Why Managers Want to Become Leaders and Why They Largely Fail: One of the Greatest Intellectual Confusions of Our Times

Everyone wants to be a leader these days, or, at least, a self-leader. “Leader” sounds majestic and ambitious. A “leader” is someone who should be admired, adored, and almost deified. Managers particularly want to be leaders. Top-level managers believe that they are leaders, by definition. However, in most cases, these claims to leadership look clumsy, at best, and ridiculous, at worst. Furthermore, nearly everyone sees this clumsiness and ridiculousness without discussing it openly. Or rather, due to social etiquette and prevailing political correctness, unconvincing contenders for the status of a leader are most often discussed behind their backs. Why does…...