don's report archive

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

An icantdoit Perspective on Leadership
Thursday November 24, 2005

Governments and organizations spend gadzillions of resources and countless time and hopes on leadership training. Universities and other schools worldwide offer courses on the subject. Libraries probably hold more books on leadership than books on war, sex and love combined. Google the word "leadership" and the resultant gush of hits will cause all but the most powerful computers to freeze or shut down. Everyone, it seems, has beliefs and opinions, if not theories, courses, books and audio-tapes on how to be a leader, how to train leaders, who ARE or WERE the best leaders and so on, ad nauseam.

Well, what is leadership? How is it defined? Can it be taught? Does it require a complex of talents found only in the few, such as competence, integrity, values, vision, commitment, decisiveness, effectiveness, people skills, team-building abilities, self-confidence, psychic abilities, blah blah blah--where does it end? Which of the above and other overlooked qualities held by many experts as essential to leadership truly are essential, and under which conditions at what point in time?

Asking such questions is intended to suggest the complexity, as well as the subjective nature of leadership. It is also done as an introduction to an icantdoit perspective on leadership. While there are many parts to such an icantdoit perspective, here are a few that first come to mind:

A lot of money is wasted on leadership training.
Leadership is a flawed concept.
Leaders are overrated.
Most, if not all, organizations would be better off without leadership training.
Anyone asked to be a leader would be wise to say, "I can't do it."

Those considered leaders are basically adroit politicians and other opportunists who have manipulated their way into power roles under unique circumstances. Few that are placed in a different context at a different time under different conditions would ascend to leadership at all or do well if they did. Few leaders are appreciated, and most, in fact, are resented if not vilified.

Most organization would do nicely without so much focus on leaders. What organizations need more than over-paid leaders is empowered people, organized in groups, that are literate, skilled, endowed with basic intellectual capacities to perform and marked by appropriate attitudes--without a lot of direction. So-called leaders just get in the way.

People do not like to be told what to do. The best performing teams and organizations have effective learning systems. They respect the contributions each individual makes to overall performance. They are self-motivated. All team members play leadership roles, as the situation demands. They don't need outside-of-the-group leaders, lording it over them.

For best performance outcomes, be skeptical of the role of leaders, nix leadership training and recognize that nearly everyone would be better off if all leaders had the good sense to adopt an icantdoit mindset.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of applied wellness. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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