Popularity over Accountability?

… So temptation 2 of the five temptations of a CEO is “choosing popularity over accountability”

It is interesting to note how the desire for approval from others can get in the way of leading in a clear and direct manner, and can ultimately lead to a loss of respect of that leader! People do want to create a good relationship with the people that they work with, and a good working environment is essential for high performancing teams to achieve success. However if more attention is paid to being popular than holding people to account, meeting this request from the leaders ego can be at the expense of the business leadership team being focused, fully engaged and equally committed to achieving results.
As a leader of a high performing team it is essential for the CEO to be able to retain the ability to engage in productive conflict and challenge with the members of the team, to hold everyone in the room accountable for their actions, and expect them to achieve the results they have committed to. Equally team members need to feel that level of trust between themselves that allows them to hold each other to account and be focused on the task at hand.
while resisting the temptation of “venting” to their “close friend” on the team. The use of direct reports for this is a sure fire way to create a divide or clique within the team – the harbinger of politics and people defending their own turf.
The ego’s desire to be liked, to be popular is very powerful. Consider the following:
Do you think of yourself as a close friend of your reports? Do you find yourself avoiding giving direct negative feedback to your reports, or do you want to “take the heat out of the feedback” by watering it down?
Do you ever think when compiling an agenda how an item will go down, rather than whether the business needs to address the issue? So the “Favourites game” is partly a function of the ego, and the sense of self esteem held by the leader driving their behaviour. Accordingly it pays to notice how your ego shows up, before your set your agendas, and when thinking about how you lead your team.