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Beware of "High-Level Dumb" |
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Avoid acting without full knowledge of the situation. |
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In The Reckoning, David Halberstam's book on the auto industry, he articulates the problem of "men whose strength was that they could hear the truth in their own voices." He says, "There were, it was believed, few honest answers at Ford during McNamara's years because there were few honest questions." How often have we seen situations where management doesn't ask the right questions and consequently cannot see the real truth. Obviously, this creates ''high-level dumb" situations. |
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Do not sow the seeds of destruction by micromanaging. There are a variety of alibis for this behavior; none are valid! No subordinate can operate at a level of competency when the boss supervises every detail. |
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When management is incompetent, good people simply "fire their boss" as they leave the organization. Turnover rates can be a signal of trouble. |
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In On the Psychology of Military Incompetence
2 , author Norman Dixon cites anxiety as the most common cause of leadership failure. He theorizes that what has been taken for lack of intelligence was perhaps due to the crippling effects of anxiety on perception, memory, and thought. |
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The following are among Dixon's list of items common to incompetence: |
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| A fundamental conservatism and clinging to outworn tradition | | A tendency to reject or ignore information | | A tendency to underestimate the opponent | | Indecisiveness | | A failure to make use of surprise | | A predilection for frontal assaults | | A failure to make adequate reconnaissance |
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Too often, incompetent leaders resist new information because it might cause them to change their course of direction. The greater the impact of the new information, the more strenuously it is resisted because if changes must be made, then we were wrong before. |
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In contrast, the ideal leader is best characterized as one who combines excellence as a task specialist with an equal flair for the human aspects of leadership. I've been privileged to work with, and for, a few of these fine individuals. |
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