Leadership Lessons: Go Full Woke, Go Broke
Today, a loaded—perhaps controversial—topic. Yet, one I feel compelled to speak out on as a leader. My purpose is to share leadership lessons for those listening, not to engage in political vitriol and jump pointlessly into the culture war battle…. But, if that’s the perceived case, so be it.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen the result of woke ideology infiltrating our political arena and leadership for several years now—if not longer. We have a President—who shall remain unnamed—that has a demonstrated lack of both integrity and accountability. We’re now seeing this infiltrate once respected companies, playing the game—the current jargon; Stupid games win stupid prizes, and I’m not going to name them because you’ve certainly heard what’s going on, and I don’t want to give them any publicity.
Leaders: integrity and accountability matter. Leaders: take responsibility for your actions.
When leaders of public companies start to get into the culture war and lose sight of their main focus/mission, they’re headed for trouble. The CEO of a public company is responsible - first and foremost - to maximize shareholder value. I’m going on record saying this because I believe this to be a priority.
When companies alienate and anger their customers, they’ve lost sight of why they’re in business. Your customers are—get ready—Your Customers! It’s a no-brainer: They buy your products and services. They are what keep you in business, plain and simple.
Kevin O’Leary recently addressed this issue in a video he did regarding the beer brand. I’ll include a link in the description. When you mess up and your customer base reacts and revolts, you should pay attention! -You can’t ignore the problem. -You can’t wish it would go away. -You can’t gaslight your customers. -And, more importantly, you can’t try and placate them by vague dismissals and meaningless corporate PR jargon and not address the elephant in the room: You made a Mistake- a big mistake, so apologize for it.
Show integrity and accountability and don’t dance around the subject. Don’t play the blame-game, because it further alienates your constituents and/or customer base.
So, shifting gears, What are the 3 Leadership Lessons?
- Integrity and Accountability truly matter; they are two important principles that are propagated by the leadership of an organization. You can’t survive long without them…
- Leaders have to take full responsibility for everything; Admit your mistakes, accept blame.
- When Your values are out of alignment, your bottom line is affected. Actions have consequences.
People are tired of being gaslighted, placated and in general given a proverbial shine-on! Get back to your core values that people expect. Behaving with integrity means consistently acting according to those certain values and moral principles. Integrity is the lynchpin of a true leader.
Stay out of the culture war game- unless you’re prepared to lose financially! It’s not a winning strategy! Leaders: It’s the thinking of a poor leader whose philosophy incorporates excuses and a tendency to blame others for their mistakes, and a refusal to accept any responsibility for their actions.
Warning: If you go full woke, you’ll go broke.
Thanks for tuning in. I’d love to hear your comments and feedback. Let me know. Have an awesome Saturday.