The Mystery of Leadership: Unlocking the Code to Value, Risk & Leadership Illusions

By Casey Bedgood

Is leadership a mystery? Do leaders really understand the value, risk, and reality of the leadership brand? Or is leadership an illusion where ignorance is bliss?

The purpose of this book is to unveil the mystery of leadership. Leadership is a risky proposition and not as easy as it seems. In naivety, leaders or those aspiring often are misguided by the perception of the pot of gold at the end of the leadership rainbow. With time, they quickly realize that leadership is costly, has consequences for others, and is riddled with challenges. Thus, what leaders don't know them will harm them and others eventually.

In The Mystery of Leadership (Unlocking the Code to Value, Risk, and Leadership Illusions), readers will learn:

How to find and leverage the leadership voice.

The importance of timing and the value of waiting.

The cost of being a sage and choosing an authentic leadership brand.

The illusion of leadership political capital.

How to assemble the right leadership room, set goals, and identify effective leaders for the optimal team.

The cost of being a leadership watchman.

How to recover from leadership falls and weather leadership storms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885053556

Book preview

The Mystery of

Leadership

Unlocking the Code to Value, Risk, and Leadership Illusions

Casey Bedgood

Copyright © 2022 Casey Bedgood

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2022

ISBN 979-8-88505-354-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88505-355-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Leadership Identity Crisis

Chapter 2 The Boomerang Effect: Leadership Growers, Sowers, and Reapers

Chapter 3 The Importance of Leadership Timing

Chapter 4 The Leadership Voice: The Moral Dilemma of Knowing When to Speak Up, Listen, or Fade into the Wallpaper

Chapter 5 Recovering from a Leadership Fall

Chapter 6 The Value of Waiting

Chapter 7 Weathering Leadership Storms

Chapter 8 The Cost of Being a Sage

Chapter 9 The Cost of an Authentic Leadership Brand

Chapter 10 The Signal of a Run or Gun Leader

Chapter 11 Leadership Goal Setting 101: Is it a Goal or Impossible Feat?

Chapter 12 The Cost of Being a Leadership Watchman

Chapter 13 The Leadership Career Journey Map: Is It a Vertical Assent or Winding Road?

Chapter 14 Is Leadership Communication a Risky Proposition?

Chapter 15 The Value of Closed Doors Along the Leadership Career Journey

Chapter 16 The Illusion of Leadership Political Capital

Chapter 17 Is Assembling the Right Room a Risky Leadership Proposition?

Conclusion

Introduction

Is leadership a mystery? Do leaders really understand the value, risk, and reality of the leadership brand? Or is leadership an illusion where ignorance is bliss? Is it possible for leaders to have an identity crisis on the way to the top? Do some leaders add value at every turn while others take more than they give? Is time a crucial component for leaders to succeed, or should all good things happen at once? Should leaders use their voice when they feel like it, or is it important for leaders to know when to speak and when to listen? How should leaders recover from a fall? Is this recovery process as easy as it appears, or is a key needed to unlock this mystery? Is there value in waiting, or is a right-now mentality the approach for leaders to succeed long term? Is possessing knowledge, wisdom, and experience costly, or is it the leadership boarding pass for the ideal train to the top? Is there a cost of being a leadership watchman that signals troubled waters are ahead, or is it a prized brand? We will answer these and many other considerations in the following chapters.

The purpose of this book is to unveil the mystery of leadership. Leadership is a risky proposition and not as easy as it seems. In naivety, leaders, or those aspiring to be, often are misguided by the perception of the pot of gold at the end of the leadership rainbow. With time, they quickly realize that leadership is costly, has consequences for others, and is riddled with challenges.

This book will unlock the code to how value, risk, and perception can accelerate success or become deadly during the leadership journey. The key audience for the book is leaders, aspiring leaders, students, and anyone interested in leading others.

The reality is that we live and work in a world that is changing rapidly. As change grows, so does risk. Unfortunately, most leaders or those aspiring to be travel along their career journey unaware of the dangers that are awaiting them at each stage of the process. One great lesson addressed in the book is that leaders don’t know what they don’t measure. Is it possible to measure value, risk, and illusion? Simply put, yes. We will discuss this more in forthcoming chapters.

Ignorance appears to be bliss until non-value add, high risk, or the wrong perception disrupts one’s career. The leadership road is fraught with many tollgates that appear to be an oasis or fueling station along the way. Often, leaders unfortunately realize after it’s too late that perception is not always reality.

In The Mystery of Leadership (Unlocking the Code to Value, Risk, and Leadership Illusions), readers will gain great insight to reach their maximum potential along the career journey. Moreover, this book will provide a guide for leaders to stay on the stage or in the room once they enter. Sustaining one’s leadership role is often harder than attaining it. Thus, leaders must master value, risk, and ensure their perception is reality. Otherwise, their journey will be laden with pitfalls, land mines, and an early exit from the leadership stage.

CHAPTER 1

Leadership Identity Crisis

Leadership Foci

Have you ever worked for or with a leader having a professional identity crisis? Merriam-Webster defines an identity crisis as a personal psychosocial conflict especially in adolescence that involves confusion about one’s social role and often a sense of loss of continuity to one’s personality. In layman’s terms, leaders experience this crisis when others see them differently than they see themselves. Common themes that emerge during these crisis points include, but are not limited to: I can’t find my leadership voice, Why am I not in the room or at the table? I feel like I’m being overlooked. Why don’t these people listen to me? Why am I not included in those meetings? and so on.

There is a theme here. Have you picked up on it? The theme is I or me. The focus is on growing the individual pie versus growing the pie for others. Simply put, the leader cannot see the forest for the trees. The I or me focus is simply a sign of leadership immaturity.

Moreover, this perspective is a deterrent for other high performers. Think of the adage of shark repellant. Leaders are only as good as their teams. The outcomes of many will far outweigh the outcomes of one individual if leveraged properly. Thus, those lone ranger, self-focused leaders will push other high performers away unknowingly.

Often, these leaders will consciously or unconsciously evoke unhealthy response mechanisms. These attributes may include talking over other leaders in group settings, manipulating team meetings so they are the center of attention, focusing solely on their insight or accomplishments versus celebrating the team and attempting to marginalize other high performers so they take the stage. The whole premise is centered on pride and self-ambition. The key is that leaders struggling to find their identity can easily ruin relationships, disrupt team synergies, push others away, and end their careers early.

The true sign of a transformational leader is confidence, not ego. High-performing leaders are confident in being quiet, listening, hearing others, and facilitating change so everyone wins. See the theme here? The focus is not on I but we or they. Greatest success comes when leaders use their gifts and talents to help others succeed. The end result will be greater levels of success and accolades. More importantly, new opportunities to contribute and help others will emerge.

Leadership Phases

Leaders will pass through several phases along the career journey. The key is that each phase is a tollgate. As many of us learned as kids playing the board game monopoly, there is no Pass Go in leadership. Each leader will have to approach and successfully maneuver each tollgate in order to progress on the journey.

As noted in figure 1, there are four leadership phases.

Figure 1

Phase 1 relates to learning. Merriam-Webster defines learning as modification of a behavioral tendency by experience (such as exposure to conditioning). Leaders will have to learn basic skills such as listening, hearing, decision making, critical thinking, data analysis, root cause analysis, and many others. They will also have to learn people, various cultures, and how the organization does work. In short, leaders will learn the art and science of leading others at the first tollgate. The key is that learning is a process that never ends. Effective leaders are those that learn at every turn, repeat successes, and steer away from failures.

The second phase of the leadership journey is growth. This phase is directly correlated to gaining experience. Here leaders use what they have learned to grow their influence, outcomes, collegial circles, confidence, proficiencies as leaders, and the like. The key here is that leaders learn to crawl in phase one and walk in phase two. One cannot walk before they crawl. The end goal is to gain experience that leads to next-level outcomes.

Phase 3 of the journey relates to achievement. In this phase, leaders begin to see the fruits of their labor. If handled properly, leaders will use their knowledge, insight, and experience to achieve base goals, stretch goals, and outcomes that grow the pie for themselves and others. This phase provides the bigger picture of leadership. Here leaders will see and experience the big picture of using skills and knowledge for a greater cause. As outcomes arise and performance improves, leaders will realize it was never about them but what they can do to help others.

The last phase of the leadership journey is mastery. Here leaders master knowledge, skills, and abilities. They focus on legacy building and leaving the enterprise, for example, better for the next several generations. The key here is leaders once again expand their vision. The end goal is to impact the body of knowledge, establish best practices, and share these insights with others so the pie grows more, and the impact on people is even greater. The adage, Time is of the essence, applies here.

Case in Point

Recently, a large service organization engaged a thought leader to help the leadership cadre during an organizational turnaround. The first step was a simple assessment of the top leadership team. This assessment focused on tenure, leadership archetype, and performance trends over time. A few dozen top leaders were selected for the pilot.

First, the leadership cadre was assessed on four archetypes: commando, silent assassin, illusionists, and knights. The commando archetype represented leaders that were overwhelming focused on command and control. They were very aggressive leaders that took no prisoners. The adage of being chopped off at the knees applies with this leadership group.

In short, these leaders talked more than they listened. They also were fearless in that anyone who did not support their ideal future state quickly left the team. Moreover, they commanded complete control of every meeting, decision, and overall direction of the enterprise. Also, there was no room for dissent here. The focus was on I, me, and no more.

The second leadership archetype was the silent assassin. These leaders were similar to the commando group, but were stealthier. They tended to listen more, process this knowledge, and make unilateral decisions with the insight gained for the betterment of small groups of cronies. Much of the work was done behind the scenes and in the shadows. But this cadre did exhibit high levels of influence over organizational direction, team makeup, and outcomes.

The third archetype was the illusionist. An illusionist is "a person who produces illusory effects" (Merriam-Webster). Think of a master in sleight-of-hand techniques. What appears to be reality really is not.

In short, illusionist leaders are masters at playing politics, speaking eloquently, and painting an illusion that the operational environment is better than it really is. The adage of all pop, no fizz applies with this leadership group. Their goal is to ensure position longevity at any means. Often, norms override enterprise values with these leaders. Simply put, these leaders survive at any cost even if it means violating organizational values.

The fourth leadership archetype was the knight. Think of a dragon slayer. A knight is typically associated with duty, honor, outcomes, respect, and fighting for a greater cause. Operationally speaking, knights are those leaders that focus more on achieving the organization’s mission than power, pride, or individual accomplishments. The end game for this group is to leave the enterprise better for future generations than it was left to them. Moreover, they are fearless and take on any disruptors at a moment’s notice that would jeopardize the enterprise and its people.

The thought leader’s analysis produced very interesting results. The leadership sample consisted of mainly illusionists. In short, 73 percent of the leaders were illusionists, 5 percent were commandos, 14 percent were silent assassins, and 9 percent were knights. In terms of tenure, 59 percent of the group lasted less than ten years, 27 percent had ten to twenty years of tenure, and 14 percent possessed over twenty years of tenure.

In terms of performance trends, the outcomes were interesting as well. Seventy-three percent of the cohort’s performance declined over time, 23 percent of the cohort remained flat, and only 5 percent performed better as time passed. The thought leader then carved out another aspect of performance related to each leader’s long-term position within the organization. Fifty-nine percent of the leaders were disrupted and exited the enterprise. In contrast, only 9 percent of the leaders grew in their careers, and 32 percent sustained their current positions or leadership level long term.

Let’s pull these results together for a clearer picture. Of the commandos, 100 percent were disrupted, their performance declined over time, and they eventually left the organization. The average tenure for this subgroup was less than ten years.

The illusionists did not fare much better. Eighty-eight percent of this subgroup’s performance declined, 12 percent were flat, and none improved their outcomes as time passed. Moreover, 62 percent of these leaders had less than ten years seniority,