Why Do Executive Leaders Fall from Grace?
Why Do Executive Leaders Fall from Grace?
VIM Executive Coaching has a policy of not using organizational names when illustrating various business coaching examples, either positive or negative. Frankly, it is unnecessary for poor behaviors are surprisingly and “universally” acknowledged.
While we don’t want to play “game show,” at least some of our wonderful followers could guess the name, for example, of the woman (now imprisoned) who founded a blood testing company that deceived investors out of millions. We could cite a major banking organization that coerced its employees to open fake customer accounts to improve its bottom line. We could also mention the former CEO of a major fast-food organization (a presumed champion of the rights of women) who was fired for serial acts of sexual harassment.
For, as coaches, “names, specific improper behaviors and corporate identities” do not advance the narrative. We know quite well that the executive leaders of a 120-person company (you never heard of –) are every bit as capable of improper or illegal behavior as the people heading the 12,000-person organization. Our questions involve the “why of it all?”
Why indeed?
In the “anonymous” examples from above, did the executive leaders start on their corporate journeys willfully intending to seek jail cells, massive fines and terminations or disgrace? The answers are self-evident.
Prognosticators and executive leadership “heavyweights” might desire to steer us in the direction of saying the causes were due to a lack of ethics or excessive corporate pressures or sheer power to inflict and enable their wills on others. While we can see the validity to each of those as being grounds for the ultimate results, it does not answer the “why indeed?” question; the true contributory factors.
VIM Executive Coaching might offer another suggestion: a lack of mindfulness borne of a lack of authenticity.
For, mindfulness training and a related practice of mindfulness meditation might have easily convinced all of the executives involved in the real-life decisions above that they were going to be headed for major falls. Clearly, all would have seen a definite fall from grace.
Why the fall?
The executive leaders from above, and the thousands more who have fallen from grace, are hardly stupid people. What caused them to put all rationality and awareness on hold to believe they could indefinitely get away with their behaviors?
How long did they believe that investors would not care about their intentional deception or that no retail banking customer would notice numerous fake accounts were opened on their behalf or that no woman in that particular organization would care about sexual abuse?
“What arrogance!” Some might exclaim.
We would offer, “What a total lack of mindfulness!”
It is not that they were ignorant of their actions but they were delightfully naïve and unaware that others around them neither mattered nor counted. The work place is now far too interconnected to react and not respond. We must encourage executive leadership to understand this connectedness.
Ironically, mindfulness, authentically being and responding to others in the moment, is an ancient concept, clearly going back in history to when leaders had to authentically lead. Executive leaders often fall from grace when those around them cease to hold meaning or importance. When hundreds of thousands of workers recently walked off their jobs, it was primarily because they were not seen or appreciated by management.
Conversely workers left because they knew their executive leadership was angry or clueless or completely unethical. It led to unacceptable behaviors and a breakdown in respect, authenticity and basic compassion.
When the executive leader fails in their mindfulness, the executive leader fails everyone, especially to themselves. The fall from grace is dramatic and often tragic.
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