Hello

Well it’s that time of year again. Halloween. When spectres and ghosts and ghouls and witches abound, as well of course as monsters.

Sadly once again we are reminded that monsters are real.

All we have to do is to look towards Hollywood. If ever somewhere deserved to be called a cesspit, then surely Hollywood must be it.

I’m not going to focus on one person here however. Of course we should pay attention to the important legal principle of presumption of innocence, but the reason why I’m not going to specifically mention the individual who appears to be at the epicentre of all that is sordid in Seedywood is because I suspect that there is an institutional problem and that what we have witnessed so far is simply the tip of the iceberg.

It seems to me that what we are seeing here is not only the horrific abuse of (often very young) people but also a culture which exemplifies the exact opposite of the behaviours we should expect from someone in a position of power and authority:

Intimidating
Lying
Seeking to destroy
Caring only about self
Egomaniacal thinking
Enjoyment of all of the above
Lacking in empathy

I have said for quite some time now that we must hold leaders accountable. They must not be put on a pedestal, unless we are all on a pedestal. They may have particular and unique skills and talents, but that does not make them better. Leaders can only exist if they have support. Their job is to support those who ‘follow’ them and to promote an enriching emotional environment.

The fake delineation, the imaginary line that is drawn between inside a business and outside a business where financial gain may be used as an excuse for questionable behaviours is simply that…imaginary. Decency, honesty and integrity must have no such boundary. To consider otherwise is madness. And yet we have those among us who would peddle such tripe.

We must all strive to be respectful, and yet when faced by what appears to be extremely threatening and coercive behaviour from someone with apparent authority, I cannot help but think we must all get used to asking the question ‘who the hell do you think you are?’

 

Time to change.

 

Time to burst the bubble.

 

Happy Halloween
Best wishes
Mike

P.S. If you read this James Corden, and if you insist on making tasteless jokes (which I defend your right to do) at least please make them funny. Methinks you let your need for attention, desire to seem edgy, and motivation to keep those viewing figures high, get in the way of not only your ability to detect puerile material, but also your ability to spot that it’s time to get out of town. I suspect that before too long you will begin to think that La La Land is really quite normal. Don’t turn into a tosser, it would appear that there are quite a few of them there already.

 

 

Here is a link to to the Braver Leadership podcast for October 2017

And is a link to video number 9, in the ‘Why do we have so many bad leaders?’ series.