I’m sure you’ve heard the news.
This post is not political. This post is about leaders (like Eliot Spitzer) and those who follow him/her. Mr. Spitzer’s family, specifically his wife, have been failed. Not in a small way. If Mr. Spitzer had forgotten an anniversary, you might accuse him of being forgetful or neglectful. This however, is much greater in magnitude.
The picture of Mr. Spitzer’s wife is telling. Is she just another woman grappling with a man who betrayed? Is she a woman who wonders what’s next? More than likely, she is dealing with those questions and more. Followers are left with the backwash of the leader’s poor decisions.
Ms. Spitzer was meant to follow her husband, as Mr. Spitzer was meant to follow his wife. Leadership flows both ways in a marriage. For example, Mr. Sptizer asked his wife to follow him as he rose through the ranks of New York politics. I imagine (can’t know for sure) she did because she trusted him and the words that fell from his mouth. When a leader violates trust, tragedy is not far behind.
Up til now you might be thinking I’ve been pretty hard on Mr. Spitzer. I’m not. Mr. Spitzer is a warning sign for all of us who consciously lead. And that’s why I’m using his story. I see great similarities between Mr. Spitzer and organizational leaders who blow the smoke of "we care" and "people are our most important asset" when they know that lay-offs are coming. Followers are priceless and fragile, we’d all do well to remember that fact.
Here’s a list of what might have caused Mr. Spitzer to fall:
- Arrogance. When leaders begin to see themselves above it all, they get sloppy and soft.
- Secret sins tend to find you, especially when you’re not looking.
- He failed to manage his commitments. I assume he made vows to his wife on their wedding day.
- He missed or forgot that we make choices, and then our choices make us.
- Paul Weller wrote that lust and loneliness can drive our behaviors.
- He surrounded himself with people who were impressed by titles and power.
- No authentic advisors were in his inner circle.
- He didn’t understand the reality of seed planting.