In my life I had the privilege to come across and influenced by two great leaders with totally different leadership styles but one common leadership value : the courage to “close their ears” to the Siren of power, success, fame and materialism and pursue their intrinsic motivation.

I am not implying that we should not desire fame, acknowledgment or money – some of the outward symbols of success in the capitalistic world we are living- but only if they are balanced by the inner desire to serve a higher purpose.

During my career I have seen many leaders losing their way, some of them at the peak of their career, because they fell into the trap of pursuing external gratification as the only source of fulfillment with devastating results for them and their organizations.

But let’s see how leaders lose their way!

External gratification acts like a centrifuge force which little by little , bit by bit pulls leaders away from their core values making them a victim of their own success . Without and anchor, leaders tend to look at other people for acknowledgment of their status and they seek reassurance to those that they tell them what they want to here . Over time they are surrounded by “supporters” who instead of confronting them with the truth they provide them with a filtered view of the reality.

Leaders with a tendency like that have also a big fear for failure. Having fulfilled their dream to lead they develop a fear that someone is waiting to knock them down from their throne. Underneath their confident smiles lies the fear that someone more qualified will unmask them showing to everybody that they are not qualified for the role. In order to cope with this fear they put all their effort and concentration in delivering short term results forgetting to strategize for the future. As a consequence the organization loses tough with reality and sinks in mediocrity.

Although they fear of failure at the same time they are obsessed with success. No body doubts that leaders want to do a good job for their organization, get recognized and appreciated accordingly. They want to be successful and enjoy the prestige and the power that goes with it. However leaders that lose their way develop what David Owen, the former British Foreign Secretary and a neurologist, and Jonathan Davidson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, call the “hubris syndrome,”. The definition they give is “ a disorder of the possession of power, particularly power which has been associated with overwhelming success, held for a period of years.” The hubris syndrome leads to a sense of entitlement making the leaders believe that they “are the organization”.

When they re caught in the grip of entitlement leaders become susceptible to manipulation. Hubris narrows their field of vision and it corrupts their behavior, often causing them to act against their values.

(HBR; Ego Is the Enemy of Good Leadership).

Exemplary leaders stay grounded and they don’t lose tough with reality. They have the ability to develop a centripetal force that counterbalances the effects of external gratification. They stay connected with their values and they try always to balance their extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

This is hard work but the ability of the leaders to achieve this harmony determines the quality of their leadership. This is what companies must seek in their leaders. It is the quality of leadership that will determine the their competitiveness.