The Leader Undone: When the Wheels Come Off!

Dennis McCallum observed that "The biggest problem with many of us is that we are soft from too much success. We are like a child riding a bike on training wheels who thinks he has actually learned to ride. His parents warn him, "It's a little harder when you take the wheels off," but until you actually do take them off, the kid continues to enjoy a false sense of mastery. Once the wheels come off, the child may have to endure a few nasty crackups that could lead to tears, and even a refusal to ride any more. But without removing the wheels, he will never learn to ride." McCallum added that "Leaders accustomed to nothing but success become, themselves, hard to lead. They are always convinced they are right, and will fight to preserve their base as though their self-worth depended on it, which it often does. In their dread of failure, they may become downright unethical and manipulative. They find it hard to listen to the wisdom of others because they can't help but observe that their own ideas seem to be working perfectly well." The above observations raise a number of interesting questions including whether success is the precursor to failure, and conversely if failure is the precursor and a prerequisite to success. Returning to the PI Window on Business Show share both his research and corresponding insights on the characteristics that tend to derail leaders, and render them ineffective is acclaimed author and lecturer Dr. John Ullmen.