Eventually we will all become victims of our own stupidity!

What on earth has Cinderella and her ugly sisters got to do with leadership?

Let me try and explain. Let us assume that Deloitte are correct in their analysis of leadership and that over 80% of our leaders are poorly selected and therefore ineffective, then potentially everything!

Society and business have produced a mold as to what the perfect leader should look like and should also behave like. A visual interpretation of leadership. If you don't fit this particular mold, or if the glass slipper does not fit, then you will not be accepted or deemed to be a fit specimen to lead others. That leadership mold however is woefully outdated and desperately flawed being a poor measure of leadership having been made with bias and subjectivity, having limited access to the right data. It is sadly a weak and superficial measure which is inadvertently pushing people, good people, into a state of incompetence (The Peter Principle). It also allows people to alter and redefine WHO they genuinely are, very much like a chameleon, in order to fit the glass slipper and to beat the system. After all, they only need to squeeze themselves into the slipper momentarily (interview/ selection process) to beat the system so briefly enduring the excruciating pain is a price worth paying. They can then revert back to type as soon as that particular career hurdle is successfully achieved.

Don't get me wrong, there are some very able people who do beat the system as they see the inadequacies of the mold and force themselves into the slipper with the intent of changing the system once they are in the role and "on the other side". Unfortunately, the opportunities for these few brave people to alter the current status quo are slim. It is also a worryingly simple means for narcissists to further their rise of power and damage to others as they prey on the inadequacies and weaknesses of the current system!

So how do we all become victims? Well, the current mold has remained unchanged for decades and rarely uses the data that is readily available at our fingertips. Data that would not only save people from themselves and their organisations but also the families and loved ones they aim to support. People blindly chase that moment when they fleetingly fit into the mold and then reap the rewards, be that rank, kudos, power or money.

Many leaders unfortunately find themselves trapped and lonely as a consequence of managing to fit into the slipper. They wish that they had never invested so much energy, time and relationships shoe-horning themselves into something that is so painful to wear for any length of time. People around them will appease them by telling them that they look wonderful in the slippers and that they will eventually wear themselves into them with time and the right support. As time goes by they may even adapt to the slippers but in a maladaptive way; longer hours, alcohol, burn out...They ultimately realise they should never have tried on the slippers, let alone wear them for any length of time!

We also must not forget the person who encouraged, sponsored and promoted that person into a leadership role as they will not wish to see their hire fail as that then becomes a slur on their hiring process and personal judgement of leadership! The cycle and the number of victims embroiled in this pantomime increases exponentially.

As Deloitte states, that 80% is ineffective but it does not take into account the epidemic of poor mental wellbeing that comes with it, at work and at home! There is a ripple effect emanating from each and every poor hire. It also leads to poor employee engagement along with toxic and bullying workplace environments as the only way to remain in a position of leadership is to play the "command and control" card, defaulting to a,

"I have the rank or position so you will do as you are told".

(The Wicked Stepmother now makes an appearance in this particular pantomime!)

So what is the solution? It is all well and good slamming the current methods of leadership selection and deriding the mold but what are the alternatives? How do we redesign the tired, antiquated and obsolete leadership mold whilst providing equity and fairness, ultimately providing us all with not necessarily better leaders but better leadership? People who can safely cope and display leadership when those critical moments require it.

We achieve this change in narrative by moving away from the visual and behavioural measures of what we think a leader should be and prevent people from attempting to cram their feet into the outdated slipper that was never going to safely fit them. After all, people will go to the most extreme lengths to find the most ingenious means of altering the size of their feet if it means fulfilling their ambitions.

That new mold is an alignment of our very own unique innate talent complexity potential and the complexity required to safely fulfil the complexity of the role we inhabit or aspire to. We then monitor a person's mental wellbeing, enabling the individual to provide themselves with their very own and unique "User Manual".

And one final thought for the day; Have you ever considered that if we were brave enough to redefine the mold of leadership then Cinderella may not be the best person for the role! It may even be one of her ugly sisters... now there is something to ponder!