TOXIC FOLLOWERS

Always watch out for corporate Lagos

BY Jayashantha Jayawardhana

Based on the compelling recommendations of his advisors, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) agreed to escalate America’s intervention in Vietnam in late 1961. One of his advisors was the senior author of a report recommending military intervention.

Kennedy also went on to appoint a general, who was a good friend of his advisor, to lead the new US command in Saigon. Given his loyalties, the general wanted to ensure that things looked good on the surface so he withheld crucial evidence to the contrary, making it practically impossible for JFK to see what was really taking place on the war front.

As author and journalist David Halberstam asserted, this was how Kennedy and his coterie of advisors led the United States into Vietnam. What happened to JFK had happened to some of his predecessors and would happen to some of his successors too.

This phenomenon is not limited to politics; it includes the world of business as well.

Even though Kennedy was a seasoned politician, he still took the word of his subordinate at face value. Similarly, many seasoned leaders in politics and business have taken the utterances of their close followers on trust without bothering to verify the facts.

In an illuminating article headlined ‘When Followers Become Toxic’ in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), Lynn Offermann writes: “No matter who we are, we’re all influenced by those around us. Some of us are leaders but we are all followers. Indeed, Ken Lay, the disgraced ex-chairman of Enron, may not be entirely wrong in blaming unscrupulous subordinates and advisors for his company’s demise.”

In some cases, just as the JFK story illustrates, effective leaders can end up making poor decisions because their trusted, able and well-meaning followers are extremely persuasive about a certain course of action.

Leaders who attract and empower strong followers could fall into this trap. Don’t take what they say at face value – especially where the stakes are alarmingly high.

At other times, leaders land in trouble because they’re surrounded by crafty followers who fool them with adulation and shield them from the organisational realities. So always be suspicious about those who lay it on a bit thick.

And then there are what Offermann calls ‘corporate Iagos.’ They are the unscrupulous followers who are solely after power and wealth but pretend to be well-meaning aides. Be watchful and guard against corporate Iagos; but be under no illusion that you’re too smart for their guile.

Mark Twain hit the nail on the head when he wrote: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

In business as in politics, to go against the majority is to court controversy and even risk ridicule if you happen to be wrong. When you face such united opposition, rather than caving in, take a dispassionate stance and question yourself. Examine the cold facts and see the whole picture.

It’s important to keep in mind that the only people who see the whole picture are the ones who step out of the frame as novelist Salman Rushdie once wrote. Even the smartest leaders have had to learn the hard way because the majority can be spectacularly wrong.

Yet, we tend to fall in step with the herd because we’re by nature cognitive misers who prefer the shortcuts of automatic thinking over considered examination, which can be time consuming. Many are fooled by flattery since people love a sincere compliment. But those who already think highly of themselves are most susceptible to flattery’s charms.

In particular, leaders predisposed to narcissism may find their narcissistic tendencies pushed to unhealthy levels when they are given heavy doses of follower ingratiation. It fools them into believing that they’re entitled to use their power and position to ingratiate themselves at the expense of their organisations.

If you tend to invite flattery so much, the bad news won’t reach your ears until it becomes public news. And by then, it will probably be too late to fix the problem. That is why filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn of MGM told his executives: “I want you to tell me exactly what’s wrong with me and with MGM even if it means losing your job.”

It’s also worth remembering the words of cartoonist Hank Ketcham: “Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don’t swallow it.”

The major corporations of today are simply too big for their CEOs to know everything about their organisations on their own. Therefore, they must rely on their followers for full, accurate and unbiased inputs, as well as many operational decisions. But this is an opening that corporate Iagos can exploit to their own advantage – so watch out!

To stop them in their tracks, set your core values… and make sure that you lead by example.