders can go too far
by Miki Saxon
A review of John C Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership quotes from
The Law of Victory (p.183):
Leadership is responsible.
Losing is unacceptable.
Passion is unquenchable.
Creativity is essential.
Quitting is unthinkable.
Commitment is unquestionable.
Victory is inevitable.
I want to make it clear that I haven’t read the book and that my reaction is most likely to something taken out of context, but I know that lists like this get passed around sans context all the time. Therefore, the list itself matters and that’s why “Losing is unacceptable” really bothers me.
That mindset screws ethics—it drives salespeople to lie about their numbers, scientists to fudge results and publish them and, carried to the extreme, it’s what drove Enron—and you know where that ended.
What do you think? Am I over-reacting? Which ones bother you or make you shudder?
December 18th, 2007 at 4:47 am
Hi, Miki, I just followed the link over here, and I would say that you are over-reacting.
First, the irony of posting a context-free quotation from a book review originally posted at a blog called “Productivity in Context”…
Second, the cynicism involved in leaping past the very FIRST item in the list -“Leadership is responsible”. Fudging numbers and sales figures is the result of a lack of responsibility, on the part of the fudger and their leader.
I would submit that this list stands on its own, even without a supporting context, precisely because of the word “responsibility”.
In the paragraph prior to this quotation, I wrote, “The examples are relevant and Maxwell is very careful to point out exactly what the person in question did right, or wrong.”
This particular chapter of the book features Winston Churchill as the prime example, in a situation where losing was truly unacceptable: a war of extermination.
Yes, the argument can be made that leaders can go too far, we see examples of that in the news every day. These news stories are a display of corruption and irresponsibility driven by a mindset of “it’s only wrong if you get caught.” That is certainly not a positive leadership mindset.
Thank you for reading.
December 18th, 2007 at 6:02 am
I don’t think you are going too far at all.
Some managers will just take the sound bite devoid of context.
I would say that the whole winning/losing – battle metaphor – is a really dangerous one. It says much about the organisation’s relationship with the community of which it is a part.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Stephen, I’m not doubting the context or the examples, but lists, information and quotes are taken out of context continuously and I doubt that’s going to change any time soon. People take what’s there and interpret it to suit their own world view, so if they believe that it’s their responsibility to meet their numbers come hell or Wall Street analysts then number two takes on a whole new meaning.
What’s sad it that it’s the lists and sound bites that make the rounds and the true value may be lost to those who don’t read the book.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Thanks, Mike. I’ve never like the war metaphor, either. But then I also don’t subscribe to the idea that the spin words such as ‘responsible’ carry always holds true.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Miki – I appreciate what you’re saying about being careful we don’t go too far. However, it seems you would have preferred Maxwell say something that, taken out of context, couldn’t mean something bad. The problem is, as you yourself have stated, people will take things out of context…but it’s hardly possible for an author to control how people take what he writes. If Maxwell surrounds that list with a discussion of what he means by it, can you really fault him? I’m sure we could find stuff in all leadership books that, if taken out of context, could result in bad things. But that’s the point…it’s taken out of context. If someone were to take some quote from your blog and critique it because some people might take it out of context, you’d have a legitimate gripe with them, don’t you think?
December 20th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Jackson, I’m sure that Maxwell did everything he could to create the correct impression in his readers, as do we all.
I have a problem when these things are set out as black and white. Sure, short, pithy phrases make a more powerful impact on the reader and lend themselves to better quotes, but we all know that people are lazy and prone to swallowing ideas whole from pundits they respect.