Friends of Dave #277: he lives in a shack
Leadership is like pornography.
I know, with a title like that you have to be wondering, "Where is he going with this?"
Let's go back to 1964.
In a case seen before the Supreme Court (Jacobellis vs. Ohio) that was addressing the topic of obscenity and pornography and the First Amendment, Justice Potter Stewart famously said:
I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.
When you think about it, defining what is "obscene" is nearly impossible, as the concept is subjective. Whether it is spoken language, music, art or film, one person's smut can easily be a fixture in another person's playlist.
At the time, Justice Stewart's comments were lauded as way for someone to put parameters around something that requires judgement in the eyes of a beholder.
"I know it when I see it" essentially gave anyone the permission for themselves to judge whether something they saw was obscene based on their own experiences and what they knew without setting specific criteria for future reference.
The comment is a cop out if you ask me. Stewart was a Supreme Court justice -- a job he had for life. Essentially saying "it is what it is" was the best he could muster on the topic?
Fast forward to this week -- and a conversation I was having with someone about leadership. We were talking about a situation where it seemed that there may be a lack of leadership causing friction and disruption amongst a team.
My colleague asked if I had an opinion about a specific person involved. Did I think they were a good leader or not? And how did I know?
Friends, it just goes to show how well this person knows me......"if I had an opinion"? Really? It's like asking someone if they like bacon or have a favorite flavor of ice cream. Or if they breathe on a regular basis......"if I had an opinion?"......like, know your audience, dude.....
But I digress....based on my past experience and what I know, the answer had been clear to me for a long time that this person was actually a pretty weak leader. Despite knowing that other people liked this person in their role, I had seen past behavior and actions that confirmed my opinion as far as I was concerned.
So when pressed on how I knew, I quoted Justice Potter Stewart and said:
"When it comes to leadership, I know it when I see it."
Cop out? Maybe. But I'm not a Supreme Court justice writing an opinion that sets a precedent. And the standard applies pretty well in this case. I happen to have been lucky to have been around some great leaders in my day.
As a result, my standards are high -- there are levels of accountability, humility, grit, intelligence, strategic thinking and ability to coach, empathize and inspire others that I expect from people in leadership positions. But for others, their bar on these attributes may not be aligned with mine nor hold the same value.
Which leads us back to the beginning of this preamble....I don't think it is a stretch when I say that leadership is like pornography. It may be hard to define the absolute criteria that constitutes what makes a good or poor leader, but you will definitely know it when you see it....
It's April, baseball is now in session and you have the Masters for you golf fans. Should be a fabulous weekend. Enjoy whatever it is you decide to do and have a good one!
XOXO
Dave
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