Leadership and Self-Deception

A book by this title caught my eye ten years ago. The publisher is the Arbinger Institute. It came along with a powerful video detailing a case study from medical archives where established and well known medical practitioners had problems accepting the findings of a junior member. Why? They were stuck in their thinking, trapped inside the box, so to speak. The trap would not let in fresh data and breakthrough findings.

We have seen similar situations elsewhere, during our careers. Self-deception comes in many shades and forms. I am sure that the reader will recall from his own observations many such examples. Here are three that I would like to share:

1. A successul organization, led by a charismatic leader, runs into major profitability obstacles in its operations. The leader, surrounded by his most loyal and trusted underlings, began to explore solutions. One of the key people suggested an approach. Because of the team dynamics, little discussion followed as to the merits or limitations of the suggested remedies. Unquestioned, the solutions became the panacea for solving the profitability issues. When someone ventured contrasting ideas or doubts, he was soundly ridiculed and/or seen as a non-team player. The problem with the solution was that it did not fit all situations and that those responsible for implementing it did not know how. The solution proved unworkable and simplistic. The issues were much larger than anticipated. Yet to this day, the players recall this case as a tremendous success. Self-deception? Indeed!

2. Years ago, I was facilitating a team building session for an executive team composed of 13 members in a remote part of Minnesota, in a resort located near a beautiful lake. The session was engaging and quite interesting. The issue was poor revenue results. Of the 13 players, one was a quite participant, the rest very outspoken and loud. The quite member seemed more intent on listening than talking. He was in charge of product development. His colleagues were critical of the products coming from the development group and they were sure that poorly designed products were the culprits. After listening for two days to finger pointing and shouting, I felt that I was losing control of the group as a facilitator. In desperation, I turned to the quite member of the group and asked him for his view of the problem. In a quite voice, he responded as follows: Hey guys, it looks like the products you are asking me to develop are not the products that customers want. Wow! The rest is history! The finding was way too late to save them.

3. One of my friends and an esteemed consultant had been engaged in a 5-year culture change program in a high tech company. The CEO was keen on imbedding a set of values and culture characteristics that, in his view, would advance the strategy of the company. It was customary to review progress along this journey and congratulate one another about the tremendous progress made in the culture change journey. The CEO was the champion and advocate, and he was a formidable spokesperson. His exuberance created a reality that senior members felt obliged to accept, although quite remote from the facts on the ground. The consultant, my friend, got trapped in defending his approach and the client's views. People who were not supportive were labeled as misfits, old fashioned, command and control types who missed the significance of the intervention. Soon the specter of the "culture police" permeated the organization. Discussion soon was stifled, people began to go through the motions without conviction. The CEO and the consultant, to this day, defend the intervention as very successful. In my view, they are self-deceiving. One proof: once the CEO left the organization, the culture project was terminated and the consultant fired.

I am sure that you can add to the list many examples from your own experience.

The message here is that we all must be vigilant. It is easy to go along so as not to appear contrary. It is easy to construct a reality that we are all comfortable with. It is easy to go places where nobody wants to go in the first place in the name of teamwork. It is easy to not rock the boat and just ride along -- often toward more turbulent waters. It is easy to stick to what we know because what we do not know scares us. It is easy to live in the past or in our imagination because reality might scare us.

There is a great need to dialog inside organizations, free from perceived or imaginary reprisals. Dialog expand our data points and hopefully lead us toward a better, perhaps more informed decision making.

Enjoy the journey along the learning curve! Avoid self-deception -- a big obstacle to a profitable ride.