I Hate Heroes! You Should Too.

In a recent conversation with the young CEO of a thriving tech start-up, I mentioned my disdain for those enamored with heroes. The exact words I dropped into a polite conversation about organizational culture were, “I hate heroism. I value leadership.”  His blank, glassy stare and shift in posture told me all I needed to know: he had no clue of what I was speaking; he was offended because he was oblivious to the concept and unwilling to state so; and we were probably not going to do business together.

But the fact remains – heroes happen when leadership fails.

We use them interchangeably but Hero and Leader are not synonyms. Heroism is an instinctive, reflexive, reactive response to an urgent need when immediate attention is necessary. Leadership, among its many facets, involves having a broad organizational vision that identifies needs before they become problems and having clear operating guidelines that allow for attacking emergent issues without the need for heroism.

If more people knew their job, did their job, and were lead by others that knew and did the same there would be less need for instinctive acts of ass saving organizational heroism in times of trial.

Had the young CEO been intrigued instead of feeling inured, I would have explained that crisis communications and business continuity plans alone are not enough to prepare a business to endure Los Angeles’ six seasons of disaster: earthquake, flood, brushfire, mudslide, workplace violence, and public relations meltdown. Just a moment of inquisitiveness and he could have learned that establishing a program to increase his employees’ chances of becoming survivors and not victims during human caused or natural disaster could be his greatest enabling act as a leader. And save his company millions in recovery time should the need arise. But, I understand his time is valuable and perhaps he saw no value in the topic.

You may.

You as a Leader can begin using the word “when” instead of the phrase “what if” when discussing contingency planning as an organization. By causing your team to momentarily consider a disaster as inevitable rather than probable, you enable your folks to establish thin plans of action instead of becoming victims or worse – heroes.

Actually, I love heroes. And heroism is inevitable and welcomed. But let’s lighten their load with some everyday, extraordinary leadership.