Leadership and the truth

On a Dutch blog for managers they had two items. One item was about lying, the other was about telling the truth. The conclusion you would get from it was that lying is a legitimate action and truth is an expensive commodity, best kept hidden.

Unfortunately the right to speak the truth is countered with arguments that make it clear that the truth is expensive when you hide behind lies. And although the Dutch management blog, gives many reasons to lie, and why it is justified, there is of course only one real reason to lie. And that reason is to protect others from your own incompetence to give them the truth in the form of a gift.

Because what is the truth really? It is no more then your observation of reality, given in your own words. So the truth as such does not exist in most cases. The truth often is depend on the focus of the observer. So a teenager will find the rules of his parents stifling. Where the parents will see the rules as protection for the teenager. A CEO will see his rules as a means to protect the profitability of the company. Where the account manager will see the rules as an obstacle for client satisfaction.

So the truth often is no more then a point of view, that even more often than not will be defended every inch of the way.

Leadership and expectations

How can a leader satisfy others expectations?
There are often lots of expectations when it comes to a leader. If you take a look at who is expecting something from a leader, you start to wonder how one person can satisfy all those expectations. Lets be honest. The board of directors expects the leader to show the way, to keep the company alive. The board of trustees expects the leader to have himself advised. The shareholders expect that their shares will rise in value and they will receive a yearly divident. The colleagues of the leader expect him to be sound and honest. The employees expect that the leader will ensure their salary. The customers expect the leader to ensure that the products will be good. The government expects the leader to keep the company profitable, so taxes can be collected. The neighborhood expect the leader to honor their wishes for a save living environment. And then we have not yet addressed all expectations that surround the position of a leader.
As you see, leadership is accompanied by expectations from others. But it is not about the expectations of others. All it is about, is the expectations the leader has of himself. Does he expect to be able satisfy the expectations of others. And how important is it to satisfy the expectations of others, if you forget to realize your own expectations?
In the end it is more important te realize your own expectations, because that is where you find the energy. You will not find energy in satisfying others expectations. Of course it is nice to give others a pleasant feeling, by satisfying their expectations, but that will only be fun and energetic if that is what you expect from yourself.