Polk is not a folk hero! - the myth of charismatic leadership.

James K. Polk. Ring a bell? No? Think again.... nothing? Think harder.... nothing at all??

If someone were asked to list 3/5 US presidents the usual suspects that would pop into mind would be the likes of Lincoln, Roosevelts (both Franklin and Theodore), Kennedy, Reagan, Washington and the recent ones like the Bushes, Clinton and Obama. In fact studies have revealed that even many Americans are unfamiliar with their 11th President, James K. Polk. Given that, non-Americans could easily be excused!

James K. Polk (US President 1845-1849)

James K. Polk was not cut out to be President, in fact he was considered the compromise candidate of the Democratic Party at the 1844 US Presidential election. A man of humble roots from Tennessee who was known to be silent, introverted and un-charismatic, he ran with the promise of not seeking a second term if elected and united many forces to defeat their common enemy. (ring-a-bell?). Polk accomplished great things during his single term as president and expanded the United States by bringing in new territories like Texas, Colorado, Oregon, etc. by winning decisive wars against forces like Mexico while consolidating the US economy! Today, many historians and political scholars consider him one of the top 10 (sometimes top 5) presidents in US history. But in spite of his great accomplishments, his simple, humble ways have made him an unknown entity.

Angelo Mathews

Not to rub the reader the wrong way by quoting Sri Lankan politics, I shall take an example from Sri Lanka Cricket to better illustrate my point! Many agree that Angelo Mathews has done a tremendous job since taking over as the country's cricketing captain 4 years ago. He has risen up to the occasion time and time again and played match winning knocks under great pressure. (In fact, he coincidentally scored a test ton today against India under pressure!) But what has gone under the radar is that Angelo has performed far better as a cricketer while captaining the country than his much loved and talked about compatriots Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara! True, Mahela and Sanga are great legends in world cricket, but doesn't Angelo have what it takes to go a step further? I for one feel that many of his great performances for Sri Lanka has gone unnoticed and been taken for granted! But why? You could challenge me on this, but I feel it is something to do with his personality. Many of my friends and acquaintances have found that the straight faced, straight talking Angelo is less affable when compared to Mahela or Sanga who are renowned to be much more eloquent.

I for one have been bestowed with leadership positions at various levels, starting from my days in middle school. Being an introvert who is somewhat socially awkward, I'm notorious for rubbing people off the wrong way, the above is a phenomena that I've grown to realize over time. Simply doing the right thing, according to your conscience and delivering results oftentimes goes unnoticed! I fondly remember a statement that was made by my former CEO during a casual conversation we had while I was in Colorado. In a nutshell he said that leaders should not be too concerned about being popular, and must be more focused on doing the right thing even though that makes him/her unpopular, one cannot accomplish things by being afraid of being criticized or disliked. That's a notion that I wholeheartedly agree with him on, oftentimes leaderships comes along with tremendous personal pressures, letting your emotions run havoc might turn you into a popular but less accomplished leader.

Even though the above is absolutely accurate in terms of theory, the reality remains that people are more attuned to associate that "human touch" and charisma with leadership, than not. (Yes, humans are such ornate creatures that simply disregard theories and realities that they themselves come up with!) This sadly illustrates the bitter reality that an aspiring leader needs to incorporate the best of both worlds in order to project him/herself as a true leader, lack of either the "human touch" or "results" might dent your progress and hold back the good that you want to instill! Having said that, one must always appreciate those result oriented leaders who accomplish great things with some rugged edges in how they portray themselves to others are a millions times better than a highly beloved "leader" who accomplished nothing noteworthy (sadly I've seen far too many times where likability is rewarded above success and results by the public).

The simple message I'm trying to emphasize are two-folds;

1. If you want to be a good leader, make sure that you not only work hard to do the right things the right way, but also give great emphasis on developing your personality, likability and your "human touch". That'll make your job much easier as people are likely to get in line with you in order to accomplish your (team) objectives. Eventually, that will bestow you with an unrivaled legacy.
2. When you're a follower, you ought to look beyond the veil of "charisma, personality and likability" to measure your leader. I firmly believe that vision and executing that vision is what truly makes a great leader! Don't judge the book by its cover, try to understand what your leader's vision is and the rationale behind it. That'll make you appreciate his/her work and motivate you to give 110% to achieve great things! 

I leave you with a quote which carries a lot of credence that I happened to come across while wandering through the "Hogwart-ish" alleyways at the University of Sydney.

Leadership is a culture, not a person.

Food for thought!