REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

PRISONERS OF LEADERSHIP

An army of a thousand is easy to fi nd, but, ah, how diffi cult to fi nd a

general.

— Chinese proverb

Introduction

In the previous chapters I have presented different types of executives.
I have looked at ‘ live volcanoes ’ and ‘ dead fi sh. ’ I also reviewed the
phenomenon of imposture in organizational life. In addition, I have
looked at the wise fool as a possible countervailing force to keep senior
executives focused on reality. And the reality - testing abilities of senior
executives can be a serious problem in organizational life. To be in a
position of power can do strange things to people. Hasn ’ t it been said
that ‘ Whom the gods would destroy, they fi rst make mad with power ’?
Abraham Lincoln was not far from the truth when he wryly remarked,
‘ Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man ’ s
character, give him power. ’ To understand what happens when people
get power, we have to enter the inner world of the leader.
In most instances, the inner world of a leader remains largely an
enigma to researchers, making it diffi cult to engage in thematic analysis
of their behavior or isolate salient patterns. But given the importance of
leadership to society at large, persevering in trying to understand the
inner world of top executives will be well worth it. In trying to demys-
tify the forces at work, a number of questions warrant our attention. For
example, why do some people derail when they reach the top? Why do
executives who seems bright, likeable, and well - adjusted, suddenly resort
to strange behavior when they become CEO? What can go wrong when
someone becomes a senior executive? There are no simple answers to

CHAPTER 7