Disconnected

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

When civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., penned these words I’m sure he was not aware of how timeless his advice would be some 47 years later. Leaders at every level in organizations and society test the merit of Dr. King’s advice on a daily basis. When faced with tough choices and important decisions leaders need an awareness of how those whom they serve are viewing the same situation. Without the compass of employee and customer feedback to guide them, leaders will fall blindly down the “rabbit holes” of ignorance and stupidity. The results are almost always disastrous.

Why is it so easy for leaders to become disconnected from the very people whose insights and loyalty are needed? Is it arrogance and ego or something else? I don’t pretend to have the right answers to these questions but here are some brief thoughts about the matter. First, leaders rarely make it easy for those around them to tell the truth. Even the positive effects of 360-degree feedback can be muted if a leader is dismissive of the results. Over time the absence of truth has a devastating impact. The Shuttle Challenger disaster had its roots in a NASA culture that discouraged employees from speaking up about problems with the O-rings that eventually failed and caused the fatal accident.

Second, leaders may consciously choose to ignore the will of those who follow them. This approach may be driven by pure arrogance and evil or by the assumption that leadership simply knows what is best. I suppose parents might justify this strategy since their children often can’t make their own choices because of age, maturity, or level of experience. But adults are sure to resent leaders who force their will on the people. Our current health care debate seems poised to move in this direction. It remains to be seen how the American people who oppose the current plan will react if it is forced into law.

Perhaps a different way to understand Dr. King’s words is in the context of another quote attributed to him. “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” To prevent becoming disconnected as a leader we must recognize and value the importance of how we all are connected at the deepest levels of our human spirit. It is adhering to this latter advice that will prevent leaders from acting with sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. In other words, being disconnected is no way to lead.