Integer Leadership Consulting

I was in no way surprised.

Once again, we have an example of an organizational/political leader, gifted, talented, articulate, and prominent, who makes a choice that brings “this stage” of his storied career to an abrupt and brutal end. Clearly, his wife and his three teenage daughters will pay an incalculable price for his flawed choice. They, along with him, will pay a price that, at this early point in the downfall, is unfathomable. Most likely, Spitzer will feel the pain, shame, and guilt of his choice every moment of every day for the rest of his life. As the massive loss and suffering invades his deepest sense of self…as he comes back to reality…he will often and always rue the day that he decided to compromise his promises to his wife, his daughters and to the public he served.

Yet we should not be surprised or in any way amazed that Spitzer would place himself in such a precarious position with so much to lose. This is the issue and temptation with every leader: separating, truncating or compartmentalizing a self-constructed or self-fabricated reality from the true reality. Leaders make this mistake repeatedly regardless of their power, position, and success. And we, the observing public, act in amazement every time it unfolds before our eyes. From my perspective, this deleterious fall and commensurate carnage from Spitzer’s failure acts as a bizarre side show of sorts which the public “enjoys” observing. There exists in either our culture or our own individual hubris a dysfunctional and voyeuristic mentality that takes pleasure in watching others destroy themselves especially when those others are public figures who stand for principles, standards, ethics, and values…like Spitzer. I digress. What I personally observe is the rapidity of his demise, the lightening quick rejection and ostracizing of this human being. I see an incredible but predictable display of human failure coupled with the predictable destructive antagonism of those around Spitzer who, “of course,” would never engage in such base, self-serving behavior.

A Leadership Failure Post Mortem…

For a moment, separate the ethics of Spitzer’s actions long enough to notice this. What created the schism within his internal world which allowed him to proceed with the assumption that he could act inappropriately and then successfully camouflage his actions? This extremely brilliant man, possessing more education and experience than most, constructed an internal view of the world that was externally highly inaccurate. How does this happen? My sense is that, for leaders in particular, another reality can or must be created that, though false and potentially destructive, allows the man or woman to “live into their flawed constructions of reality” but which nonetheless meets a deep need perhaps even unknown or unrecognized by the leader. Again, not surprising.

In my next blog I will address the work that Spitzer will most likely face regarding the task of reuniting his deeply held schemas or perceptions with reality…what actually “is.” At some point in the not-too-distant future, his suffering and pain MAY be sufficient to confront and begin to dismantle these schemas, these false internal constructions of reality. What he does not know or understand is that this failure will be his “greatest gift”….it may be the one and only conduit that finally takes or more accurately forces him to the deep places which will reveal how he got to this point. It may show him the incredible chasm that exists between his internal construction of reality and the external realities of his life. What he has left “if and when” he comes to this place is unknown, and that is really not the issue here. What is the issue is this opportunity Spitzer has to reunite his deepest perceptions with external givens. Herein lays the real work and pain. This work will cost him most everything he is and has if he chooses this course of action. Then again, he may do nothing and resist the opportunity. He may blame his actions on an unfulfilling marriage, work pressures or the stress caused by unrealistic public expectations. Again, this should not be surprising.