Are We Celebrating the Wrong Leaders? | Martin Gutmann | TED

I worked with someone that ascended the organization by building a reputation as a problem solver. They were able to solve many problems because they created many, many opportunities to do so. The problem preventers go unnoticed.

I say this often in business. We celebrate the f-ups who cause the problems then work like dogs to recover. We never celebrate the real leaders who never have the big crisis, because they do it right the first time. Very frustrating to people who actually do a good job consistently.

I have used the comparison between Captain Kirk and Captain Picard. One charges head-first into danger and thinks he can change the laws of physics by force of will. The other delegates tasks, listens to his team, and does everything possible to avoid conflict whenever it is possible. While Kirk may be more fun to watch, Picard would be better to work for.

'We see leadership potential in people who: -Speak more regardless of what they say. -Appear confident regardless of competence. -Are perpetually busy regardless of what they're doing. (Maaan, that's going to my journal)😂

I first heard Roald Amundsen's story when I read the book 'Great by Choice' by Collins many years ago. He was an amazing man and became an inspiring figure in my own life and business. The main lesson I got can be summed up with the old adage 'The more i prepare the luckier I get'. Great leaders meticulously prepare for every imaginable scenario.

I have been studying Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius is one of the most famous exponents of this philosophy, he is considered the ideal ruler by many historians, however I have not found any documentary dedicated to his life. However, there are several documentaries about his son Commodus, who is considered one of the worst emperors of Rome.

This talk is one of the most valuable piece of public communication ever. I have met so many managers who keeps problems open without ever trying to solve them just so that they would continue to receive "urgent" phone calls, with the sole purpose of appearing "needed" and important.

I've learned long ago that the best leaders are often the people who least want to lead. The ones focused on the responsibilities rather than the rewards.

The problem is that the wrong leaders, seek recognition, while the right leaders don't. We can be smart enough to be aware of our biases and fight against them, but the reality is that 90% of people will not, no matter how reasonable your argument is. Thanks anyway for this talk, I think it is right, and maybe we could improve a bit, but I don't think we can improve much in this.

If there is one thing humans in our modern age are really bad at, it would be assigning value to the right things. It is not only the problem with choosing good leaders, but also for things like wage inequality between essential and non-essential jobs, value of PHD's in certain sectors, enviromental statistics/climate change (think of CO2 credit trading), physical resources like rare metals, and many many more things like this. Sometimes I feel the sole cause of this problem is Capitalisms eternal yearning for MONETARY value over real/physical value. Think about it, you can never earn 100% of value you put in as a worker since your boss would never be able to earn a profit on your behalf. You're in essence working for less than your own worth, it hás to be below 100%. We have the brains and technology to make wiser choices on what something is worth to us, at least everything that's not as abstract as labor, but we don't and that truly is sad to think about...

In a world that now prizes entertainment, this is going to be a tough sell.

I have protected dozens of companies from problems and even solved all the problems that would come up from other people, but no matter how much or how well I did. No one cared, no one appreciated, and when it was time to show a reward for going well above and beyond; there was nothing even to the point of being turned down for promotions and once fired by a new hr manager who wanted to be the more noticeable one. It always ended up the same though; company falls hard in their capabilities (I not only do my work well, I am great motivation for everyone else.) and declines in production, profits, and a few have completely disappeared. I have grown sick of hearing people tell me they regretted not doing enough to keep me on staff. Which means a leader who could have prevented problems by keeping someone who prevented problems, was the cause of the problems.

First time before or since I turned my back on all aspects of management that I've heard someone speak sense about management. Thank you Martin.

More than 20 years ago, while working at Goldman Sachs in NYC, one morning I lost track of time at the treadmill in GS’s gym and when I turned around there was no one there except Goldman’s CEO Henry “Hank” Paulson, future Treasury Secretary of the US, burning a hole in my back with his stare. The guy looked like he wanted to beat me up, because I was still in the gym instead of sweating at my desk. That’s my story of the kind of people most of the world associates with “success” and “leadership”. PS: Hank liked to joke on live TV in September 2008 while the world’s financial system was melting down.

Dunning-Kruger effect happens more in “leadership” than anywhere else.

This very much resonates with many Koreans at present. We are continually weighing the two wrong leadership figures, the current president and the current head of the opposition party.

At an organization where I once worked, I overheard the CEO say, “I like to run my organization like a MASH unit.” During the time that I was there, a succession of sensible (boring) mid-level managers quit because of the constant crises.

Yeah, we only hear “problem solvers”. Why not “problem preventers” which sounds better, and which we’d need more.

I actually never heard about Shackleton. In Russia’s school we only heard of Amundsen.

Martin call to redefine leadership is a reminder of the need for authenticity and effectiveness in leadership roles. By valuing quiet competence over charisma, we can create more sustainable and positive organizational cultures. 🔑