Lessons from Lyme Disease

If you regularly read my blog you already know that I rarely miss a weekly installment, even when on vacation or traveling for business. Last weekend was an exception and the culprit is a microscopic deer tick. It’s untimely presence on my body, likely during our Maine vacation in mid-July, brought with it Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete bacterium that causes Lyme disease. My symptoms included fever, headaches, and achiness, as well as the famous expanding rash (erythema migrans) confirming for my doctor that I was infected. With a twice daily dose of Doxycycline, a powerful antibiotic, for the next several weeks I am expected to make a full recovery.

Reports of Lyme disease have been steadily increasing (more than 150,000 cases reported to the CDC since 1982) but it remains difficult to diagnose and can cause severe health problems if allowed to reach its latter stages before treatment begins. So, in spite of feeling nasty for much of last week and the weekend I am grateful for being properly diagnosed and treated in the early stages. My experience prompted me to consider some parallels between Lyme disease (LD) and leadership.

First, LD is caused by the bite of a minuscule insect (actually they must be feeding on the host for about 36-48 hours before they transmit the spirochete). At the time of my initial contact with the deer tick I was unaware of its presence. In retrospect I do recall feeling some slight discomfort in the area where I was likely infected but, because I couldn’t see anything, dismissed it as a non-issue. How many times are leaders likewise infected with the smallest of temptations to give in to ego, a lust for power, or the need to be in control? It requires vigilance on a daily basis to maintain integrity so your choices don’t result in a decision that may cause real harm at some later time.

Without the symptoms how would the disease have been diagnosed? Leaders would do well to learn the warning signs of their own poor behavior and those of other leaders on their team. The workplace is filled with daily reminders that not everything is healthy. Absenteeism, poor productivity, and silence during meetings often mean that leadership is lacking or performing well below expectations. An accurate diagnosis and treatment plan is needed to prevent these behaviors from becoming systemic and cultural.

Treatment is often not as painful as imagined and generally can work quickly to change the direction of the disease. Within 24 hours of diagnosis and first treatment my symptoms had abated and I was feeling much better. Leaders who act quickly to deal with workplace dysfunction will also often realize how soon the atmosphere and attitude of workers can change. Some treatment plans may be more painful, like reassigning a manager or relieving them of their duties entirely, but without taking action the disease will ultimately win and the damage may become permanent.

Hopefully, my future vacation trips and other excursions into the deer tick habitat will prompt me to be more attentive. If I had carefully inspected myself for the presence of ticks every day while on vacation the entire infection, diagnosis, and treatment process could have been avoided. That may be the most important LD lesson. Leaders who regularly assess their own behaviors and who notice the health and well-being of their teams will likely never contract the typical behavioral “diseases” that infect so many organizations. How proactive are you in assessing your leadership practices? Are there symptoms of poor leadership emanating from your workplace? Take a lesson from my Lyme disease experience and don’t wait for the first bite.