Corporations: How Strong Is Your Leadership Core?

Today, many would question the strength of most of Corporate America's leadership core. This is especially true following successive Wall Street debacles over the past decade. Must I remind you of Enron, Aldephia, Tyco and MCI-Worldcom etc...Oh, let's not forget about the most recent issue considerably the most profound economic tragedy in our nations history, "the housing bust" caused by credit default swaps. So, were these incidences all attributed to market conditions or what Republican's refer to as "natural market forces" or did these forces work to expose unethical business behavior?

First, let's divest ourselves of this puritest idea of a global economy where "natural market forces" will prevail to reconcile the market, seemingly driving out the weak and vulnerable, and unprofitable businesses ultimately to create a much stronger economy. This concept is intended to be analagous to the accepted idea behind the processes of "mother nature" where the fitness of organism are continually tested with each generation, but nothing can be further from the truth. This is nothing more than a political/power ploy that plays against economic and historical ignorance of the general society. The reality is that there is nothing naturally fair and ethically sound about conducting large-scale business operations where one participates in a national and or global economy. The degree of competition on that scale and the monetary stakes are so high, that the desire of man to win, at all costs inevitably lends itself to his natural inclination to cheat! Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, dishonesty in business, as well as unethical behavior has prevailed and is the predominate reason for government intervention. Markets have never truly corrected themselves without some outside force enabling or in some cases guiding the underlying moral compass of those human elements behind the economic decisioning. So, the only thing natural about the market is how the thrill of competition and earnings potential help bring about the innate desire of man to accumulate great wealth.

So, how did we get from the deluge of market greed to the strength of one's leadership core? Easy, the degree to which management demonstrates a capacity to withstand those unethical behaviors that will provide a competitive advantage, in favor of adopting principles of leadership that help create ideological and cultural diversity has lead to very weak leadership cores. When we make challenges to change the organizational behaviors of corporate leadership, most incumbent leaders would prefer just a cosmetic change in behavior where a seismic change may be required. If we consider the plans for successorship that most organizations put forth, they are primarily authored by the incumbent or "old-school brass!" Longevity in life and profession is innate in all of us and this is especially true of "traditional leadership." This connection with the debacles of Wall Street for the decade is somewhat obvious and somewhat obscure, but there is a strong connection.

The people behind the Enron, Aldephia, Tyco and MCI-Worldcom debacle which lead to the Sarbanes Oaxley Act practiced the same investment principles as those for our current economic crisis. Credit Default Swaps are algorithms, just like the one's used by Enron to mitigate risk in energy and are complex derivatives. These so called "financial instruments" are considered exotic by most financial professionals and are the dream of those who wish to amass great wealth without any effort. What ever happened to all of those young mathematicians of Enron after it's failure and countless others from failed institutions of the same period? When leaders make the choice to go with those who will not challenge wrongful authority and who will just "do what they are told," we all lose. So, let's be careful in how much independent power and authority we vest in our leaders.