https://www.fapjunk.com https://pornohit.net london escort london escorts buy instagram followers buy tiktok followers Ankara Escort Cialis Cialis 20 Mg
Friday, March 29, 2024
Home Perspectives How Leaders Become Out of Touch

How Leaders Become Out of Touch

The second chapter of my new book and guide, Facing the Demands of Leadership, deals with “seeking regular feedback.”  If I had to list one reason why feedback is important, it would be this:

Feedback helps us to be more in touch with reality.

In April 2017, United Airlines faced a public relations nightmare when a security officer forcibly dragged a customer from his seat.  The situation was only made worse when CEO Oscar Munoz didn’t directly apologize to the passenger in his first two statements but commended his employees (not the security guards) for going “above and beyond” in their efforts.

Predictably, social media and the public were outraged at the incident but also at Munoz’s response.  People look at leadership in variety of ways but there was no debate here that everyone expected their leaders to do two things: face reality, and take responsibility.

Munoz did neither in his first two statements but he eventually issued a third statement that did directly apologize to Mr. David Dao, the passenger who was forcibly removed.  But how could Munoz have become so out of touch with reality, hearing all the outrage of the people and seeing the video footage on cell phones?  It’s not that Munoz lacked skill ‒ just one month earlier, he had been named “Communicator of the Year” by PR Week!

There are probably a mixture of reasons for this but it struck me that Munoz went immediately into defensive mode – and this is common among leaders ‒ when facing a mistake or failure.  When we feel under threat or attack, we can go into “reactive” mode.  In this state I’ve noticed that an emotional defensiveness tends to override all the communication skill and “EQ” ability in the world.  Take a look at the more polarizing issues of politics, religion, and race … there’s no lack of skilled communicators in those fields but there’s also plenty of defensiveness, reactivity, and name-calling.

I’ve been there myself many times.  I write and create a lot of material and ideas and so in some ways I’m always under the microscope.  I still remember times when I got feedback or critique that stung and how I wanted to defend myself at all costs.  I remember feeling the embarrassment of others seeing my early design prototypes or hearing of field tests that didn’t go that well.  It’s hard to face disapproval or rejection on any level especially when we’ve invested so much into a project or organization.

That’s why I believe that seeking feedback rather than waiting for it to be delivered to us can help us take small steps towards growth and character.  As I continue to write and create material, I’ve learned to submit my ideas early in the process to people before they have a chance to be too developed.  That way I’m not as attached to the project yet and expect that it’s not perfect and has lots of room to grow.  Ed Catmull, president of Pixar, discusses this in his book, Creativity, Inc. – where they form creative groups that get in the habit of tossing out unpolished ideas to one another for feedback and refinement.

It’s an initiative approach, rather than a defensive one.  But it gives us the experience and practice of being in touch with the reality of what other people think and their experience of us.

One of the points I appreciate most about the book Integrity is that it explains that “integrity” isn’t just about being honest, kind, and ethical.  It’s also about being in touch with reality.  There are so many leaders in this world who are incredibly kind, generous, and charismatic – but are simply not in touch with reality. 

I once met a young man who was incredibly gifted and would always talk about grand business ideas and plans.  But he could never follow through with anything!  He would plan a meeting or retreat and then cancel it at the last minute.  He would start a website and it would never get finished.  But even with all of this, it seemed his visions and plans would continue to grow bigger and grander.  He was a great guy but simply wasn’t in touch with reality.

If you’re looking to grow to become more in touch with reality, the simplest path is to start by seeking feedback from the people around you.

The more we as leaders are willing to face the realities about ourselves, the more we will ultimately grow and succeed.

If you’re like me, you might have received a recent e-mail entitled, “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” from United Airlines and Munoz with a thoughtful apology and pledge to do better.  Words do matter as well, and let’s hope that United uses this fiasco as an opportunity to learn some lessons and change things for the better.

If you’re motivated to learn more with others about the topic of feedback in leadership, check out my latest leadership book and discussion guide, Facing the Demands of Leadership, or my book The Art of Growing Through Feedback.  Thanks for reading!

Adrian Pei
Adrian Peihttp://www.adrianpei.com/category/blog/
Adrian's passion is to make leadership connections about topics that matter. His current job is to oversee leadership training and content development for an Asian American ministry organization. Adrian consults, writes, speaks, and designs content. He loves innovating, collaborating, and seeing a project through from start to finish. Adrian graduated with degrees from Stanford University and Fuller Seminary and lives with his family in sunny southern California.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular

Eminem – Stronger Than I Was

We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we...

Dj Dark – Chill Vibes

We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we...

Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love (Dj Dark & Adrian Funk Remix)

We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we...

Silicon Valley Guru Affected by the Fulminant Slashed Investments

We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we...

Recent Comments

Ngallendou Dièye on Navigating the Wave of Need
subash on 3 Kinds of Leaders
Ngallendou Dièye on 3 Kinds of Leaders
Eric Richardson on 3 Kinds of Leaders
Malcolm Webber on 3 Kinds of Leaders
Ngallendou Dièye on Our Evangelical Cover-Up?
Mark Larson on Is Competition Wrong?
betty-wiseheartedwomen.blogspo on Is Evangelical Worship Headed for a Huge Crash?
Ngallendou Dièye on 3 Fears that Paralyze Potential
Mwesigye Batatwenda Peterson on Pain
Mwesigye Batatwenda Peterson on 5 Reasons We Struggle to Rest
Michelle Chiappelli Zvyagin on Is Evangelical Worship Headed for a Huge Crash?
Ngallendou Dièye on Why Jesus Let People Walk Away
Jim Sutherland on How to Help Someone Not Change
Ngallendou Dièye on How to Help Someone Not Change
Ngallendou Dièye on Alone in a Crowd
Nancy Watta on Leaders Act!
Dr George Varghese on The Weapon of a Clear Conscience
Ngallendou Dièye on 10 Ways To Lose Great Staff
Ngallendou Dièye on Christian Celebrity Culture
Ngallendou Dièye on What NOT to Say to Someone in Pain
Joel Loewen on How to be Patient
Ngallendou Dièye on A Bit of Advice on Giving Advice
Malcolm Webber on 7 Key Paradigm Shifts
Malcolm Webber on 7 Key Paradigm Shifts
Ngallendou Dièye on 7 Key Paradigm Shifts
Ngallendou Dièye on Leaders Act!
Elisha kakwerere on 10 Reasons Leaders Stop Growing
Ngallendou on The Idolatry of Missions
Kyla Alexander on The Idolatry of Missions
Edgard Abraham Alvarez Muñoz on Little Church, Big Mission
James Ruark on A Church Led By Scholars
Ngallendou on A Church Led By Scholars
Bill Blatz on A Church Led By Scholars
Bill Frisbie on Who Stole My Towel?
niklaseklov on Who Stole My Towel?
Malcolm Webber on We Need to Learn Empathy!
Hansraj Jain on Honoring Your Predecessor