Leadership and Self Deception

Getting Out of the Box

This book is written as a modern day parable. The protagonist is a recognisable figure: he works long hours, commits to delivering the output he is charged with, is always at work early and late to leave - often to the detriment of his family life. He sees himself as committed to his career and his employer and feels completely justified in seeing himself as an exemplary employee who is doing a great job.

But is he really - or is he deceiving himself?

'In the box' or 'out of the box'

When we are "in the box", the focus is on ourselves and our own achievements. We see things in terms of self justification and focus on our own interest; those who challenge this are threats and those who reinforce are allies - but either way we see them more as objects than as people. This fundamental self-deception means we:

• inflate others' faults and are quick to blame
• inflate our own virtue and achievements
• inflate the value of things that justify our self-betrayal
• By contrast, when we are "out of the box", we see others as real people with their own hopes, dreams and challenges. This does not mean overlooking their unhelpful behaviours but it does mean doing our best to help others to achieve positive results.

   

  The authors say that success as a leader depends on being free of self-deception where we focus on the 'what' rather than the 'who and how'. It means creating an environment of openness, trust and teamwork, where people work hard for the collective good rather than in pursuit of individual accomplishments.

  Putting it into action

  • Don’t aim to be perfect - instead work on your own awareness and focus
  • Look for your own box rather than those of other people
  • Avoid accusing others of being in the box, just stay out of the box yourself
  • Don’t give up when you discover you’ve been in the box - keep working on it
  • Recognise you’ve been in the box when you have been. Do apologise, then keep going forward, sincerely working to be more helpful to others in future
  • Focus on what you can do right to help rather than what others are doing wrong
  • Never mind whether others are helping you - instead notice whether you are helping others

  "The secret of success is sincerity.
  Once you can fake that, you've got it made!"

  Jean Giraudoux