Crises Also Reveal False Leaders

Who are the false leaders? Those people who are at the top of a management body for reasons other than their ability or competence to guide or achieve the common objectives of a group. Crises are an excellent opportunity to bring out what those people who are in charge of everything are made of.

All crises are moments in which there are unresolved complexities and uncertainty prevails. In situations like this, those directed or led by another hope that that person will take charge of the situation and open the way to a successful conclusion. That’s when the false leaders are exposed, the same ones who not only fail to take the helm, but can actually deepen the problems.

In today’s world, however, there are many false leaders who make up for their incompetence  with a relatively effective weapon: political marketing. One of the traits of these leaders without leadership is precisely that of devoting more energy to covering their failures than to solving problems.

False leaders and honesty

If you talk about false leaders, it is clear that the strength of these people is not honesty. They have reached management positions by shortcuts. They are children of the owner of the company, they deceived the voters, they paid to be where they are, etc. They have not reached the place where they are by merit.

Likewise, and derived from the above, they are false leaders mainly because they put their personal interests first. A genuine leader represents the interests of many and seeks a collective welfare or solution, not an individual one.

When a crisis situation arrives, this last aspect is the one that is first in evidence. A false leader will seek, above all, to protect himself and his interests against threats, before offering a solution that benefits many, even against what is convenient for him.

Unpopular or shocking decisions

Crises, especially the most serious ones, often require decisions to be taken that are unpopular or that are hateful to some sector or group. If, for example, there is an economic crisis and it is discovered that the best way out is to lower the salaries of senior executives, it is clear that they will not feel satisfied with that situation.

Likewise, in the face of a health crisis, it may be necessary to restrict some activities, as has happened in 2020 and 2021. Many are bothered by these limits for different reasons. However, from the point of view of protecting the majority , it is the most convenient.

Only a true leader is capable of making those kinds of decisions. He is not so interested in preserving his capital of acceptance or favorability, but in solving the underlying problem. It is the welfare of the majority that guides his judgment, and he treats misunderstanding or rejection as a secondary matter. False leaders, on the other hand, often make decisions whose sole purpose is to gain acceptance.

Private interest and marketing

Many leaders, especially politicians, make heavy use of marketing in times of crisis. Their objective with this is to make decisions that favor them, but at the same time promote the idea that they are determinations that benefit the majority.

The false leader acts under the criterion of “save himself who can” and, of course, first of all he is saved. However, he knows that this can ruin his future interests and so he covers his actions under a cloak of propaganda. Actions such as the following are frequent:

• Promote false optimism. They seek that those led reduce their critical attitude towards management.
• Misinform. They present possibly true, but biased data. In this way, instead of saying 20,000 people have died, they speak of the 20,000 who were saved or recovered.
• Inefficient, but shocking solutions. Rather than looking for real solutions, they are oriented towards actions that cause a lot of emotional effect. In the end, there is more show than concrete advances.

• Blaming something or someone else. Since these false leaders do not really solve anything, there is a point where this becomes evident and it is then that they blame an external factor for their inefficiency.

False leaders do a lot of damage because they have power, but they only use it for their own benefit. It does not matter what position a person has or how well the press or everyone talks about it. Leaders are known for their performances, for their effective results, and not for the pageantry or frills that can surround their performances.