When top leadership generates a gravitational singularity, everyone suffers
There’s a force at work in too many organizations imposed by senior leaders that gives the appearance of action but reflects cognitive and productive paralysis. In these cultures, leadership becomes a kind of gravitational singularity, sucking the life, creativity, and productivity out of the culture, replacing it with endless meetings, the inane production of slide decks, and a lot of ego stroking.
Where leadership imposes a gravitational singularity, authority, approval, and consequences are so concentrated that attention and decision-making collapse inward. Teams experience decay—losing energy and autonomy as they work harder and spiral closer to the leader. The organization becomes paralyzed, yet people are overtasked and stressed to the point of exhaustion.
Motion increases, but progress disappears as it is consumed by the leadership singularity.
The leader in these organizations becomes the system’s dominant attractor. Everything—decisions, conversations, even meetings—begins to orbit around anticipating what that person wants rather than advancing the work. Yet, increasing pressure is placed on contributors to complete work more quickly. Daily life becomes a vicious circle where energy is consumed in pursuit
Signs your organization is struggling with a leadership gravitational singularity
Meetings multiply like Tribbles*
*In case you don’t get the Star Trek reference, Dr McCoy estimated that one tribble — a fluffy, alien creature that liked to take up residence in ceilings and ductwork — could produce 1,771,561 offspring in one year. Does that feel like meetings on your calendar?
If all you are doing is meeting, with no time to work, your culture is broken. This is always precipitated by the gravitational pull of senior leaders who obsess over staying informed, managing risk, and navigating politics.
Slide decks are the organization’s primary output
So many talented people I encounter are high-priced slide jockeys, spending much or all of their productive time preparing slide decks for those leaders and the multiplying meetings, pulled in by the gravitational pull of senior leaders.
Executive mind reading is a common, constant practice
If the bulk of the conversation, in and out of meetings, is focused on trying to understand, interpret, and guess what will please the sovereign, the leadership culture is broken.
Alignment overload is experienced daily
Alignment Overload is a causal factor in slide deck obsession and executive mind-reading. The goal is to ensure that the factions are aligned and to create forums for their representatives to engage in Executive Crown Polishing. These sessions typically lead to more alignment sessions, as they spur the exponential growth of the tribbles…er…I mean meetings. Everyone’s working to get aligned, but no one really is.
Deferred accountability destroys credibility
This one hurts. Bad. DA means that no one or group is accountable for anything, yet contributors and the people in the middle are constantly held accountable. I see this a great deal where there’s no strategy or extreme strategy drift.
Executive crown polishing becomes an art form
As noted above, people feel compelled to continually engage in ECP to justify their existence or to save themselves in the face of the perpetual sense of doom that hangs over the culture. Because our brains are wired to love compliments and ego-stroking, no matter how gratuitous, executives consume this, perpetuating more ECP.
The one cure for this leadership gravitational singularity…a crisis
Sadly, there are no easy fixes for the gravitational pull imposed by this leadership singularity. It’s a black hole draining the energy and talents of good people.
Physicists suggest that nothing can force a singularity to implode, resolve, or self-correct; however, the surrounding system can change.
The only way your system changes is in a crisis. And with a crisis, there’s no guarantee of success.
The “Right Kind” of leader is essential, just hard to find
In my experience, bringing in the “right kind” of leader is the one and only chance of success.
This “right kind” of leader is hard to find and typically doesn’t fit the mold boards of directors or executive recruiters look for. They’re preternaturally wired to perpetuate the singularity, bringing in people who are mirror images of themselves, and ultimately giving more strength to the singularity.
Instead, the “right kind” of leader to change the system and stop the pull of the leadership singularity is someone who strives to exorcise the old, bad habits described above and to appeal to people’s hearts first, then their minds. These leaders engage individuals who care and eliminate those who exist only to work within the old system.
The “right kind” of leader strives to decomplexify (love that unofficial word) strategy and execution, eliminate barriers to progress, and rapidly accelerate decision making. As they work and the culture gains escape velocity, the old leadership singularity collapses in on itself.
The bottom line for now
There are no easy answers, quick lists, or pop psychology fixes for surviving, let alone thriving, in a culture falling into the pull of the leadership gravitational singularity. Your options: become part of the problem, wait for a crisis, become the “right kind” for your small area of influence, or change where you invest the time of your life. Since you cannot predict crisis timing and becoming part of the problem are bad option, you are left with two choices. The first one: become one of those “right kind” of leaders. This will serve you well throughout your career. As for where you spend the time of your life, make a sound decision. Your time is too valuable to waste.
