What I would give to never see another AI-written LinkedIn post about “10 Things Great Leaders Say” or “5 Phrases that Build Trust.”
Admit it, you click on stuff like this. It’s understandable. Listicles exist as a content format for a reason, and most of us enjoy Top 10 lists regardless of the topic. The problem is that when it comes to leadership and management, this type of guidance completely ignores context, and overlooks all the things great leaders consider before taking any action or making any remark.
In a recent Psychology Today article, Janelle Wells and Doreen MacAulay make the argument that the behaviors and quotes that end up on social media posts are only the visible parts of leadership. The invisible parts come first, and are harder: managing your own emotions and reactions, getting data and testing your assumptions, reading the room and considering your audience, and deciding what action will really make a difference in this situation (or whether no action is actually the better course to take).
I’ve spent a good portion of my career working in higher education, and the point the authors make about learning is really important. We have 50+ years of research showing that there’s a difference between surface processing (memorizing the answer to the question so you can pass the upcoming test) and deep processing (understanding the fundamental, underlying issue so you can apply your knowledge in a variety of circumstances). Leadership listicles support surface processing. Substantive talent and leadership development efforts support deep processing. Only the latter creates lasting value for organizations.
At Russell Reynolds Associates, we talk a lot about Leadership Span, or a leader’s ability to bring a range of abilities to their work: they can be disruptive or pragmatic, bold or measured, out front or in the background, etc. But more importantly, strong leaders don’t just have a range of abilities (a wide span), they have enough judgment to know when to flex each ability.
We all know when we experience a leader who is just following a script. They drive us nuts.
(And yes, I recognize the irony of making a LinkedIn post about an article criticizing most LinkedIn posts – but it’s worth a read anyway!)