When people speak of their leaders and their leadership experience, the conversation moves in either of two ways… leadership lottery or lottery leadership.
What do the terms mean?
Leadership lottery is when individuals, teams, and organisations are led by leaders who are humble and authentic. These are real, ethical, and relationally intelligent individuals who are committed to working with employees to grow them and the organisation they serve. They balance realism and optimism and openly share challenges and successes (Mitchell, 2023). Exceptional leaders share the attributes of integrity, respect, and responsibility. In doing so, they invite open dialogue, constructive feedback, and ongoing support. Equally, they admit to mistakes, raise concerns, and turn up for their staff (Villirilli, 2021). Underpinning all these qualities is that they walk their talk. This is the epitome of the Leadership lottery.
Lottery leadership is a term used by employees to describe leaders who engage in leadership for reasons other than leading for the greater good. These individuals fall into several categories which include: 1. Extremely competitive 2. Double talkers (say one thing and do another including taking credit for the work of others) 3. Do not take responsibility, and 4. Have very little regard for those they lead. (Ivanov, McFadden & Anyu, 2020). The attributes shared by these types of leaders include and are not limited to: “my way or the highway’’ logic, lack of recognition, disrespect of employees, and failure to accept responsibility to just name a few. Underpinning all these qualities is that they do not walk their talk promulgating the lottery leadership phenomenon.
Dr. Margie Warrell (Forbes, 2014) highlights that “People do not leave their jobs, they leave their managers”. Add to that, McKinsey Research (2022) highlights the global phenomenon “The Great Reshuffle’’ emphasising that 40% of employees interviewed were adamant about resigning from their jobs.
There is a lot to be said about the importance of quality and ethical leadership. Leadership is not about a title or money, it is about service (Neale, 2020). In a study undertaken by the Australian Leadership Index, it was noted that the perception of leadership in Australia in 2021 was overall negative. Leadership gaps were substantial in lots of areas, and specific gaps were noted in performance on integrity metrics (ethical standards, transparency, and accountability) and expectations.
So, what does this all mean? We have a lot of work to do.
Focusing on personal and professional growth applies to leaders as well as employees. Learning about our authentic selves and working with and respecting others, having a growth mindset, and engaging in effective communication are just a few examples of pathways to explore.
Consider Reframe WA Consulting. Review, Renew, and Regenerate…
