...the secret that erodes organizations but nobody talks about....
Organizations are inundated by Cocky-Corks, egocentric executives who float at the top through favoritism and manipulation. Cocky-Corks usually are hyper-confident populists who can easily deceive others thanks to their eloquence and promises. They are also talented hypocrites who will play nice to anyone they need for as long as they need them. Excelling in politics, they can elbow or eliminate rivals.
They get most of the recognition & publicity. The media love them. Psychopaths are sexy! So, they succeed in their career but usually destroy rather than create value for the organization.
Thanks to their success, Cocky-Corks become the role model for many, attracting more Cocky-Corks in corporations. Nepotism prevails, creating a vicious circle in organizations.
Cocky-Corks become the biggest obstacles to an organization’s progress, delaying or destroying initiatives, projects, and efforts that do not fit well their aspirations and ego. They are everywhere: our bosses, our peers, our team, our partners, our presidents, or our prime ministers. It’s always been like that and will remain so. We should acknowledge the reality and deal with this. Personality tests, being designed to be politically correct and commercially successful, assign positive attributes to everybody. So, they don’t get the Cocky-Corks on their radar. However, they do exist, and people in the organization do know them.
Thankfully, organizations also have a few AXIOCENTRIC (value-centric) leaders who strive to create value for the organizations and the people. Most of them are the invisible superheroes working tirelessly to create value; those are the REAL leaders we need to progress and build a better society. They are invaluable but also a species in extinction, trying to survive in societies and organizations that love Cocky-Corks.
Healthy organizations, acknowledge the reality and foster the tribe of AXIOCENTRIC leaders, helping them to survive and succeed within a challenging environment polluted by Cocky-Corks.
…As an exception, some of the AXIOCENTRIC leaders and entrepreneurs are cocky but not “corks” (=useless) because they have the ambition and capabilities to create value and they do create value.