New Leader Demos Greatest HIT...

Published on January 20, 2020

A judicious journeyman this week replaces a toxic leader.

So perhaps it's timely to reflect on the high costs of poor leadership choices and to offer, I hope, some simple signposts for more successful future appointments.

As has been shown over the past four years, and spotlighted in recent days, poor leadership choices can cause:

losses of supporters and staff;
a diminished reputation amongst partners and stakeholders;
legal actions, disbarment and worse.

A couple of years ago, I published an article summarising what I found to be three helpful success indicators for evaluating future leaders - Hearsay, Intuition and Testing.

On those criteria, any cursory, or indeed in-depth, analysis should have shown that the outgoing 'leader' processed:

a highly dubious reputation (Hearsay)
a deeply flawed, narcissistic character (Intuition), and, furthermore,
had never held a publicly (or privately) accountable position (Testing).

The incoming leader, by contrast, scores well in each H.I.T. category. Signs are hopeful. The credentials he demonstrates may help to detox; they augur well for four years of more elevated leadership.

By Jonathan Hawes