Someone to look up to. That's part of a leaders' job.
As a leader, you must walk the talk 24/7. To take a phrase from Disney, you are "on stage". Especially, those in positions like company Presidents and CEOs. Any time employees, customers, or the general public can see you or hear you - you are on stage. Because of current events, you may already know where I'm going with this.
AOL boss Tim Armstrong may very well have done permanent damage to his reputation by firing Creative Director Abel Lenz . . . on a conference call with about 1000 employees listening on. Stress is a given when you're at the top. Even if you're anywhere near the top. However - you're always on stage. Emotions must be kept in check. Save it for the office.
So what may have been lost, or at least reduced here? Employee morale. Employee productivity. Respect for the CEO. Overall culture of the organization. Not that it's necessarily the case here, but leaders just don't always think about the human element as much as they should.
So next time you feel like blowing up . . . stop, for a split second and think, "What damage am I going to do and how should I handle it differently?"
