What Scares Me Most About Leaders and Followers Today

Aug 1

Over the years, people have become “enraged” over scandals—in corporate America, college and pro athletes, healthcare companies, higher education, government bureaucrats and even religious institutions. We’ve watched Congress level mammoth judgments upon many corporate tycoons, only to be found guilty of some of the same corruption.

These mishaps, however, don’t scare me as much as something else going on in our culture between leaders and followers. We’ve become blind to conduct far more sinister a trap laid unwittingly by social media, television networks, the Internet, and crowded schedules with no margins. With little time to think for ourselves, we’ve fallen in love with the “campaigning leader.”

The Campaigning Leader

The new leader today is a campaigning leader. These folks know that what they must do well is campaign for an emotion from their constituents. Quality leadership is no longer about substance but style. How does it appear? How will it be written up tomorrow? What will be the sound bite that folks remember? How did everyone feel afterward?

These inquiries are not wrong in themselves, but leaders—and their image consultants—now act based upon the answers to these questions, not from principle. They lead for the camera. They’re naturally sensitive to what’s politically correct. They display tolerance for what is in vogue. They’re never against something unless it’s in their best interest. That’s the scorecard. And the natural outgrowth of such a scorecard is the “campaigning leader.”

It’s not all their fault. Our culture has conditioned leaders to be this way. Smart ones figure out what it takes to get appointed, elected and re-elected; to grab the limelight, to receive more airtime, or to elicit popular opinion. What becomes viral on YouTube isn’t necessarily what’s good and right but what’s vogue and entertaining. So, leaders perform like a pet. Sometimes even a puppet.

These campaigning leaders come from every industry. They can be pastors or politicians. They can be male or female. They can be old or young, Republican or Democrat. What do campaigning leaders do well? They focus on these elements:

Spin.

They can take any issue and profile it to sound favorable. They are “spin doctors.” They don’t have to answer the questions from news correspondents; they can answer whatever questions they wish to answer. It’s all in how you navigate your way through the words.

Image.

They can become preoccupied with their look. They know that image is everything. This is why people now have full-time jobs as “image consultants.” We’ve figured out that our current population is too savvy to simply listen for content. We notice, even critique, how leaders look.

Feel.

Campaigning leaders consider how their interactions on camera “feel” to onlookers. Feelings over facts. Emotion is the key, not data or direction. When making a mistake, campaigning leaders know how to win hearts, play on the emotions of people and come out smelling like a rose.

Memory.

These campaigning leaders are aware of the memories they’ll create from each experience in which they participate. They’re intentional about how people will hold the snapshot in their memory banks, and they posture themselves to be remembered positively in that moment.

What’s Your Report Card?

These characteristics are part of the reason early pioneers left England to start over in America. King George was in it for himself. He was a “campaigner.” Our nation’s forefathers were far from perfect, but they led as statesmen. Political leaders usually served one term, then returned to their farms. Hmmm. Sounds healthy to me. So, let’s do some self-evaluation. As a leader…

Do you become preoccupied with your image when something goes wrong?
Do you enter campaigns to advance yourself, or the mission and the people?
Will you say whatever you must say to save face or gain followers?
Do you make decisions for short-term benefits or long-term advantage?
Are you willing to sacrifice personally for what you believe, even if no one notices?

I suppose this dilemma is nothing new. Perhaps leaders throughout history have all been preoccupied with style over substance. Interestingly, Jesus spoke some harsh words to the religious leaders of his day, calling them “hypocrites who look good on the outside but inside are whitewashed tombs.” It just frightens me today—in our world of screens, posts and podcasts—that we can get far by sharpening our campaigning skills, rather than our leadership skills. Here’s to adding character and competence to our brilliant campaigns.